When the Covid-19 pandemic forced universities across the nation to rapidly transition to remote learning last spring, Fairfield faculty members were already poised for success. Building upon the University’s pre-existing infrastructure and professional experience in online education, they were able to seamlessly pivot to online learning with both speed and creativity.

Grounded in the University’s Jesuit mission, Fairfield’s innovative approach to virtual learning and its pioneering use of digital collaboration tools have positioned the University on the cutting edge of online learning. By utilizing the latest technologies to develop an interactive, media-rich curriculum, faculty continue to create virtual environments that facilitate improved access to peers, professors, and support structures while helping students learn more efficiently and effectively in an online space. 

“Our model for online courses, and this is really rare in the online space, is to have faculty design the course alongside people from our Center of Academic Excellence (CAE), who can advise them on how to use technology and tools in really effective ways,” explained Jay Rozgonyi, associate vice provost for pedagogical innovation and effectiveness. 

By working in partnership with the CAE, Fairfield faculty members are put into the position of their students and learn how to transfer their course content and utilize various digital tools from the ground up. The goal of the process is to keep the design of the course and the core of the classroom experience intact so that students remain just as engaged and have just as much coursework, contact, and interaction with faculty and peers as they would in a classroom setting.

“Society is just suffused with this technology, and that is the world our students are going to work in and live in,” Rozgonyi said. “It is our obligation to meet our students where they are going to be, not just where they are, as they leave Fairfield to pursue careers.”