Online education programs offer flexibility

St. Scholastica, UWS programs keep an eye on the future of education

By Andrea Novel Buck

When Terry Gilbert decided to pursue a Master of Education degree online through the College of St. Scholastica, the full-time teacher, wife and mother knew getting everything done would be a challenge.

“I couldn’t have done it, if it wasn’t online,” she said, noting that element gave her the flexibility she needed to do her coursework at night or other times it fit into her schedule.

She often worked across the dining room table from her daughter Jillayne, an exercise physiology major who started as a junior at CSS the very same day Terry did. “I would ask her a question … we would proofread each other’s papers.”

Mother and daughter crossed the stage to pick up their degrees at the college’s spring commencement this May.

Both CSS and the University of Wisconsin offer graduate education programs that are fully online. The programs were ranked 89th and 214th, respectively, as Best Online Graduate Education programs by U.S. World & News Report this year.

At CSS, students pursue a Master of Education degree and can earn additional certificates in education technology, literacy instruction, computer science, or culturally responsive practice as part of the program. At UWS, students pursue one of four Master of Science in Education degrees: educational administration, instruction, special education, or educational administration – superintendent/district administrator.

At CSS, tuition is $14,100 for a 33-credit program; at UWS, tuition is $14,400 for a 30-credit program. Enrollment is flexible at both schools, with students entering at the start of any of the three terms at CSS or six terms at UWS. The degree can be completed in two years at CSS, or 12 to 18 months at UWS.

Both programs are growing. CSS went fully online in 2011, graduating an initial cohort of 10. On average, 80 to 85 students enroll in the program over the course of a school year. UWS went fully online in 2017. It graduated its first 70 “purely online” students this spring. And while most students are from Minnesota, Wisconsin or the midwest, the two programs are beginning to draw students from across the U.S.

“Busy working professionals need an option to advance their education. On- the-ground doesn’t work for everyone,” said Amy Bergstrom, director of the Master of Education Program at CSS.

“The whole tenet of the online program is to give students the freedom to attend the program when it’s convenient,” said Wendy Kropid, Interim Assistant Dean of Educator Preparation Programs at UWS.

And while students may have concerns about navigating the

Continued on page 20 technology, by far, most questions surround how they are going to balance work and life, said Lindsay Schall, interim executive director for Graduate and Extended Campuses at CSS.

Online education has evolved dramatically since the 1980s when students could log in to hear a professor’s recorded lectures or access lesson materials. Even discussion boards where students can ask questions, post comments and respond to other students’ comments have evolved.

Kropid and Bergstrom talk fluidly about Zoom, a remote conferencing program, VoiceThread, a collaborative multimedia slideshow program, Flipgrid, an online message board for teachers and students, even Twitter.

“We use technology to bring our students together synchronously,” Bergstrom said. CSS uses a cohort model, with groups of 22 students beginning and ending the program together. The students also get the opportunity to meet other Master of Education students when they break off into their certificate fields or interests of study.

“I loved having classes with the same people. You did get to know them more through their work, discussions and questions,” said Gilbert who had a selfie taken with some of her cohort during graduation. “You do forge some friendships.”

Gilbert, who has taught math, science and reading at Hermantown Middle School, needed a master’s degree for promotion and wanted to learn more current education research and ideas on teaching.

“The learning was fascinating,” she said, though she wished she’d had more time to devote to it. “I like to have time to think about things, to read and ponder. I’d find myself pondering as I’d drive — how does this relate to my students?”

She put the knowledge she gained to use in her classroom

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right from the start. She had her math students create Google slides instead of taking notes, an idea from her 21st Century Technologies for Teaching class. She took to heart lessons from her Data Drive Classroom Assessment class, building her teaching units around what she most wanted her students to learn.

A couple weeks after graduation, Gilbert reflected on the experience. “I can’t believe it,” she said. “I never dreamed I would pursue a master’s degree in the first place.”

Noting she was never a “B” student, Gilbert rued not having enough time to do everything well. “There were times it seemed like an awful big bite to chew,” she said. When she told her husband that she was going to pursue getting her master’s degree, he joked that he’d see her in two years. Sometimes it felt like that.

But she’s glad she did it. “The instructors and the professors were excellent. The learning was amazing. It’s just a very highquality program and well worth the time spent.” D