Enriching the Online Learning Environment for Graduate Education

(SAN FRANCISCO---) Online learning has the potential for bolstering applications to higher education due to convenience and easier access for more students, while reducing costs for universities and colleges, at least after initial investments in digital platforms.  But the quality of the educational experience continues to undergo scrutiny, especially from long-time academics who are accustomed to dialogic exchange in the classroom environment.

The disciplines of psychology, coaching, and related human behavioral studies have been most resistant to make the switch to online platforms, citing that learning processes and techniques for advanced human interaction skills requires in-person learning.   

However, an innovative hybrid format that brings adult learners together in week-long intensive retreats at the onset of the semester, known as academic residencies, then releases students to follow through on their academic work at home through the online learning platform, has met with approval from WSCUC, the regional accrediting agency in the Western states for a graduate program in San Francisco. This breakthrough in bringing a process-heavy interactive learning degree into a hybrid format was today by WSCUC for the M.A. degree program in Integrative Health Studies at California Institute of Integrative Studies. 

Announcing the  newly revamped Master of Arts in Integrative Health (IHL) at CIIS, a revolutionary way to attend graduate school. According to Department Chair and Professor, Meg Jordan, PhD, RN, "Our impetus for change centered on the numerous requests from students around the world who cannot afford to move to the San Francisco Bay Area, and yet are seeking the integral approach unique to CIIS and this M.A. program in Integrative Health."

The award-winning and renowned master's program at CIIS prepares top-level leaders as integrative health practitioners and health coaches.  In addition to studies in nutrition, stress management, fitness, complementary therapies, mind/body medicine, mindfulness, interpersonal neurobiology, and sustainable health and ecology, students also earn Certificates in Health Coaching and Wellness Management, and a Certificate in Guided Imagery. 

The program prepares graduates to be leaders in the expanding fields of integrative health, wellness, and health promotion. The U.S. Department of Labor considers health coaching one of the fastest growing professions in the health care sector.  The IHL program has received Transitional Approval from the National Consortium for Credentialing Health and Wellness Coaches and the International Coach Federation.  The graduates are eligible to sit for the new NCCHWC/NBME national exam launching in 2017, the first professional national certification for health and wellness coaching.

Dr. Jordan explained  the format for the two-year M.A. degree program as follow:

"Each of the four semesters (two-year, full-time program) begins with a 6-day Academic Residency in a retreat-like atmosphere at a Northern California center (ION's EarthRise), just 45 minutes north of San Francisco. You'll start your day with yoga, tai chi, and meditation. Then, you will share breakfast prepared in an organic kitchen with locally sourced foods. Next, you will have three hours of rigorous academic study with your faculty and mentors, followed by a two-hour lunch and hike in the hills. The afternoon brings three more hours of rigorous study. Dinner with faculty and peer learners will be followed by an evening program of non-academic interests, such as HeartMath, sound healing, subtle energy medicine modalities, community activism and health advocacy, special demos, and sharing multiple life skills and talents. One day, as part of your coursework, you take a trip to the sustainable local farm. After the retreat, you will continue to study online and complete your academic work back in your home communities. You will partake in collaborative learning environments online with faculty and student colleagues in robust video-assisted learning platforms. It's really quite an exciting turn for a process-rich degree."

According to Dr. Jordan, "The faculty are united in this mission to make this graduate program a global model of sustainability in higher education--with a supportive community of learners and faculty "breaking bread" together, a green retreat center for academic intensives, and a healthier way to approach graduate school in general."

For more information, contact   Senior Program Manager Rachel Lefkowitz or Dr. Meg Jordan, Department Chair: (415) 575-6199 or  rlefkowitz@ciis.edu.  Apply to admissions by visiting www.ciis.edu

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