Dear Spalding Community,

We are excited for the start of the 2020-21 academic year and cannot wait to see our students again soon. The fall semester will continue Spalding’s rich tradition of innovative teaching and learning across multiple formats. While we are, of course, looking forward to the safe restart of in-person instruction on our campus, we are also continuing to grow and enhance our online course offerings. We are mindful of the important work our students, faculty and staff have been doing since March, when we transitioned to remote learning in a matter of 10 days.

Following last spring’s unprecedented movement of courses, information and people – including transitioning faculty, staff, and students to work from home – we wanted to review the important direction that Spalding University was moving, regarding teaching and learning, prior to the pandemic. We also want to discuss how those activities connect to the directions we are heading as we prepare for classes in fall 2020.

Several important educational outcomes have been realized at Spalding since early 2018 in the delivery of academic programs, courses and services. Here are some of the important developments that have taken place:

• Since February 2018, an intentional transition has been taking place to provide a broader ecosystem of course modalities and options for traditional and nontraditional learners at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  In 2018, a 14-person online taskforce of faculty and staff studied and recommended taking more programs online and providing more hybrid options as well. As a result, between Academic Year (AY) 2016-17 and AY 2019-20, undergraduate online and hybrid courses grew as a percentage of all courses from 16% to 24%, while master’s courses grew from 4% to 7%, and doctoral courses grew from 12% to 14%. Hence, online, hybrid, and remote learning options have been growing at Spalding and providing additional accessible platforms to complement face-to-face courses. More digital immersive options will be coming for Spalding students.

• In line with the vision of the 2018-19 Spalding online taskforce, the University has also linked its online courses and programs to an online program management organization, Symbiosis, that will build up to 20 new online courses for our faculty in AY 2020-21.  The University will utilize funds from the Higher Education Emergency Relief program (part of the CARES Act) in order to deliver new courses that will be connected to both hybrid and fully online programs. The Provost, Academic Deans and a number of faculty leaders are currently working with Symbiosis on identifying courses for development.

• All Spalding students have access to the internet, computers and technology aides, and Spalding’s staff in information technology and online learning have equipped our students with the tools they need to successfully complete their academic coursework. In August 2020, Chief Information Officer Ezra Krumhansl will unveil a new video conferencing platform for faculty and their students in classes: Office Suite HD Meeting. HD Meeting is a branded Zoom product that will allow both full-time and adjunct faculty access to video conferencing for both real-time instructional use in the classroom and one-on-one and group meetings with students. Additionally, HD Meeting has a classroom-style “breakout groups” feature that divides synchronous classes into breakout groups during the class session. CIO Krumhansl will announce HD Meeting training soon.

• The University has continued to invest in the latest tools and applications in regard to cutting- edge educational technology. This summer faculty and students got access to our new learning management system—Canvas. Not only is Canvas the higher education industry’s gold standard, but it provides a state-of-the-art mobile app for students that will allow them to access course content and communication quicker, easier and better.

• The University continues to invest in academic support services for undergraduate and graduate students with an excellent writing center and math lab and increased graduate assistant support for various faculty and staff units so both undergraduate and graduate students will be supported in their quest to become better students in their academic, personal, and leadership endeavors. Continuing to offer these services in a hyflex/hybrid online and in-person format in AY 2020-21 will be one of the goals of the student success area.

• Spalding continues to provide financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants and loans for both undergraduate and graduate students, and graduate assistantships provide $450,000 per year for approximately 75 graduate students. An increasing number of students will receive some form of financial aid in the coming year, making a high-quality Spalding degree affordable.

In March 2020, we were able to adapt not to a storm, but a climate shift in higher education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  With our commitment to the best in face-to-face and remote learning, Spalding is making 21st century education accessible and attainable for our students.  Each student is important at Spalding.  Our commitment is to allow students to have a highly individualized experience that is cutting-edge and academically rigorous and yields the outcomes that will help each student not only find intellectual satisfaction but apply the Spalding mission of “meeting the needs of the times.”

We look forward to serving you in the coming academic year!

Sincerely,

Dr. John Burden, Provost
Dr. Tomarra Adams, Dean of Undergraduate Education
Dr. Kurt Jefferson, Dean of Graduate Education

Through out my college career, I thought online classes were the worst, and I avoided them like the plague. Of course back then, I never knew that a pandemic would be the reason I would warm up to online classes.

COVID-19 has caused colleges across the country to shut down and turn to virtual learning in order for students to continue their education while keeping safe at the same time.

The decision to move all operations and classes online had some people uncomfortable, but Spalding University did everything it could, from paying work-study students regardless of them not being able to report to campus to work to granting a very small group of residential students permission to stay on campus to ensure those students’ needs were met.

INFORMATION | Spalding’s Healthy Together COVID-19 resource page
FROM PRESIDENT McCLURE | Classes to stay online through end of 2019-20 academic year
RELATED | How can you serve others during the pandemic? Here are some ideas

I am personally among the students who can’t go back home due to both distance and travel restrictions, and I am grateful that not only can I stay on campus, but also that the students are provided dining to last them for the week.

When online classes started last month, I quickly realized that I can now do my homework ahead of time, dressed in my pajamas with tangled hair. While I wasn’t in a physical classroom, talking to people face to face, I was engaging online. The classes encouraged us to share our opinions and everyday news, as well as comment on our classmates’ posts.

I have had the pleasure of sharing ideas with people I wouldn’t have in a face-to-face class, in addition to working together with them on projects.

My professors are also understanding of the toll and pressure this takes on all students. They are making sure that all students understand the assignments while being aware that their instructors are only an email away. Personally, I have emailed my professors multiple times – to the point where I thought of myself as a nuisance. But I was assured that I should not ever think that. It was OK to inquire about the simplest assignments so that I fully understand them.

Though I once disliked the idea of them, I can confidently say that I will be taking online classes in the future after this experience.