Through the OLC Effective Practices program, the OLC community shares techniques, strategies and practices that have worked effectively in their institution or program. Effective practices are peer-reviewed and evaluated against OLC’s five pillars of quality in digital education: access, learning effectiveness, faculty satisfaction, student satisfaction and scalability. Two rounds of Effective Practices are awarded annually. The first round is awarded in April at the OLC Innovate conference and the second round were presented at OLC Accelerate in November.

The recipients of the first round of OLC’s 2019 Effective Practice Awards, awarded at OLC Innovate 2019, April 2-5 in Denver, CO are:

  • “Peralta Equity Rubric,” by Inger Stark, Peralta Community College District
  • “SkillsCommons Field Guide of TAACCCT Innovations: The Gallery Edition,” by Matthew Springer, Maria Fieth and Christian Lagarde, California State University, Office of the Chancellor, SkillsCommons
  • “COMM ePortfolio at Old Dominion University,” Alison M. Lietzenmayer, Gary A. Beck, Danielle Jackson and Carla Harrell, Old Dominion University
  • “Design4Online: Online Pedagogy Faculty Training Program,” by Amy Oberfoell, Dan Dao, Nina Kim, Susan Bailey and Isandra Martinez-Marrero, University of Iowa
  • “See It, Hear It, Feel It: Virtual Reality Immersive Learning,” Jaime Hannans, Colleen Nevins and Ben Hytrek, California State University Channel Islands
  • “Walden’s Social Change Skills Framework Intersecting with the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” by Dr. William C. Schulz and Dr. Lynn Wilson, Walden University

Read more about OLC Innovate 2019’s Keynote Speakers and Best-in-Track Sessions in this press release.

The second round of OLC’s 2019 Effective Practice Awards was presented at the OLC Accelerate 2019, that took place November 19-22, 2019 in Orlando:

  • “Concierge Support Model: Promoting Doctoral Student Success in an Online Program” – Lori Kupczynski, Professor; Sunddip Aguilar, Ed.D., Doctor of Education and Doctor of Health Sciences Program Director; Cindy Mathena, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Health Sciences, Interim Campus Director; Shannon Groff, Ph.D., Doctoral Advisor and Contributing Faculty; Frank Bennett, Academic Advisor; Kimberly Terrell, Post Professional Program Coordinator for Doctor of Education, Doctor of Health Science, and International Non-Degree Students; and Lindsay Rosenfeld, Senior Academic Program Assistant – University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.
  • “Instructor Presence: A Sustainable Practice for Improving Student Success, Retention, and Satisfaction in the Online Classroom” – Michelle Rosser-Majors, Ph.D., Program Chair; Sandra Rebeor, Psy.D., Associate Professor; Christine McMahon, D.H.Ed., Program Chair and Associate Professor; and Stephanie Anderson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor – Ashford University.
  • “Pathways to Math Success” – Gwendolyn Britton, Ph.D., Associate Vice President, STEM Professions; Mark Gruen, M.Ed., Associate Dean, STEM; and Jamie Holcomb, Associate Dean, First-Year Experience and Education – Southern New Hampshire University.
  • “Integrating Competency-Based Micro-Credentials into Stackable Graduate Degrees” – Rene Corbeil, Ed.D.,Professor, Educational Technology; and Maria Elena Corbeil, Ed.D., Associate Professor, Educational Technology – University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Read more about the recipients of the 2019 OLC Awards and the 2019 Bruce N. Chaloux Scholarship for Early Career Excellence being recognized at OLC Accelerate in November.

The winning practices were selected for recognition based on their ability to provide evidence of innovation and replicability. The OLC Effective Practice Awards selection committee members were:

  • Angela Gibson, Texas A&M University – Kingsville
  • James Brunton, Dublin City University, Ireland
  • Bucky Dodd, University of Central Oklahoma
  • Renee Aitken, Colorado State University Global Campus
  • Sedef Uzuner Smith, Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity

See previous years’ winners.