GREENEVILLE – Moving from high school to college is a multifaceted change for students, and Tusculum University focuses on making it as seamless as possible.
To support the transition for new students as well as enhance the collegiate experience for those already enrolled, Tusculum is moving to the Canvas learning management system starting in the fall semester. This platform, to be used by students and faculty members, is in place at many high schools in East Tennessee.
“Tusculum is proud to have longtime relationships with school systems in the region, and our move to Canvas will enable incoming students from this area to hit the ground running,” said Dr. Tricia Hunsader, the university’s provost and vice president of academic affairs. “Canvas is intuitive, engaging and user-friendly and will also increase efficiency and speed for students and faculty members who are already part of the Tusculum family.”
The learning management system is a repository for course learning materials and a platform for virtual interaction among students. It supports students’ submission of assignments as well as instructors’ grading of and feedback on student work and provides multiple means for communication between and among students and faculty.
Canvas is mobile-friendly, giving students the ability to view any file format, including PowerPoint, on their smartphone, tablet or computer. The Studio add-on can transcribe video and audio files to support students who find it helpful to see the printed version of these items. In addition, when a student submits a video, faculty members or fellow students can embed detailed comments tagged to the exact spots that prompted the feedback.
The platform equally supports students who will take face-to-face courses as well as those in the online environment. Changing to Canvas demonstrates Tusculum’s commitment to high-quality instruction and to continuously improving students’ educational experience.
Cheri Flynn, an associate professor of accounting and law, who used Canvas at a prior higher education institution, is excited about making the switch. She said it will be much easier for faculty members to build an online course and students to conduct group work and share documents within the class.
“From the faculty perspective, you can build a course efficiently with a focus on students and spend more time giving feedback to them,” she said. “Once current students begin using the system for an in-person or online course, they will love all of the neat and easy-to-navigate features. The setup of Canvas empowers students to concentrate more on learning concepts being taught in the class instead of the mechanics of the management system.”
Tusculum is also strengthening the online class experience by obtaining a membership in Quality Matters. This national organization provides a system with resources and tools designed to develop and assess the quality of online course design. The nonprofit also offers workshops that lead to certificates showing a faculty member’s mastery of online teaching. Quality Matters is the gold standard for delivering quality online instruction, Dr. Hunsader said.
“Tusculum has provided an excellent online education experience and is now looking to elevate the caliber of that type of instruction to the next level with additional best practices,” Dr. Hunsader said. “We have spent considerable time evaluating our online approach and know this affiliation with Quality Matters, along with our expert and talented faculty, will yield excellent results.”
For more information about the university, please visit www.tusculum.edu.