UK Celebrates National Distance Learning Week
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 9, 2020) — Starting today, the University of Kentucky will offer online and remote students a variety of resources to recognize National Distance Learning Week (NDLW). From Nov. 9 through Nov. 13, UK Online will host a series of sessions on tips for presenting assignments, academic coaching, honoring diversity in online learning and more.
The weeklong event explores resources and best practices to support student success and allows faculty and staff a chance to listen in and engage with experts who work closely with online students.
This year, UK’s NDLW will celebrate the student experience and provide a wide range of tools for students who are in completely online programs and those who are temporarily remote.
“UK marks NDLW every year, but there’s nothing like a pandemic and its challenges to make us pause and refocus on how we can best support our students remotely,” said Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Academic Innovation (TLAI) Kathi Kern. “In the last two years we have doubled our number of fully online programs; our fully online enrollment has increased by 53% in the last year alone. We are excited to be bringing the resources of the university to a larger audience across the state and the country. But at the same time, we want to meet that growth with a commitment to all aspects of the student journey. This week we celebrate our online students by sharing their success stories, and highlighting the great services UK has to offer them.”
The rise of COVID-19 has quickly added newly remote students and instructors, posing unique challenges for all. This has required collaboration among units, colleges and departments to create virtual opportunities that would provide a safe environment for students to continue their education.
“Events such as NDLW are a phenomenal way to demonstrate the tremendous ways in which UK has worked to support its online community,” said Michia Brangers, admissions counselor for UK Online. “UK Online provides a unique opportunity to eradicate the limitations on student learning and to expand their services to those who are unable to be with us in person.”
All students, faculty and staff who are interested are encouraged to join UK Online for any or all of these sessions.
Registration is live now for all sessions, which will be available in Zoom, and for the gaming session, on UK’s Twitch.tv channel. Recorded sessions will be accessible through the registration page after the events.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.