Transitioning from Face-to-Face to Online Programs

It’s been five years since colleges and universities moved learning online because of the pandemic. Although that experience marked many institutions’ first and final taste of online instruction, for some schools, including our private liberal arts college of education, the experience led to a more sustained embrace of e-learning. Once the pandemic subsided enough to switch back to face-to-face education, we evaluated the pros and cons of online instruction to assess which degree programs would benefit from going permanently online. One program we chose: our initial teacher education master’s program. This program seemed ideal to consider for continued online instruction due to the high percentage of international and state students who lived outside of the local area of our university. Below, we describe the decision-making factors and process involved in this transition and provide considerations for other institutions that may be contemplating the same.