PBSC faculty receive nationally recognized credential in online teaching

More than 90 Palm Beach State College faculty members have received a nationally recognized teaching credential co-endorsed by the Association of College and University Educators and the American Council on Education.

“My classes prepared me for a career in fashion and my overall experience at Lynn was really encouraging,” said Uranga. “Lynn is a very diverse university. I always felt safe and respected, and I still keep in touch with many of the people I met there. I have overcome many obstacles in my life and getting my bachelor’s degree at Lynn was one of my greatest accomplishments.”

Lolita’s Beachwear was open for several years before Uranga embarked on a new journey in Washington, D.C. During this time, Uranga’s sister encouraged her to reinvent herself in novel ways that would challenge her and benefit her in the long run.

“I used to hide my condition on social media,” said Uranga. “Now, I realize sharing my experience not only benefits me, but others like me.”

After venturing out on her own and garnering new and interesting experiences, she returned home to Palm Beach, Florida. Today, Uranga is proud to be a professional social media manager and a disability advocate. She shares her journey and dayto-day life on Instagram and TikTok under the username @JustCPNotSpecial—a handle inspired by the notion that, while she’s different, there’s no need for special treatment.

“Hving CP has never stopped me from going after what I want,” said Uranga. “It has made the journey and ‘how to’ a little longer, and maybe more challenging—but I’ve always been determined. Now, with my social media accounts, I get messages from followers saying I motivate and inspire them. It’s truly rewarding.”

In her social media videos, she celebrates her life and the activities she loves, including Pilates and bike rides. Uranga also brings awareness to CP by sharing what it’s like for her to accomplish everyday tasks—in some of her videos she adjusts clothing to fit her condition. For example, buttons are a challenge, so she turns them into clips. Uranga hopes future fashion designers keep individuals with disorders in mind when designing clothing.

Uranga’s advice to anyone with a dream? “Trust your gut and follow your heart. You may need to put in a lot of work to achieve your goals, but it’s always worth it.”

The credential was awarded after faculty completed the Effective Online Teaching Practices 25-module course, where they learned evidence-based teaching practices proven to improve student achievement and close equity gaps. Aligned with research in cognition and adult learning, the ACUE course covers how to design an effective online course, establish a productive learning environment, use active learning techniques, promote higher order thinking and utilize assessments to inform instruction and promote learning. The course requires faculty to implement the teaching practices within their PBSC courses.

PBSC will celebrate the inaugural group at a pinning ceremony at 12:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 27, in the Public Safety Training Center (Room 108) on the Lake Worth campus.

“More students are taking online course than ever before. We’ve seen a shift, and the shift is permanent,’’ said Roger Yohe, vice president of academic innovation and strategy. “Palm Beach State is responding by supporting its faculty with this certification. We have to keep our emphasis on quality because students expect more today with online education.”

Yohe said 268 full-time and part-time faculty teach fully online, and the goal is for all of them to obtain the credential. Nearly 60% of PBSC’s course enrollments this term are for traditional online and live online classes.

Robb Erwin, faculty development manager, reports that the credential recipients represent all PBSC campuses, all faculty ranks, and a broad cross-section of academic disciplines.