Bay Path University

"Engagement is one of the pillars in online learning. In a thoughtfully built online course, the interactions between student and student and student and faculty member are at the core of the experience." Peter Testori, associate dean of Learning Resources & Academic Support Services and assistant coordinator of Title IX. THE ONLINE LEARNING SPACE For years, online learning was one of the most contentious areas of debate in the academic world. Each side had its advocates and detractors. For some educators, nothing could replace the in-class experience. Online learning was neither vigorous nor robust. For others, the virtual space allowed them as faculty to connect with students in new and surprisingly profound ways. Moreover, online learning was flexible and adaptable, reaching more students who would not be able to follow the traditional avenues for earning a college degree. Then, COVID-19 changed everything. Midway through the 2020 spring semester, colleges and universities across the country migrated to the online platform, not in months but in days and weeks. There was no choice. A recent survey study (released April 2020) conducted by Bay View Analytics (formerly the Babson Survey Research Group) asked 826 higher education faculty and administrators across 641 institutions within the United States about their transition to emergency online learning. The results were insightful: • 97 percent of institutions moving classes online had to call on faculty with no previous online teaching experience. • 50 percent of institutions had at least some faculty with online teaching experience. More importantly, one-third of colleges and universities nationally had offered no or few online courses before the crisis. Many were ill prepared for the challenges brought on by the pandemic, not to mention the future. No wonder students, families, and others were questioning the state of higher education. AT BAY PATH, WE OWN THIS SPACE If Bay View Analytics had asked Bay Path about our experiences in the online learning transition, we would have provided far different answers. For years, Bay Path has been offering graduate degrees completely online, and The American Women's College developed the Social Online Universal Learning platform, a learning system that has earned accolades for thoughtfully and 14 Bay Pathway Spring/Summer 2020 WE OWN THIS SPACE. Before COVID-19, big changes were anticipated for the world of higher education. Don't look now—they are already here, particularly in the area of online learning.

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