At its 23rd annual conference in Denver in October, the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) gave awards to three institutions for exceptionally creative, technology-based solutions that address a specific area of need—solutions that can be replicated or adapted for use by others and that cut across higher education institutions of all sizes and from all sectors. The three WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) award recipients were:

Century College and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities for GPS LifePlan, which helps students achieve their educational, career, and personal goals by putting them in charge of creating intentional connections with their campus and making their own plans for tapping into a host of campus resources.

Kansas State University for its University Life Café, the first interactive college website promoting the mental wellness and academic success of college students.

Regis University for its Passport to Course Development, which provides creative training and support for faculty (often adjuncts) who are new to the online environment. Faculty get their “passport” stamped as they traverse a colorful interactive world map representing various design and development destinations.

In addition, Michael J. Offerman, president emeritus of Capella University, received WCET’s Richard Jonsen award, given annually to a WCET member whose career has been committed to improving postsecondary educational programs and services through innovative uses of technology and exceptional service to WCET. Offerman was honored for promoting access, quality, accountability, and consumer information for adult working students. Capella’s pioneering work in learning outcomes and data analytics set the stage for the Transparency by Design initiative and College Choices for Adults website, managed by WCET.

November 2011  | Share this on Twitter | Post this on Facebook