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ADAPTING TOGETHER
Despite Uncertainty with COVID-19 ,
Life University Continues Academic Success
2020 has been a busy and challenging year at Life University . During the Winter Quarter , the University transitioned to remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic . After extensive preparation , including the implementation of daily temperature screening for all individuals on campus , in-person classes resumed when the Fall Quarter began .
Despite all the changes , LIFE has maintained its high standards for excellence . Whether students are pursuing undergraduate , graduate or Doctor of Chiropractic degrees , LIFE has continued to offer an educational experience unlike that available at any other college or university .
College of Chiropractic From a revamped pre-clinic curriculum and a new peer mentoring program to improved retention rates , College of Chiropractic Dean Dr . Leslie King said the College had a lot to be proud of in 2020 .
“ Higher ed is constantly changing , and we have to change with it ,” Dr . King explained . “ The way students learned 10 , 20 years ago is not the way that they learn now . One of the things that I ’ d like to see happen in 2021 is that we create a flexible methodology of providing education so that students are not required to be in a classroom every day , all day . That we can take some of the things that we have implemented during COVID and continue on through 2021 .”
Dr . King said transitioning to remote instruction was a challenge , and she credited the staff of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning ( CETL ) for being able to make it possible . She also recognized the College of Chiropractic faculty and staff for going above and beyond during the past few quarters .
“ Chiropractic cannot be taught online — we don ’ t want to be a correspondence course , by any stretch of the imagination ,” Dr . King said . “ I ’ m not going to a chiropractor who ’ s never done patient care — you can ’ t learn that online . But there are some parts of the curriculum that we could amend , that we could shape into being more flexible so that we could have opportunities for students to do synchronous and
Life University faculty and students adjusted to new class structures due to the COVID-19 health crisis during Summer Quarter 2020 ’ s partial return to campus .
asynchronous learning and come to campus and connect with faculty members face to face if they needed to .”
According to Dr . King , one challenge is for the College of Chiropractic to maintain its accreditation status while also offering students the flexibility that they want and need .
“ One thing we ’ ve noticed with our students is that they have families ; they have lives outside of LIFE ,” Dr . King said . “ We get it . We ’ re wanting them to enjoy their educational experience while still being able to have that balance , to have a family life or work life , whatever it is that they like to do outside of being at Life University . We want to make sure they have room for recreational activities because that ’ s healthy — you need that for mental health . You can ’ t just sit and study 24 / 7 ; it doesn ’ t work like that .”
Another factor is keeping up to date with state requirements for licensure , which vary and may change at any time .
“ As the dean , one of the things that I ’ m always looking for are ways no make sure that no matter what obstacles or challenges that come along , we have parameters in place that will not disrupt a student ’ s educational process , even in the middle of a crisis .”
Moving forward , Dr . King said she ’ d like to see the University continue to innovate , starting with an increase in the number of “ smart ” rooms .
“ We have to have the ability to connect with students all around the world ,” Dr . King detailed . “ If I ’ m a lecture instructor , and I ’ m giving a lecture in CCE 127 , I should be able to virtually project that lecture out to someone that is in Michigan or Oregon or California , or to record it and have a video repository so that students and graduates can always have a place to go back and review material if they wanted to .”
According to Dr . King , students also say they want more instruction about the business side of running a practice , including how to handle worker ’ s compensation cases , insurance payments and Medicare . That feedback is helping to shape a restructuring of the clinic system to give students a chance to handle more “ real-world ” cases and increase their business acumen .
“ I want our program to be not stuck in a box but to be more expansive ,” Dr . King explained . “ As the largest single-campus chiropractic program in the world , we do have a reputation not just here in the United States , but also internationally . We ’ d like for international students to be able to tap in , but
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