Future Forward Exemplar

Future Forward Exemplars: Westminster College

Westminster College is a liberal arts college in Salt Lake City, Utah. They offer degrees in the modes of in-person and online education. Their online education program offers innovative contact between the student and an assigned faculty mentor. The faculty mentor advises, supports, and challenges the student to move “beyond the curriculum in ways that are most relevant to [the student’s] interests and aspirations” (Why Westminster, 2019, para. 2). I chose to explore this school because of my belief that a strong mentoring program can assist students in gaining a degree.

Degree Programs

            This online component has four degree programs including a Bachelor of Business Administration, Master of Strategic Communication, Master of Business Administration, and RN to BS in nursing. While two of the programs are common for online education, strategic communication and nursing have not traditionally been offered by schools as an online option. The nursing program allows the student to choose the method of delivery that works for them. A student could choose online or in-person courses. The degree is completed in three semesters, which emphasizes the benefit of finishing quickly (RN to BS in Nursing, 2019). Bowen (2013) purported that restructuring degrees into shorter periods assists students in gaining the knowledge essential to the career path while being cost effective.

E-Mentoring

Westminster’s mentoring of their online students constitutes an innovative method of engagement. The student benefits from this continuous development throughout their educational experience. According to Akin and Hilbun (2007), mentoring assists through the passage of knowledge and experience from a skilled faculty mentor to a student. E-mentoring is a powerful tool by allowing mentoring to happen at the convenience of both individuals by giving freedom in place and time. Westminster has also answered some of the drawbacks mentioned by Akin and Hilbun (2007) through creating structure, institutional support, and electronic means of engaging faculty and students (Why Westminster, 2019).

A similar program is Louisiana State University’s Student Creative Communication Teams. These teams work on a presentation with faculty and staff on their TEDx day. By engaging with faculty in this innovative way, students are more likely to be academically connected to the university (Burdette, Galeucia, Liggett, and Thompson, 2016). According to Burdette et al. (2016), the additional engagement of community leaders has enhanced student learning to use their skills to work on real world experiences. Westminster would benefit from adding community leaders to their mentoring.

Real World Problems

            These programs are also innovative because they use real world problems to teach students content information (Why Westminster, 2019). Ganeshi and Smith (2017) studied curriculum redesign at California State University where students were attrition rates were high. The faculty revamped the curriculum to include real world problems within course learning. Students improved their learning outcomes and academic success in this redesign. Westminster, by using real world problems, has increased a student’s ability to utilize learning in real world experiences, increasing academic engagement and success (Ganeshi & Smith, 2017).

Conclusion

            Through using online education, high-impact practices, and mentoring with faculty, Westminster College has created an innovative online program. Bowen (2013) mentioned a problem with these programs is the lack of loyalty of students. Westminster has addressed that issue through structuring their program to maximize personal engagement through cutting edge curriculum.

References

Akin, L. & Hilbun, J. (2007). E-mentoring in three voices. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration. Retrieved from https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring101/akin101.htm.

Bowen, W. G. (2013). Higher education in the digital age. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Burdette, R., Galeucia, A., Liggett, S., & Thompson, M. (2016). The TEDxLSU student creative communication team: Integrating high-impact practices to increase engagement, facilitate deep learning, and advance communication skills. Across the Disciplines, 13(4), 1-10.

Ganeshi, C. & Smith, J. (2017). Using multiple high-impact practices to improve student learning in an undergraduate health science program. Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 17(2), 74-84.

RN to BS in Nursing. (2019). Programs [Web page]. Retrieved from https://www.westminstercollege.edu/online/programs/rn-to-bs-in-nursing.

Why Westminster. (2019). Westminster College [Web page]. Retrieved from https://www.westminstercollege.edu/online/why-westminster.