This story appeared in the Spring 2023 issue of Onyx Anneau.
By Elizabeth Reel ’21, Content Marketing Manager
For half of a century, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College has offered immersive and enriching educational experiences for students who could not take part in the full campus experience. Being a leader in distance education, the College expanded its success after changing the program’s name from Woods External Degree (WED) to Woods Online (WOL) in 2011. Through a number of transitions and changes, Woods Online has evolved into the robust program that the College offers today.
As a pioneer in distance education, SMWC found that switching to an online format would be the best overall fit for students who had concerns about the residency requirements. “More students requested not to have to come to campus.
Also, more online programs were being offered nationwide, and we needed to stay competitive,” said Gwen Hagemeyer ’09G, director of the WED program from 2008 until 2013. “We wanted to maintain our personal connections with students in a fully online environment.”
Several students were inspired as the College proceeded with the new format for Woods Online. “I chose WOL because of the flexibility to work full-time and still pursue my education while being available for my family’s needs,” said Jamie Carman, ’16. “It allowed me to learn in my own environment, which was convenient as a working mother.” Carman continued with her Woods education and will receive her Master of Leadership Development this May.
The transition to fully online needed to incorporate characteristics of the residency program, so the administration was very intentional with the program’s direction. “WED was all about personal relationships, so it was vital to carry that high-touch approach into the new Woods Online program. Our faculty continue to have the student-centered approach,” shared Sara Boyer ’02, ‘13G, executive director of student success.
In 2017, the College transitioned all online classes to eight-week formats. Boyer explained that this format makes it easier for the College’s professional advisors and students to project a path to graduation. “Our professional advisors focus on the students and their goals by asking questions and learning about them. This allows them to create a feasible course timeline to fit a student’s life.”
Although the program has evolved through the years, Woods Online and the campus program remain transfer-friendly to students with previous college credits. WOL also offers students with real-world skills opportunities to earn credit for courses by presenting portfolios through Prior Learning Assessments (PLA) or by taking College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests. “These assessments and programs really allow students to get credit for their experiences,” Boyer said.
As the world was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, SMWC created a task force that oversaw sending the students home in March of 2020 for the remainder of the semester. “The task force was very intentional and comfortable about the decision to move online. The College was already utilizing the learning management system with students in our campus program to post syllabi, class resources and to turn in their assignments. Our comfort level in our Woods Online Program truly assisted everyone in this emergency transition to give students a positive classroom experience for the remainder of their school year when other institutions may have struggled,” said Janet Clark, Ph.D., provost and vice president of academic affairs.
Although the pandemic presented many challenges to higher education institutions, SMWC was able to offer students final letter grades in May 2020, whereas other institutions had to use a “pass” or “fail” system. Boyer shared, “We met with representatives from our online learning platform, D2L Brightspace, for several weeks and from the beginning, we were told that we were ahead of the curve. We weathered COVID-19 better academically than we could have imagined, and we owe a lot of that to the solid foundation created through Woods Online.”
This year, Woods Online had a boost to its enrollment for Spring 2022-23. Much of the growth is owed to offering the new Paramedic Science to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (PM to BSN) Program – just one of two programs in the country. In addition to the unique programs of WOL, the Music Therapy Equivalency Distance (MTED) program is the only program of its type offered in the United States and continues to drive strong enrollments in WOL.
Woods Online offers options for 21 bachelor’s degrees, three associate degrees, seven graduate degrees, three certificates and five licensures. There are also 17 minor choices to pair with degrees.
As the College celebrates 50 years of leading distance education, it serves as a reminder that SMWC continues to make strides for the future. “The Women’s External Degree program was created to meet the needs of our society in 1973. Its mission has never changed! Woods Online continues to provide access to a world-class education to students with no geographic or time barriers. Grounded in a liberal arts core, the courses are designed and taught by full-time faculty members of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College,” said President Dottie L. King, Ph.D.
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