Texas Border Business
McALLEN, Texas – More than five years in the making, South Texas College Digital Learning has become the only online program in the state of Texas to earn an “Exemplary Program” designation indicating the highest level of achievement for all its online courses.
The designation awarded by Quality Matters, an international leader for quality assurance in online and digital environments, came about through a significant college-wide effort where STC met rigorous standards of online course design, instructional quality and learner outcomes.
Rachel Sale, Ph.D., STC dean of Digital Learning, said the process was a five-year effort that started when the program was looking for ways to accommodate students in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This actually began in the spring of 2020 when we started redesigning classes due to the pandemic lockdown. We had to look at the way we garnered feedback from our users and track that…but then the second step of the certification went beyond supporting learners, but how do we support faculty,” Sale said. “I believe our entire campus community pulled together, which indicates a true commitment to continual improvement across the campus and proves without a doubt that we earned this certification,”
The Exemplary Program designation acknowledges STC’s excellence in all its online programs, essentially grading the college through an intensive peer-reviewed process in four key areas including online program design, online teaching support, online learner support and online learner success by Quality Matters.
“Another part about the Quality Matters certification process is that it is not done by an administrator in an office somewhere, it is performed by working professionals in the field. The people who were looking at the data were people that work in those fields so they could recognize what is everyday business and what’s going above and beyond to a level of excellence,” Sale said.
The designation comes as STC’s Digital Learning department holds its annual Symposium “Transforming Learning in the Evolving Digital Age” Jan. 28-31.
The Symposium, which brings together educators and staff with experts from across the nation, concludes Jan. 31 with an in-person event featuring keynote speaker Justin Louder, Ed.D., associate vice president for Academic Innovation at Anthology Inc., who will present on the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create dynamic learning environments.
“The biggest thing out of having earned this award is that we worked hard for it,” Sale said. “But it’s not just us. We recognize we are part of a wonderful, supportive community and this signifies that we have gone beyond barriers to create a common approach to create graduates. This should be evidence to them that we are committed to make our online students just as much a part of STC as the ones that are on campus every day.”
STC president Ricardo J. Solis, Ph.D., said this distinction is an example of campus unity and the college’s innovative approaches to make learning accessible for all.
“Together we are fulfilling our mission to those students who have opted to earn their degrees in a virtual setting while doing everything we can to ensure our programs remain world-class,” Solis said. “This designation confirms that the college is well-equipped to meet the challenges of technology in the years and even decades to come.”
For more information on the Digital Learning Symposium visit www.southtexascollege.edu/info/symposium/.
