BOSTON (PRWEB) December 03, 2019 -- The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) today announced registration is now open for the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL) 2020 program. Entering its 12th year, IELOL is a unique leadership development program designed for those in positioned-for-senior-leadership roles, with responsibilities related to online or digital learning initiatives, or senior leaders who have recently taken on responsibility for digital learning programs and initiatives.
“The goal of IELOL is to close the leadership gap in online education,” said Jennifer Mathes, Ph.D., Interim CEO of the Online Learning Consortium. “For this reason, IELOL focuses on developing emerging leaders responsible for a variety of online learning initiatives in higher education. Assignments are directed toward helping participants become visible as leaders in their institutions, and raising their awareness of the specific institutional challenges and issues their institutions face.”
The IELOL program aims to develop leadership competencies such as self-awareness, adaptability, learning agility, boundary spanning, collaboration and network thinking. More than 350 emerging leaders have successfully completed the IELOL program since it first launched in 2009. Up to 60 participants are accepted for each annual cohort, drawn from a wide and diverse field of institutional types, including for-profits, nonprofits, community colleges, military educational services, religious affiliated institutions, privates, and publics from small institutions to large, consortia and systems.
Blended-Learning Format Includes On-Campus Experience at UCF
IELOL is a four-part annual program that runs from mid-July to mid-November, and requires a variety of individual, group, and team project work, including a team-based case study. The blended learning format includes an immersion experience held in August, on the campus of IELOL’s current academic partner, the University of Central Florida, a thriving preeminent research university located in metropolitan Orlando.
“After completing the program, IELOL alumni are better positioned to recognize and seize institutional opportunities for leadership in online education,” said Thomas B. Cavanagh, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Digital Learning, University of Central Florida. “UCF is excited to serve as OLC’s academic partner for the second consecutive year for this important program.”
A post-immersion project allows IELOL participants an opportunity to plan an institution-specific project that will showcase their leadership. The program culminates with the IELOL Masters Class, a pre-conference workshop held in conjunction with the OLC Accelerate 2020 conference, which takes place Nov. 17-20, 2020, in Orlando, Florida.
“IELOL was a transformative experience that I will highly value for the remainder of my career,” said Sarah Lee, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Programs, Abilene Christian University. “The IELOL experience is crafted to catapult emerging leaders. I especially appreciated the sessions on communication and emotional intelligence. All of the sessions gave me practical advice that I can implement today.”
Distinguished Faculty
The IELOL program maintains a fresh perspective year over year with a rotating group of faculty comprised of distinguished online learning leaders. Faculty for the 2020 IELOL cohort are:
- Luke Dowden, Ed.D., Chief Online Learning Officer and Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Alamo Colleges District
- Amanda Major, Ed.D., CPLP, PMP, Online Learning Organizational Development and Project Management Specialist, University of Central Florida
- Karen Pedersen, Ph.D., Dean for Global Campus, Kansas State University
- Russ Poulin, Vice President of Technology-Enhanced Education for the WICHE and Executive Director of the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET)
- Jason Rhode, Ph.D., Executive Director of Extended Learning, Northern Illinois University
- J. Garvey Pyke, Ed.D., Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, University of North Carolina Charlotte
Applications for IELOL 2020 are accepted on a rolling admissions cycle, now through April 10, 2020. OLC is offering an early admission discount for applications completed before Jan. 27, 2020. Details are available online at https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/learn/ielol/.
About Online Learning Consortium
The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) is a collaborative community of higher education leaders and innovators, dedicated to advancing quality digital teaching and learning experiences designed to reach and engage the modern learner – anyone, anywhere, anytime. OLC inspires innovation and quality through an extensive set of resources, including best-practice publications, quality benchmarking, leading-edge instruction, community-driven conferences, practitioner-based and empirical research and expert guidance. The growing OLC community includes faculty members, administrators, trainers, instructional designers, and other learning professionals, as well as educational institutions, professional societies and corporate enterprises. Visit http://onlinelearningconsortium.org for more information.
Eileen Pacheco, For the Online Learning Consortium, http://onlinelearningconsortium.org, 508-254-1440, [email protected]
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