The closing of Madison College in mid-March due to COVID-19 also shut down its School of Professional and Continuing Education, which offers hundreds of professional development courses via individual classes and customized contract training. As a result, administrators have embraced the transition to alternative means of delivery.
“We have really accelerated our efforts to move toward online programming due to the coronavirus,” says Dennis Wessel, director of the School of Professional and Continuing Education. “We have pivoted away from face-to-face training, which is the bulk of what we did.”
Here are three highlights of the school’s new lineup of online offerings:
Online learning
The greatest demand for online professional training right now is in the health care profession. For that reason, the number of educational hours required to become a certified nursing assistant has been significantly reduced as part of a state emergency order that clears the way for more CNAs to enter the field in a matter of weeks, according to Shana LaFore, a business development and solutions representative for the college’s School of Professional and Continuing Education. Health care providers — including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and home health care organizations — vet individual employees identified to be trained as CNAs. Most instruction is conducted online, with approximately 16 hours taking place onsite with the health care provider.
That is just one example of how Madison College has rapidly developed both facilitated and on-demand professional development opportunities. Other key categories include leadership, Lean Six Sigma, and project management. Synchronous online classes are taught by the same instructors and feature the same content as face-to-face courses.
Webinar Wednesdays
Although Webinar Wednesdays began in early March, before the coronavirus shutdown, they have built an audience during Wisconsin’s “safer-at-home” order, according to Patricia James, a program manager at the college’s School of Professional and Continuing Education. The webinars focus on such relevant topics as crisis management emergency action plans, human resources management, and social media strategies for staying connected during COVID-19. They are scheduled each Wednesday at 1 p.m., with typical running times of 15 to 45 minutes. All are available for free and archived on Madison College’s YouTube channel (MadConEd).
Take 10s
A shorter version of Webinar Wednesdays, these videos provide 10- to 15-minute bursts of pre-recorded information. Each Take 10 focuses on one key element of professional or personal success — from taking care of yourself while staying at home, to crisis communication, to cost-saving business strategies during times of crisis. As with Webinar Wednesdays, the sessions feature a variety of Madison College instructors and staff members, and they can be accessed via the MadConEd channel on YouTube.
All of these opportunities emphasize the college’s focus on maintaining student engagement while still practicing social distancing.
“We want to make sure students are getting what they need — and what we promised them,” James says. “They should still be able to pursue their goals, even though the rest of the world is on hold.”
CONTACT:
Patty James, professional development coordinator, Madison College
pjames3@madisoncollege.edu, (608) 616-1085
Dennis Wessel, director, Madison College
dwessel@madisoncollege.edu, (608) 243-4491
Visit us at madisoncollege.edu/business-industry-services
