Amber Vaill to Present at Post University
09.16.2010
Providing support to online students is essential for their success. Bay Path Online, Bay Path College’s distance learning center, understands the need to supply students with the appropriate tools to thrive in online classrooms. Bay Path’s Director of Distributed Learning Amber Vaill, MEd, ’99, will share her experiences as she presents Integrated IT and Academic Support Services for Online Learners at Post University’s Shaping the Future: New Possibilities for Online Learning in Waterbury, Conn. on September 17.
Vaill will discuss how a dedicated Online Student Support Coordinator provides integrated information technology and academic support services for online learners and successfully prepares students for the challenges and rewards of online education. Her presentation focuses on the fact that Bay Path provides both academic and information technology support to online students through a central office on its Longmeadow Campus. The Center for Distributed Learning (CDL) staffs an Online Student Support Coordinator who provides these services to students. The Coordinator serves as the online students’ first point of contact at the College and provides support for academic and technical issues and addresses other concerns, such as who to contact regarding financial aid, registering for online courses, etc.
According to Vaill, the Coordinator facilitates a required orientation course for Bay Path’s online students. Designed to prepare students to use the learning management system and provide information and strategies for being successful online learners, the course introduces students to the Coordinator, who immediately builds a connection with the online-student population. Throughout an online student’s enrollment, the Coordinator provides technology support, course navigation assistance, and online learning strategies, becoming a partner in an online student’s educational journey.
For more information on Shaping the Future: New Possibilities for Online Learning, visit http://www.post.edu/shapingthefuture/.
