Online learning has become an essential pathway for many students, but not all online experiences are created equal.

Here at Herzing, the focus goes beyond flexibility to ensure that students feel supported, connected, and challenged throughout their studies.

In this interview, National Director of Academics Robin Day shares his perspective on why online learning matters, what misconceptions still exist, and how Herzing’s online programs promote meaningful engagement and real-world success.

Q. From your perspective, what makes online learning such a valuable option for today’s students?

Robin: It’s convenient. Not having to attend school at scheduled times, sometimes very far away, is much more convenient.

We’re dealing with adult learners who very often have children, who have jobs, who have lives that simply do not allow them to attend school in person full time. So in some cases, it’s the only way that adults can access education.

Q. What misconceptions about online learning are you still running into?

Robin: A lot of institutions are a little behind in terms of what online is and what online should be. They’re focused on independent study and students doing things on their own, not realizing that online is just another way of doing education. This isn’t correspondence school. It’s the same thing as a classroom, only the students are at home.

So there’s a bit of a lag in some cases where some institutions do not have any interaction with faculty and students. It’s all based on asynchronous interaction where they access their learning materials, they may or may not email their instructor, and the only other interaction they get back is grades.

It took the pandemic for a lot of universities and colleges to start looking at online. Prior to that, it was treated almost as a secondary thing. They’d look at a course and go, this one could be online, so we’ll make it online. They didn’t realize that almost anything can be online if you have the right tools.

Q. So what sets Herzing’s online learning experience apart?

Robin: There are two main things that set us apart: our focus on interaction, and our continual drive to improve our online materials.

We’ve been doing online programs since 2015, and one of the big lessons we’ve learned is about faculty interaction. It’s paradoxical, but in my view online actually increases the ability of faculty and students to work together collaboratively.

In an asynchronous course, the lectures are very often videos, the materials are links or books or other things, and many of the exercises and quizzes are self-grading. That leaves a lot more time for faculty to engage with students.

Right now, we require all faculty to have three hours of live sessions per week. That means that three times per week they have live sessions with the students who are able to join. Plus, students can email their instructor and set up a time to go through homework or questions on a one-on-one basis. Being online allows faculty to devote more time to this.

The second thing is the fact that we are constantly looking at updating, upgrading, and improving our online materials.

We find that most faculty are not digital content creators. They’re not really in a position to be able to do that the same way that we did it when we had paper and pen. So we created a separate department called integrated learning. They engage with faculty or external subject matter experts to produce basic content that is then formatted and developed into full learning materials.

When I was teaching on ground, I can tell you that there was never a time that I had a textbook that I believed completely in. There was always some chapter or portion that I told students to ignore.

Producing our own content allows us to avoid that. If we don’t believe it belongs, if it doesn’t represent what happens in industry, then it comes out.

Q. What do you look for in online instructors?

Robin: When we hire instructors, we’re looking for industry experience, not teaching experience. We want to see they’ve done the job. We want them to tell the students the way it is. Not the way it should be, but what actually happens out in the field.

Of course, not everyone from industry is great at teaching. It does take a very particular type of individual. We look for folks who are trainers or supervisors, because they have a history of getting information across to people.

We have found that some of our best teachers are the ones who have innovated the most in terms of online because they have been struggling as well as the students. So they come up with ways that they can do it and ways that make sense for them. And then we implement those policies and procedures with our other faculty, because it’s the easiest and most obvious way to do it.

Q. How does Herzing ensure quality and academic rigor in its online programs?

Robin: We have a two-pronged approach. The first is curriculum committees. These are composed of faculty and administration, but they are faculty-driven committees.

The second prong is program advisory committees. These are composed of industry employers, graduates who are working in the field, and academics from other institutions who teach the same types of programs. They review the programs and provide input.

They will say things like, “The industry is saying we need more of this in our program, how are we going to do this?” And then the faculty will say, “Well, we can increase this course and decrease this one” and propose those types of changes.

Q. How are online students supported to stay engaged throughout their studies?

Robin: The important thing is the interaction between faculty and student and between the students themselves. So each week we have assessments that are based on that interaction.

Take discussion posts, for example. I have seen previous courses and previous online programs have a discussion question like, “What are the three forms of business ownership?” and then the idea is that you regurgitate the material that you’ve learned from the textbook and lectures. But that’s not really going to start the discussion.

A much better discussion would be something that is controversial, something that students can really dig into and start to argue about. The best discussions are the ones where students are getting animated.

For example, in our community support worker program, we might have a question that talks about Vince Lee, the gentleman who has schizophrenia and who murdered an individual on a Greyhound bus. We’ll say, “He’s being released. How do you feel about this?”

Now that’s a controversial topic. If you put 10 experts in a room, five will argue for and five will argue against. And that’s the point. We want to hear the reasoning. We want the students to dig into what they’ve learned to justify why they think a certain way.

Q. What advice would you give prospective students who are thinking about online learning but aren’t quite sure if it’s right for them?

Robin: Look at those areas of your life where you have created your own structure, maybe with your kids or your dog or your workouts or what have you. That structure, that discipline, is exactly what you need for an online course.

FIND AN ONLINE PROGRAM THAT FITS YOUR LIFE

Ready to take the next step? Explore Herzing’s online programs and see how we can help you reach your career goals.