NLU Alumni Magazine
Steering the Pathways Program, and More Aarti Dhupelia, previously the Chief Officer for the Office of College and Career Success at Chicago Public Schools, joined National Louis University as the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. In her new role at NLU, Dhupelia will tackle strategic direction for all new programmatic shifts that support undergraduate student growth and development, like the Harrison Professional Pathways Program. She brings a career’s worth of experience to her new role, including eight years of leadership in CPS. “National Louis is taking the lead as an innovator in creating new models for undergraduate education to make earning a college degree a reality for today’s students,” said Aarti Dhupelia. “That’s a passion and mission with which I’m truly aligned.”
based on competency levels indicated through feedback from the coursework completed individually. This ensures students master and move through concepts quickly, so that they get more attention in areas where they need academic improvement. In other words, no two students have to take exactly the same route to their degree. Providing students more control over their own path in the education process is seen as one of the keys to providing better access to higher education for those who are responsibility-laden. It’s the same reason that the Pathways program provides a blended learning environment, with face- to-face classes at NLU’s Chicago and Wheeling campuses in Illinois supporting student’s online learning.
Face-to-face time with instructors is not defined by lectures and PowerPoint slides but specialized instructional opportunities geared to develop deep understanding in students and to workshop knowledge that connects the dots between student learning and professional application. As students develop academic knowledge, their learning is cross-pollinated with professional development skills like collaboration, leadership and problem solving. Moreover, support can be found in the individualized guidance provided by the Student Success Coach, who is tasked with building out plans of action for success in the students’ personal, professional and academic lives. The coach will follow students through their academic careers and walk with freshmen all the way to graduation. Intensive student support starts with instructors and coaches, but it ends with the students themselves. The Pathways Program uses a cohort model to encourage student community building. Not only will students have opportunities to interact in student-life activities, but they will have consistent and regular opportunities to participate in a collaborative educational
process, along with the students who surround them. This support has the potential to follow students into their professional lives as a cohort graduates together and becomes a network of professionals. Professional success is, ultimately, the goal of new initiatives like the Harrison Professional Pathways Program. With an incredible amount of student support and the kind of innovative teaching practices you can expect from an institution that has been pioneering and innovating since 1886, NLU is clearing the way for new college degree seekers to find the path from learning to graduation, and all the way to a meaningful career. Learn more about the Harrison Professional Pathways Program nl.edu/pathways
Intensive Student Support
The second pillar of Pathways — student support — ensures that students get the personal attention they need from their instructors, the educational staff and their peers. “It’s designed to be a high-quality experience, with intensive student support,” Stephanie Poczos, Director of New Undergraduate Initiatives, said of the Harrison Professional Pathways Program.
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