Why digital immersion faculty matter

Did you know that ASU Online offers 175+ programs in digital immersion? Approximately 70 of those unique offerings are in the space of graduate education. The most popular offerings will probably not surprise you — Applied Behavior Analysis out of Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, the Master of Social Work out of Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and rounding out the top three, the MBA out of the W. P. Carey School of Business.  Many of the top enrolling programs have something in common — they are in high demand markets and lead to job growth, promotion or some tangible outcome for the student.  

Today, most education providers are moving more and more toward online learning to help support and sustain demand. Students require higher levels of education to build, maintain, and more often than not, reposition their career. Therefore, it’s becoming increasingly important for ASU to continue to determine how new programs can meet the needs of these learners. Finding new opportunities in a rapidly changing world can be a struggle and one that some of the greatest minds are working to resolve in their roles as faculty in the academic units. New program selection is many times an art and a science. While, relying on EdPlus to find and leverage data sets program managers must also understand that the nature of academic learning is, in many cases, to create the change that we hope to see in new areas of thought leadership and business growth. It is by leveraging both of these inputs that we can better determine which programs will be most useful and provide the best and brightest outcomes for our students — whatever their motivation.

EdPlus partners with academic units to consistently work toward a better understanding of what students want by providing information on trends, market viability, inputs on scale, structures and digital immersion best practices. The key component that makes ASU singularly capable of providing the best graduate digital immersion student experience is the strength of the buy-in, input and support of graduate faculty. Faculty work to bridge the balance between traditional education and digital immersion and help each entity grow and learn from the other. They partner to help us understand the unique demands of the academy while balancing the trends of business, non-profit and government sectors.

More than ever, ASU Online has a unique opportunity to attract a broader audience of learners, and graduate school is no exception. We dwell in a culture of immediacy where students want to apply what they learn in practical ways to grow professionally and effect change in their organizations. The world faces increasingly complex challenges that require highly specialized personnel to seek solutions whether through research or industry. Offering a well-rounded suite of graduate programs, that represent a variety of disciplines, allows us to meet this need. We can lead the charge by creating pathways for students who possess the necessary skills to be successful in graduate school, but have experienced challenges or gaps in their academic journey.

EdPlus hopes to partner with faculty and implement the right formula to uphold the ASU brand and utmost quality in the classroom while providing access to students from all walks of life and helping them pursue their dreams through graduate education.