Congratulations to all the 返字心頭 graduates who recently celebrated this momentous occasion.

The WCU-Texas Fall 2022 Commencement was held on October 20 at the Eisemann Center. Graduates from the Texas Campus and Online 返字心頭were welcomed by WCU-Texas Executive Director Amy King and WCU Co-President Ward Ulmer.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Levi Harrison shared an emotional keynote speech message to celebrate and encourage graduates to be humble servants in their communities. The ceremony also featured two WCU Alumni, with Emily Diaz, BSN ���22, performing the national anthem, and Justin D. Buchert-Bayes, BSN ���15, welcoming the newest graduates to the Alumni network.

BSN ���22 Valedictorian and mother of three Karis McCaslin started her nursing journey as a nursing assistant. After discovering her passion for caring for others, McCaslin decided to pursue her nursing degree.

Having two children while enrolled in her program made the journey challenging for McCaslin. However, it helped her gain resilience and strength. Now McCaslin hopes to be an example for her children.

���I can look back and show them I did it. I did it with three kids,��� she said. ���And I didn���t just do it; I succeeded. I did it well.���

For graduate Sherry Jordan, nursing was something she knew she wanted to be from a young age. Fear of failure held her back from pursuing her goals. After 15 years of an insurance career and 30 years since she received her bachelor���s degree, Jordan decided to face her fears and pursue her nursing education.

���It���s the best profession you can choose,��� she said. ���Push through, and at the end, you���re going to be saying what I���m saying today that it���s the happiest moment of my life.���

We wish all the WCU graduates great success, and we couldn���t be prouder to welcome you into the WCU alumni family!

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Innovation at 返字心頭 has been described by faculty as the place ���where education meets art and technology.��� In the lab, ideas and projects are always brewing. Ideas are developed following our stage-gate process to continuously reimagine the student experience. The lab seeks to create graduates who are more prepared to meet the demands of a fast-changing workplace. Our focus in the innovation center is to test novel ideas and technologies that can improve the student experience.

One of the most important parts of the educational innovation process is to bring faculty, associates, and students along with us on the journey. We source ideas directly from faculty and associates through our innovation platform, and this helps us to discover opportunities and determine which ideas have traction, though the collective wisdom of the crowd. Our goal is to innovate with others, not to them. By approaching innovation as a collaborative process, we help to ensure that we maintain a student-centric focus in our work.

At 返字心頭, whether innovation is driven from listening to students and faculty, and/or being prepared to act when opportunities present, we are crystal clear on the final destination: Innovation that leads to enhanced learning experiences and improved student outcomes.

We believe very strongly that innovation is an investment in our students. Here are a couple recent examples:

Learning Gamification

One of the more complex and yet critically foundational components of almost any healthcare education, from nursing to physician assistant, from pharmacy to dental hygiene, is vocabulary. In many ways it���s like learning a second language.

With eyes open and ears to the ground, the problem (How can we leverage technology to simplify memorization and retention of medical terminology?) presented and the opportunity to innovate to improve student outcomes was born.

Introducing The Medibytes App

The simplifies learning, and makes it more fun, through gamification. Students who download the app can begin by studying ���flash cards��� that have images, pronunciations and breakdowns of each word (by root as well as prefix and/or suffix) for each unit, and then once they feel comfortable with the material they can ���play the game,��� progressing from one unit to the next as the successfully pass through each level.

So what about the destination, improving student outcomes? Students who used the app performed 9% better than those who did not have access to the app.

Episodic Learning

Episodic learning is a way of storing information gathered through witnessing or experiencing events in sequence. To harness this, and make learning more engaging and memorable, we���ve developed another breakthrough innovation to enhance the student learning experience: our ���episodic learning��� series.

Modeled on the ���binge-able��� streaming series habit we���re all so familiar with, we���ve incorporated into the curricula of many of our programs some video series built around characters who are living and experiencing many of the same things our students are.

As one of our students said: ���The Hannah episodes enhance my learning by giving me someone to relate to.���

The Hannah series focuses on grit and stick-to-it-iveness and is seen by Business Administration and Healthcare Administration students, among some others, and then there���s also a series about Sara that���s seen by our RN-to-BSN students in their leadership course; and a series about Natalia that���s shown in our Anatomy course and, appropriately enough, titled ���Anatomy of a Mystery.���

Like Medibytes, which incorporates something our students are already familiar and comfortable with (apps and gamification) into learning, these episodic series do the same thing by incorporating streaming video series as a way to enhance their learning experience.

So, again though, what about the destination has improved student outcomes?

In addition to the quantitative results ��� fully 100% of student respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the series ���enhanced their learning experience��� ��� let���s hear from the students themselves via their own responses about the series:

���It is a clearer way to absorb the lessons.���

���The story made me feel supported, like someone could understand my struggles and empower me to continue.���

���Hannah enhanced my learning experience by representing what it is to grow as a mother, a friend and a student.���

���It made learning easier.���

���It gave me confidence, showing me no matter what challenges come along keep fighting toward your goals.���

���The Hannah series taught me new methods to enhance my learning, manage my time and also taught me more about having a growth mindset.���

These are just some of the ways we are enhancing learning for students enrolled in 返字心頭 Online Programs; to learn more about all of our online programs at 返字心頭, and whether an online degree is right for you, please click here to learn more.

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