Virginia College Online Division Announces Academic Department Restructuring to Better Meet Tremendous Growth
Posted: Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Online Division of Virginia College is responding to its rapid growth by realigning its academic department into two separate units: Academic Operations and Academic Affairs.
Academic Operations will be responsible for student affairs, the Registrar’s office, and quality improvement efforts that are designed to assure a positive student experience outside the “online classroom.” Rita Chubick has been named Vice-president, Academic Operations – Online Division and will report to Stan Banks, Executive Vice-president and COO, Virginia College Online Division. Reporting to Chubick will be Tejas Batavia, Director – Academic Operations, Tom Brown, Dean of Students, and a new Director of Student Affairs, a position that will be filled soon. Chubick brings a wealth of management, analytical, and student insight to the position. Most recently, she was Director of Marketing Analytics for Education Corporation of America (ECA), Virginia College’s parent company. Her past work with the Online Division from an analytical, research, and inquiry-management standpoint has impacted the effectiveness and efficiency of the division. Before ECA, Rita worked with Splawn & Ward Associates on direct marketing programs for the banking industry and served eight years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a statistics instructor while also working on statistical analysis and methodology of medical research projects. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Masters in Quantitative Methods from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The new Academic Affairs department will be responsible for curriculum, faculty, and the “in-class” student experience. Dr. Chris Freeman, Vice-president, Academic Affairs – Online Division, will continue in his current role, and will now report directly to Banks. Joe Lucero, Dean of Faculty, Rin Smithson, Technology Coordinator, and the personnel overseeing library and textbook functions will continue to report to Freeman. Freeman has spearheaded improved quality and consistency of the school’s curriculum delivery, including heading such key initiatives as the Quarter 1 Project and the Core Readiness Course development and implementation.
“We are pleased to be able to continue to hire and promote from within as we grow to meet the needs of our thousands of committed students who are learning through online classes at Virginia College,” says Banks. “While our growth has been spectacular, we will continue to control that growth while expanding our infrastructure to ensure a positive student experience and to meet the needs of the employers who hire our graduates.”