Faculty Newsletter from MTSU Online
MTSU ranked prominently in Forbes’ list of Best Online Colleges in Tennessee.
WELCOME BACK
Dear MTSU faculty,
We are so pleased to serve the faculty working in the online environment. Online enrollment (student credit hours) is at an all-time high, with over 2700 fully online students, plus an additional more than 7,500 partially online students. More than 13% of MTSU students are fully online. And over half of all MTSU students took at least one online course this past year. Online credit hour production and enrollment were again at all-time highs and have increased for several consecutive years. Over 26% of all student credit hours last year were from online courses, including 61% of summer credit hours.
In the past 12 months we have added 18 new fully online programs, and now have a total of 69 fully online degrees, certificates, and concentrations.
This past year MTSU Online funded 28 full time temporary (FTT) instructors for 19 departments across the university. These instructors are trained in online teaching and give significant help to departments who are serving online students.
We support faculty through a range of services including course design help, faculty training workshops, individual consultations, and extensive web-based resources.
Our instructional designers (IDs) are key resources for faculty as they develop and deliver engaging learning environments. This year our IDs helped design over 80 new online courses and redesign an additional 60+ courses. MTSU now has a portfolio of over 800 well-designed online courses to contribute to student access and success.
In terms of student support, MTSU Online provides personal assistance to hundreds of students via phone, email, and videoconference meetings. Live and online tutoring is a popular service we offer, as well as advising help, counseling services, and help navigating the online course environment.
MTSU Online is now housed administratively in the Office of the Provost, which positions us to work strategically with each college and department. We look forward to serving you this year!
Respectfully,
Trey Martindale
Professor and Associate Vice Provost for Online Learning
Introducing Two New Virtual Series
TEACHING ‘N’ TECHNOLOGY SERIES & WEBINAR WEDNESDAYS
Each semester, MTSU Online collaborates with the LT&ITC to host virtual workshops with an online focus. This year, we are happy to announce that MTSU Online is partnering with them to create two new series that complement LT&ITC offerings: Teaching ‘n’ Technology (TNT) Tuesdays and Webinar Wednesdays. You can register for any of these workshops by going to the LT&ITC Program Calendar.
Teaching ‘n’ Technology (TNT) Series (Tuesdays): This workshop series offers practical guidance on integrating technology into your courses. These short, 30-minute workshops*** combine hands-on demonstrations and information on effective strategies for enhancing student learning.
Webinar Wednesdays: MTSU Online is excited to offer 90-minute informative sessions covering a wide range of topics, from using D2L and other tools to instructional strategies featuring practical application of theoretical concepts. Some hands-on demonstrations may be included.
All MTSU Online workshops listed are virtual, recorded, and posted on our MTSU Online YouTube Channel. We hope you will subscribe!
FALL 2024 EVENTS
***Three (3) in the TNT series are 1-hour sessions: the first, midpoint, and last. They have been notated with asterisks. If you have any questions about the fall sessions, email either [email protected] or [email protected].
Staff Presentations at National Conferences
Several of our MTSU Online team members are representing MTSU at the following events and professional organizations. We are committed to professional development and continuous improvement in the pursuit of online teaching and learning excellence.
Tara Perrin has been selected to present this November at QM Connect in Chicago, a Quality Matters® (QM) event. QM “is the global organization leading quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments.” They aim to “promote and improve the quality of online education and student learning nationally and internationally…” by relying on the core principles of “continuous [improvement], [student] centered, [respectful expertise] collegial, and [sharing better practices] collaborative”. The QM Connect conference is dedicated to empowering learners and enabling their potential through quality assurance by sharing innovative research, best practices, or insights on how quality assurance can enhance teaching and learning practices and outcomes. The conference theme is “The ways in which quality assurance can enhance your educational practice — and the outcomes your learners experience.” Ms. Perrin’s presentation is titled: The ID-SME Team: Using Asynchronous Collaboration to Save Time Without Sacrificing Quality. Congratulations on being selected!
Dr. Karen Hein has been selected to present two sessions in mid-November at the OLC Accelerate conference in Orlando, FL, an Online Learning Consortium (OLC) event. OLC is a “global community of education and learning professionals, dedicated to providing resources to leaders, teachers, faculty, staff, and other learning professionals in higher education, K-12, and corporate organizations.” The OLC Accelerate conference showcases groundbreaking research and highly effective online, blended, and digital learning practices. The conference theme is “30 Years of Magic: Envisioning a New Era of Digital Learning.” Dr. Hein’s first event is an Engagement Session titled Publication Pearls; the second is a Gamified Session titled RSI Fusion: Quest for Engagement. Congratulations on being selected!
This summer, our newest Instructional Designer – Hangmin Zhang attended the D2L Fusion Conference held in Toronto, Canada to learn more out our Learning Management System and its capabilities. She also created an on-demand session on how to create interactive and authentic learning experiences using D2L and H5P features, based on the principles of Gamification in online learning environments. While there she attended several sessions to expand her knowledge on online best practices, pedagogical decision-making, and faculty strategies for using D2L most effectively and efficiently. We appreciate her for representing MTSU Online proudly.
Trey Martindale will give two refereed presentations in October at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) international convention in Kansas City, Missouri. AECT is the flagship international association whose mission is “Leading the global study and application of new technologies for learning.” AECT comprises professionals from instructional design and technology, representing over 2400 scholars from 29 countries. Trey’s two presentations are:
- New Regulations Affect How We Teach & Administer Online Courses & Programs: What Should We Do?
- Educating Faculty and Senior Administrators About How Online Learning Really Works in Higher Education
Trey is giving an invited presentation at the Illinois Online Higher Education Symposium in November. His presentation is:
- How to Balance New Distance Education Regulations with Quality Online Teaching
Staff Spotlight
We are excited to announce the addition of two members to the MTSU Online team. RaeAnne Pardue is our new administrative assistant, and we already appreciate the positivity and excitement she brings to our department. She will play a vital part in that expansion as we continue to grow, helping us stay connected, organized, and efficient. Learn more about her in our Staff Spotlight section.
David Babb has joined us from the University of North Georgia (UNG) as MTSU Online Director of Operations. As the former director of UNG, in conjunction with his two decades of experience in online education, we are excited that he has returned to his home state to help lead MTSU Online to our next level of excellence. Read more about him in the Staff Spotlight Section.
David Babb
David Babb joins the MTSU Online team as our new Director of Operations, and he’s hit the ground running! David brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his latest leadership role, having served as an Online and Distance Learning Instructor and administrator for over 20 years, most recently for the University of North Georgia. During his downtime, David enjoys creating art, whether studio-style art or something more earthy like ceramics or metalsmithing, as well as discovering the changes and growth in Tennessee over the years. He can certainly attest that much has changed! We look forward to his contributions to MTSU and the MTSU Online team for years to come.
RaeAnne Pardue
RaeAnne Pardue joins the MTSU Online team as our Administrative Assistant, and she’s passionate about people and supporting our Online students, faculty, and staff. She and her husband, Michael, have been married for 20 years, and they have three children. Caleb will be graduating from South College’s PA school this December, and he will be getting married next year. Caroline is a MTSU True Blue freshman this year, and she will be majoring in Exercise Science and will be on the Women’s Golf Team. Catelyn is an 8th grader at Providence Christian Academy, and she enjoys cheerleading. Life is busy, but it is good.
