Have
laptop
—will
learn
INNOVATIONS
have to be willing to accommodate
them,” she says.
According to Maryellen Maley,
director of the online legal writing
program for the health law program,
that professor availability includes
nights, weekends, and holidays.
Shelley Dunck, co-director of
the business law program, says
online learning allows program
administrators to focus on hiring
experts in their respective fields from
around the world. “We are able to
really focus on the specifics of what
people are teaching because there are
no geographical limits,” she says.
Classrooms
without walls
. . . or clocks
Along with online course quality
comes the unparalleled convenience
of getting a degree in your own
home. “You put on your fluffy slippers
and walk to your office, and it’s your
classroom,”Maley says.
During the first course of the
program, professors call each student
and have a lengthy conversation
going over the student’s specific
strengths and areas for improvement.
Maley thoroughly enjoys these
conversations because they help her
connect with her students. “You get
to know about their hobbies and their
families. Often our online students
have much more direct contact
with professors through phone calls
and e-mails than in the traditional
classroom setting,” she says.
The online classroom, which
includes both synchronous and
asynchronous processes, is designed
so professors can engage students
far beyond simple lectures. In
synchronous situations such as a
chatroom, a class is learning live with
the professor. Asynchronous learning
means students and professor are
on different schedules. For example,
a professor will post a video and
students will watch it a few hours later,
at their convenience.
The programs have a good
amount of synchronous time,
which is essentially like a virtual
classroom, Kaufman says. “We try
as best we can to replicate the
community nature of Loyola’s on-
campus classrooms,” he says.
A valuable global
component
Loyola’s online programs have
developed into hubs for invaluable
discussion about international issues.
The health law online program
currently has students enrolled
from almost every state, plus a
student from Egypt and another
from Australia. Students in Dunck’s
program currently represent 16
states and myriad industries:
film, securities, education, law
enforcement, and others. In online
discussions, students draw upon local
issues of health law from where they
are based, and the class is then able
to analyze several situations from
around the globe.
“Because of this international
community, I often feel I learn more
from the students than they learn
from me,” Youngberg says.
Timothy McDonald, a professor
in the online health law program
who currently teaches out of Doha,
Qatar, says his students from around
the world inspire him with their
multifaceted careers and ideas. “A
lot of my students have jobs and
have had real opportunities and real
struggles we get to share online,
which makes the learning experience
extremely rich,” he says.
Recognizing the importance
of online students occasionally
meeting each other and some
of their faculty members face to
face, Loyola brings students to
campus three times a year to
Education Immersion Weekends.
These events include thesis
workshops and presentations to
faculty committees.
“When online students are
on campus, there’s a vibrancy to
the entire school that represents
an expansion of our community,”
Kaufman says.
Vital networking also goes
on during these weekends among
classmates, professors, and
alumni. Graduates of the programs
consistently build a Loyola network,
a community that extends globally.
McDonald says he stays in touch
with as many students as possible—
he’s even looking to hire MJ
graduates interested in outcome
quality and patient safety for his
major international project launching
a medical research center in Doha.
Loyola’s online courses are
constantly evolving with students’
interests and goals, and McDonald is
sure that the programs will continue
to be innovative. To him, the future
of Loyola’s online graduates looks
extremely bright. “Whatever
they’re doing to recruit and admit
the incredible students they do,”
he says, “it’s an honor to be a part
of this program.” Visit
LUC.edu/law
for more information on degree
program offerings.
■
“We are able to
really focus on
the specifics
of what people
are teaching
because
there are no
geographical
limits.”
—Shelley Dunck, co-director,
business law program
Online degree programs take
off as enrollment climbs
degree for professionals holding
JDs are now able to access
Loyola’s prestigious programs at
their own computers.
The degrees Loyola now offers
online have always been cutting-
edge in their fields. Now, having
these innovative degrees available
online extends their reach far
beyond Loyola’s Chicago campus
to professionals working full-time
jobs in any location. “The number of
students taking advantage of these
novel degrees has skyrocketed,
allowing them access from around
the country and world to the
education opportunities and career
advancements afforded by the
degrees,” says Michael Kaufman,
associate dean for academic affairs.
Loyola offers revolutionary new
online programs for continuing
professionals in the following fields:
•
The Beazley Institute for Health
Law and Policy continues to offer
the only online LLM in health law
degree offered in the country.
Attorneys seeking expertise in the
field of health law obtain knowledge
of legal, business, and policy aspects
of the health care industry with an
MJ or LLM degree offered by the
Beazley Institute.
•
Loyola offers an MJ degree in
business and corporate governance
as a two-year, part-time program. The
curriculum is designed for business
professionals who want to better
understand the impact of the law on
business transactions.
•
Loyola’s online MJ degree in
children’s law and policy provides
students with tools necessary to
improve the lives of children through
informed policy and advocacy.
Faculty members are experts
in education law and policy, as
well as child protection, juvenile
justice, custody, mental health, and
international children’s rights.
Plans are underway to launch
online MJ and LLM degree programs
in global competition law through
Loyola’s Institute for Consumer
Antitrust Studies.
Loyola’s online programs are
just as challenging as its on-campus
programs, according to Larry Singer,
associate professor and director of
the Beazley Institute for Health Law
and Policy. “We don’t distinguish
between online students and on-
campus students,” Singer says. “The
quality of the online program, from
the teaching to the educational
experience, is unparalleled.”
The rigor of the programs
is derived from the intensive
structure, Kaufman explains. Online
courses involve constant formative
assessment of students by professors.
“In this format, professors are very
intentional about their teaching,
and there is little downtime,” he says.
“It’s a very structured educational
environment with focused
assessments and clear outcomes.”
Barbara Youngberg, senior
lecturer in residence and academic
director of the online programs in
health law, takes pride in the fact that
professors are available to students.
“We know that students are fitting
us in around their schedules, and we
T
raditional classrooms aren’t
the only venue for effective
learning, especially in
today’s technology-rich educational
marketplace. Some of the most
structured, rigorous, and personalized
graduate degree programs at Loyola
School of Law are also online.
Students from all around the world
dedicated to pursuing a Master of
Jurisprudence (MJ) degree for non-
lawyers or a Master of Laws (LLM)
››
Photos from left: Alison Nicklas, online MJ
in Health Law student; a keyboard“classroom”;
Hazel Or, online MJ in Children’s Law and Policy
student, with Academic Director Mary Burns; a
campus Education Immersion Weekend last fall.
SPRING 2014
15
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LOYOLA LAW
