Two Global Campus teams earned awards for innovation and creativity in July after completing projects that will benefit U of A learners across the state and beyond. Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education at the U of A, presented Lightbulb Awards to two groups: one who launched a secure training application and another who developed a coaching strategy to support online students.

Reimagine Arkansas Workforce Project - Application Form

Blake Ellison and Kaleb Futch earned the Lightbulb Award for creating a secure application form for people applying for free training through the Reimagine Arkansas Workforce Project. The secure application form will allow Arkansans to safely submit personally identifiable information to determine whether they are eligible for training at no cost to them.

Ellison, Futch and several staff members on the Professional and Workforce Development team completed training in the Jadu Content Management System, which was used to build the application form. Ellison and Futch also trained others to use the system.

"The knowledge base and skill background to accomplish all of this was well beyond the members of the Reimagine team, but Kaleb and Blake were adaptable and innovative in providing a very successful result," said Murphy, head of the Global Campus.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded a $13,579,455.83 grant to the Arkansas Workforce Development Board and the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services to fund the Reimagine Arkansas Workforce Project. This state-wide, coordinated effort is intended to benefit Arkansans who have been economically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Project partners include the state agencies, U of A Global Campus Professional and Workforce Development, Shorter College and iDatafy LLC.

Ellison, who began at the Global Campus in 2015, is a learning resources developer on the Learning Technology Support team in Fayetteville. He and other support staff collaborate with U of A faculty to create and improve online tools and programs that help students to better understand their class subjects.

Futch, who joined the Global Campus in 2015, is a learning resources developer for the Professional and Workforce Development team in Bentonville. That team partners with U of A faculty and industry to build and deliver non-credit education options, which are showcased on the U of A Professional and Workforce Development website.

"We are honored to be considered for a second Lightbulb Award," Futch said on behalf of himself and Ellison. "We are very grateful that it has become increasingly common for our development team to be involved in reshaping crucial university processes and finding new and innovative ways to leverage the technological tools we have at our disposal. We were very excited to have the opportunity to work with the Reimagine Team at Global Campus Bentonville on this monumental grant opportunity, and we feel very fortunate to have a hand in providing low-or-no-cost educational opportunities to Arkansans looking to change careers after the pandemic."

This is the second Lightbulb Award for Ellison and Futch. They were recognized in January 2020 for the creation of a new electronic student sign-in application that tracks enrollments for the Professional and Workforce Development team.

Online Student Coaching Initiative

Patty Milner and Colleen Whitman created and developed the Online Student Coaching Initiative, which guides online students through the enrollment process and assists them during their first semesters as students.

Because students often take general education courses from many different departments, it is sometimes difficult for them to find a connecting point. Coaching contacts start when students are admitted to U of A and stay with them until they are ready to focus on their major-specific courses and have formed solid connections with their departments.

"Our students are not on campus," Whitman said. "It is easier for them to forget to schedule time to set up an advising appointment or log in complete specific tasks. Our coaches can catch that and send out reminders. Coaches can also monitor a student's success in their classwork throughout the semester and reach out to students who are struggling. This can be critical as some students either don't ask for help or don't know that there is free help out there."

"We hope to expand these services to a larger group of students, as well as increase the kinds of events and services the coaches offer to our students," Milner said.

Coaches are staff members from Global Campus who act as personal guides to academic resources offered by the U of A, and they provide online students with an ongoing point of support and contact. They also proactively reach out to students if there are indications that they may be struggling with a course.

Prior to any coaching activities, all employees must agree to follow the Code of Computing Practices and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, commonly known as FERPA. In all cases, student confidentiality is the coaches' highest priority.

"Coaches are for undergraduate students who are still completing their prerequisite courses," Murphy said. "So, in one sense, we connect through this coaching initiative with students who are new to the university. This service to our online students helps them during the early days of university life, from admittance through completing prerequisite courses. Students are more likely to complete their degree when they know they have this kind of support available to them."

Milner began at the Global Campus in 2017 as director of the Recruitment team. In May 2020, she was promoted to assistant vice provost for student outreach and innovation. Her expanded role includes oversite of the Recruitment, Student Outreach, and Marketing and Communications teams.

"We are excited to create this new program to support online student success," Milner said. "It is great to receive this recognition of the hard work Colleen and our coaches have done to get the program up and running. We would like to acknowledge our staff for their flexibility, taking on coaching in addition to other job responsibilities. We also thank Danielle Dunn in Student Success for the help she has provided."

Whitman joined Global Campus in 2002 as a records manager in Credit Studies. In 2005, she was promoted to the administrative assistant position in Media Services, then as a program coordinator in 2012. In 2015, she moved to the Recruitment office and currently serves as the online student support services manager.

"I am thankful to work for Dr. Patty Milner who makes everyone on her team feel supported," Whitman said. "I want to do the same for the people I supervise because it gets passed along to the students."

Lightbulb Awards

The Global Campus instituted the Lightbulb Award in 2019 to honor two or more staff members for outstanding innovation beyond their routine job responsibilities. This award celebrates creative problem-solving that results in a great impact on Global Campus' mission and goals. It is open to appointed and hourly staff.

The Global Campus supports U of A colleges and schools in the development and delivery of online, distance and workforce education programs and courses. It provides instructional design services, technology services and assistance with marketing, recruiting and strategic academic development.

The Global Campus also supports the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship, which is open to undergraduate and graduate students studying in online degree programs.