Quality online education happens when courses are well-designed and well-facilitated. With that in mind, OSU Ecampus is excited to share a new resource, Online Teaching Principles. The principles draw from research in online teaching pedagogy and practice, and they provide the groundwork for talking about what strong online teaching looks like across disciplines.
Oregon State University is ranked No. 4 and is among the nation’s top 10 providers of online undergraduate education for the seventh straight year in a list published today by U.S. News & World Report. The No. 4 ranking of Best Online Bachelor’s Programs also puts Oregon State in the top five for the fourth time since 2015, a feat no other institution in the Western U.S. can claim.
Oregon State Ecampus librarian Zach Welhouse provides 10 important pieces of information that all distance learners need to know. The OSU Libraries provide access to many services and resources that Ecampus students can use including journals, books, research guides and more.
Marleigh Perez, like many at Oregon State Ecampus, is committed to student success in a plethora of facets. This year, she’s lauded for her accomplishments by the Online Learning Consortium, a national resource for all things online education.
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust an opportunity upon online education professionals under very unfortunate circumstances. Now is the time for us to “get out of our lane,” so to speak, and show how we will support an entire educational enterprise for the advancement of our universities. Online education is on display like never before, and it is crucial that we rise to the occasion by sharing the collective leadership and knowledge we have that has led to many educational innovations in recent years.
While online and remote education may not be synonymous, today’s new remote educators can benefit from the “lessons learned” by experienced online educators who are providing high-quality, engaging learning experiences for their students. The one “lesson learned” I see as the most significant for faculty as they begin to teach from a distance is to consider the new learning environment from a student-centered perspective.
Our students connect regularly with a strong community of classmates, instructors and on-campus support staff – because at OSU Ecampus, we put student success at the forefront of all we do. We provide access to resources like social groups, online forums and one-on-one conversations because those connections do more than just facilitate course projects. They establish a sense of belonging for students.
The college experience is difficult for many first-generation students to navigate. When you add distance learning to the equation, it can be so overwhelming that underrepresented students often drop out or are too apprehensive to even start. At Oregon State University Ecampus, Marleigh Perez is dedicated to changing that experience for students who learn online. She supports and advocates for Native American students who learn online with OSU.
Oregon State University is hosting a regional conference in February 2020 with a focus on improving student success and affordability for online learners. The event brings the Online Learning Consortium to OSU’s Corvallis campus for a one-day event in the Memorial Union. Scheduled for Feb. 7, OLC Collaborate – Oregon will draw faculty, administrators and online learning professionals together to address the opportunities and challenges facing the future of affordability in higher education.
College students face a variety of challenges, from finding the right academic support to time management. As a first-generation college student and graduate, Eddie Rodriguez faced these challenges and others firsthand. Now, the sense of empathy and pride he feels as a success coach at Oregon State University Ecampus – including for students from Native American communities – inspires him to serve in this role every day.
