Meet Dr. Cathleen Dunn
School of Business
Teaches MBA Human Resources Management courses
Online Made Her a Better Teacher
Dr. Dunn began adjunct teaching at a traditional brick-and-mortar university while earning her own PhD and continued after graduating and starting work in the Human Resources field. Commitments to her Human Resources jobs and to her family eventually forced her to put teaching on the back burner for a few years however. Luckily for Colorado Tech Online students, Dr. Dunn is now back at it…and, inspired by Colorado Tech Online's online format, better then ever.
"Moving into online education has made me a better instructor," Dr. Dunn says. "I like to think I've always been caring, but the online format—where the students aren't directly in front of me able to ask questions—has made me even more caring and nurturing. To be a successful online instructor, you have to put more effort into it, and I'm happy to do that."
One of the major changes Dr. Dunn has brought to her teaching style to make it work better for online students is to be upfront and very detailed about course guidelines and her expectations. She is the first to admit she has high standards.
"When I was a student myself, I never minded professors with high standards as long as they were consistent. Now, as an instructor myself, I've had students tell me they really appreciate the rigor of my courses and grading. In everything I do in the classroom, from grading to lecturing, I put myself in the students' place. I know I would want to be challenged within a consistent and fair classroom. So that is what I do—I challenge, but I am fair."
Dr. Dunn doesn't just make things challenging to waste students' time however. "I have worked in the Human Resources field for years (Dr. Dunn has been a Personnel Specialist for the City of Tampa since 1991 and run her own consulting firm since 1997) and know what students are going to need to know and understand to succeed in various positions within HR. My own practical experience meshes well with the fact the Colorado Tech Online curriculum is set up to teach students practical skills. Everything I do is done to better prepare students for success in the real world."
Dr. Dunn says that, more than once, an issue talked about on a class discussion board or in a chat session has come up at work shortly thereafter for either herself or one of her students. "Lots of the students in my HR classes have experience in the field themselves and end up contributing substantially to the class. Whether it comes from me or another student, classes really like to hear war stories. The true life HR tales are always far from boring and students appreciate that."
The MBA Human Resource Management students also appreciate that every week of class builds upon the previous week. "My classes are linked all the way through. I teach Organizational Development and Change and Strategic HR Management in the MBA program and, in both classes, every lesson in both classes is linked to previous ones. Every week builds upon what has been learned before."
With Colorado Tech Online's classes being so accelerated, Dr. Dunn is careful to make sure students don't get behind. "You could get lost so easily if you don't keep up with your reading or if you miss one concept. I welcome students to email me with any questions and I'll schedule one-on-one chats if need be."
Dr. Dunn so believed in one student whose husband was terminal and close to death that she worked out an arrangement so the student didn't need to drop out. "It was her husband's dying wish that she finish school, but, understandably, she had so much going on that she really wanted to drop out. I talked to her several times and we worked out that she initially get an "incomplete" in my class rather than dropping out. Two weeks after the class ended, she turned in all her work. She passed. I was so impressed by her. I don't know how she did it, but I was happy to help in the little way I could." Now that's being the best instructor possible if anything is.