Come fall, there is little doubt that the traditional college experience will look different. Educators, parents, and students alike are struggling to come to terms with what a “new normal” might look like and how it will affect well-laid academic plans.
At The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, though, we’re ready.
The Chicago School is positioned to ride the crest of innovation and experience into a world where education can continue unimpeded and without a steep learning curve. We have adapted to a learning environment that demands continuous social distancing and have embraced hands-off versions of robust hands-on learning.
For years, pundits have warned of the changing winds in higher education as competition stiffened and students—especially the adult student market that we have so ably served—faced ever-mounting lists of conflicting obligations that required flexible strategies for course delivery. The Chicago School heeded those warnings. We leveraged educational technology as it evolved and designed curriculum that could be offered in a range of modalities that addressed student needs regardless of location and scheduling. We taught our faculty and staff to be proficient in online learning, as well as in the delivery of services that ensured student success.
Our collective expertise in psychology further prepared us to address a wide range of learning styles and provided the basis and know-how for developing pedagogy and infrastructure that supported diverse instructional modalities.
When the novel coronavirus upended our lives and our routines, we found ourselves already armed with the tools and the tactics to continue educating the next generation of psychology and behavioral health science practitioners. Additionally, our vast experience in these fields further enabled us to deal head-on with the conundrum of disruption—the feelings of uncertainty and anxiety that are currently forcing each of us to figure out how to live our lives in this transitional reality. Professional psychologists are adept at guiding clients through unexpected disruptions in life; as a profession, we are uniquely qualified to help ourselves and our students feel our way through the unknowable twists and turns that the next months may bring.
We also have other certainties in our favor as we head into the fall and beyond. As a nonprofit university, we are in a position to deploy and leverage revenues in ways that continue to enhance the student experience. We can and will continue to invest heavily in the technology that makes remote learning a success, that empowers employees working from home, and that works efficiently across time zones.
We are fortunate to be an affiliate of TCS Education System, an innovative higher education organization that pairs like-minded institutions with the scale of resources and operational expertise necessary to advance student success and favorably impact communities. TCS is here for us at every juncture, assisting with needed infrastructure and enabling us to easily adapt our extensive offering of internships and practica into tele-health sessions that can continue to serve both students and clients with minimal disruption. Students who choose to study at The Chicago School this fall will not have to choose between relocating or staying home. They will be able to complete their program while social distancing and fulfilling whatever responsibilities and obligations their current circumstances demand.
I am particularly appreciative of the accrediting bodies whose ongoing encouragement and assistance are critical to our success. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the multiple professional organizations that accredit our individual degree programs have continued throughout this ordeal to offer unconditional support and flexibility as we have worked to make adjustments that allow our programs to continue uninterrupted.
We can’t quarantine progress or put a lockdown on growth. Rather than allowing uncertainty to delay our decisions or anxiety to erect barriers to future educational strategies, The Chicago School has marched decisively forward toward the Fall 2020 term. The COVID-19 crisis is certainly a major factor in our planning, but we have made the choice to view the pandemic through the lens of opportunity.
I am confident that our university will continue to harness innovation and creative adaptability to counter the challenges we face as we move through the trajectory that epidemiologists and data analysts have laid out for us. We are committed and prepared to keep lives—and educational dreams—on track.
I look forward to welcoming both new and returning students to The Chicago School this fall.
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