Academic Partnerships (AP) was honored to present at the 61st annual conference of the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS), held November 7-10 in Victoria, B.C. The conference theme was Inclusive Excellence in Graduate Supervision and Mentorship, and approximately 300 deans, associate deans, administrators, faculty, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students attended and shared their perspectives on the future of graduate education in Canada.
Representing AP’s Academic Services and Products team were Dr. Kashif Asdi, Vice President, and Torie Wynn, Director, Learning Content and Strategy. Their presentation, The High-Touch Online Graduate Mentorship: Leveraging Technology for Inclusivity and Scalability, focused on innovative strategies and best practices to foster meaningful mentorship relationships with online students. Key discussion points included high-touch practices to build rapport, foster trust, and deliver student support in online and hybrid learning environments, while using data analytics and scalable technology to deliver a quality educational experience to larger numbers of graduate students.
“As the demand continues to shift toward online and hybrid education, it is important for students to feel supported with a similar level of access to mentorship opportunities as their on-campus counterparts,” said Dr. Asdi.
“Online education programs enable universities and colleges to expand their impact by offering students, especially nontraditional and underserved learners, an accelerated, affordable, and convenient pathway toward personal and professional growth,” added Ms. Wynn.
Also attending the conference was Leslie Carson, Vice President, University Partnerships at AP.
The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies is a national organization providing leadership, fostering community, and promoting collaboration to advance excellence in graduate education, research, and scholarship.
Academic Partnerships helps North American colleges and universities expand their impact by launching and growing high-quality, affordable, and workforce-relevant online programs. Founded in 2007, Academic Partnerships currently serves 55+ university partners, and more than 25% are minority-serving institutions. To learn more about how AP is helping university partners meet their enrollment growth goals, view the Carleton University case study.
AP’s CAGS presentation slides can be accessed on AP’s faculty support site, facultyecommons.com.