In Fall 2017 and Spring 2018, two brave groups of students enrolled in the first-ever Noodle Partners-built online graduate programs: the American University School of Education’s online Masters in Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) and the Tulane University School of Social Work’s online Master of Social Work (MSW). Last month, dozens of students from these inaugural cohorts celebrated graduation.
Noodle Partners is celebrating too, because our mission to expand online education for the benefit of all is coming to life before our eyes. We are incredibly proud of our graduates, as well as the hundreds of Noodle Partners employees who were by their side every step of the way.
From helping faculty to build courses to filling them with exceptional students, all the way through graduation, our teams have thrown themselves into their work and produced incredible results.
“I am excited for the graduates, and proud of the faculty and our team. The faculty in these two programs have been generous, creative and patient collaborators, and look at their results!” Noodle Partners’ Chief Academic Officer Melora Sundt said. “These teams have created learning experiences that are helping students achieve goals they never thought possible. Seeing these graduates move forward into careers is the best motivator for us to keep finding ways to make learning even more interesting and effective.”
Faith led both American and Tulane Universities to sign with Noodle Partners before we had any proven results. Now, sixteen universities work with us on over thirty different online degree programs, from major public flagship universities to small private liberal arts schools.
“Partnering with Noodle was a great decision for the AU School of Education,” Dean Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy said. “We have already expanded the partnership with two additional programs. We’ve seen enrollment scale and our online learning environment is extremely effective for both students and faculty.”
Rachel Walton, a graduate of the inaugural EPL cohort, noted that enrolling in the online program for her meant a refusal to settle for mediocracy.
“In order to go to American University, you have to make up in your mind that you’re going to be challenged,” Walton said. “You’re not going to be average, but you’re going to take every challenge and excel at what you’re doing.”
All of our partner schools work with a Noodle Partners-hired General Manager. At Tulane University, Lauren Davis began managing the day-to-day operations of their online Master of Social Work and has since undertaken four more online Tulane programs across three different schools.
“We’re on the ground with their faculty and administrators day in and day out, paying close attention to what works and what needs to change,” Davis said. “Working side by side with Tulane elevates our partnership and overall helps us to actualize their vision of expanding their programs and reaching out to more students across the US.”
Noodle Partners has shaken up the OPM industry in more than a few ways– from our flexible, unbundled service offerings to our transparency and short-term contracts, academia is responding positively to the Noodle Partners model.
“It takes a village to produce a cohort of online graduates, and that’s exactly what we’ve built here,” Noodle Partners CEO John Katzman said. “We have an amazing group of hardworking folks on each of our programs and our dedication is paying off. Students are happy, and succeeding, and we are too.”
