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SPS Faculty Award Winners Share Student Engagement Strategies
The recent All-Faculty Meeting recognized Lisa-Ann Barnes, who won the Distance Learning Innovation in Online Course Design Award, and this year’s Distinguished Teaching Award Winners: Kimberly Pusateri (Undergraduate Programs), Mac Steele (Professional Development Programs), and Amul Chapla (Graduate Programs). Each award recipient shared their thoughts on student engagement, highlighting practical strategies on varied parts of the classroom…
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Student Insights, Research Inform Christine Fiorite’s Engagement Recommendations
As SPS’s Assistant Director for English Language Support and Academic Skills, Christine Fiorite works with students in accelerated master’s programs based on the Chicago campus. She meets with students one-on-one and in small groups to support academic reading and writing, presentation skills, and class participation.…
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Spotlight on Microdentials with ScrumAlliance®
For several months, the Office of Distance Learning has been hard at work designing a series of microcredential courses in partnership with ScrumAlliance®. These courses were built through ongoing collaboration, steady feedback loops, and a shared commitment to creating something that’s both practical and rooted in real-world experience. …
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New and Improved SPS Distance Learning Website
We are pleased to announce the launch of our redesigned SPS Distance Learning website! This extensive update is the culmination of our efforts to create a more useful, user-friendly, and accessible online resource for our faculty and staff. Purpose of this Update Our primary goal with this redesign was to improve the user experience and…
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Authenticity on Camera: Exemplary Instructor Introduction Videos
In fully online courses, instructor presence is built through meaningful interactions—such as guiding discussions and providing timely, personalized feedback on assignments. These practices help students feel supported and connected. A well-crafted introduction video complements these efforts by humanizing the course experience.…
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Where Course Design Begins: Aligning Program Goals with Industry and Impact
When students enroll in our programs, we know they’re looking for courses that provide a balance between theory and practice. That’s why, when we develop new programs or revisit existing ones, we start with one essential question: What do professionals in this field need right now…and tomorrow?…
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From Capstone to Commencement
Not Every Course is Transformative We often use the word transformative for things that are probably less than that. However, after teaching the capstone course in the Information, Design, and Strategy (IDS) department of Northwestern’s School of Professional Studies (SPS) for the past five years, I can honestly say that I witness student transformation regularly…
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Highlights of TEACHx 2025: AI-Powered Learning, Accessibility, and Storytelling
Several members of the Distance Learning Team attended TEACHx 2025 on May 21st and 22nd. The conference, presented by Northwestern IT’s Teaching and Learning Technology Team, showcased innovative approaches to higher education instruction and student support. As in previous years, the conference was informative, thought-provoking, and very well run.…
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The Student Worker Experience with DL
By: Nathan Hiykel (Bachelor’s in Theatre & Cognitive Science with Certificates in Musical Theatre and Human-Computer Interaction, Class of 2025) In February 2023, I started my work-study position as the course development/digital accessibility aide for the Distance Learning (DL) department at the Northwestern School of Professional Studies.…
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Unchecked Bias and Leadership
This is the first in a series of posts from the author on the topic of leadership. What is bias? How do we navigate the professional sphere where bias exists? How does bias manifest in leadership? What do we do about the negative effects of bias?…