Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

About me

Dr. S. David Vaillancourt currently serves as the Vice President of Academic Affairs for the College of Health Care Professions based in Houston, Texas. Prior to this post he worked as an e-Learning consultant for companies across the USA. His primary research focus over the past four years has been the development of online learning Engagement Metrics. Dr. Vaillancourt’s 27 years of service in education includes multiple levels of experience in both private and public educational institutions. His professional positions include Online Campus President for Virginia College, National Dean of ITT's Online Division, Director of Education for Ultimate Medical Academy, President of a two-campus allied health college in Utah, Certified Cisco Academy Instructor, Master Certified Novell Instructor, and K-12 public school science teacher.

Dr. Vaillancourt’s BS and MS in Education were earned from Samford University in 1983 and 1989, respectively. He completed his Ed.D. in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University in May 2004. Dr. Vaillancourt designed, founded and chaired the non-profit National Math Bee (2006-2011), which provided an online learning community for over 15,000 elementary school mathematics students in 37 states across the country.  He was a US Army soldier prior to his career in education.

Activity

Joseph, Agreed. When engaging in a people to people service (like teaching, medicine, etc.) there is a lot of value added when the details are done right. Nice job on this course. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Joseph, Yes, both qualitative and quantitative evaluations are necessary for comprehensive assessments. Thanks for sharing. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Joseph, Well stated. The 'no surprises' approach is best for morale and performance. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Joseph, You are correct to identify teaching experience and industry experience as valuable to instructional qualities in addition to advanced degrees. Good point. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

I agree with your sentiment of not completing the course as negating the positive meaning of the enrollment. Even more, non-completion habors a negative meaningfulness (impact) on the student's life by adding another failure and incurring a financial debt. These negative factors raise the seriousness of retention, for the sake of the well-being of the student, to an even more urgent level.

William, The disadvantage you point out is very valid. It is one of the many challenges in our current academic system. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
William, Yes, the proper tools make all the difference. You have outlined a solid view of what that looks like. Thank you for your contribution. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
William, The continued improvement through a collaborative learning community is a valuable tool to have. Many online instructors have not experienced this. I am very glad to know you have it. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
William, Very true. The quantitative is just the BEGINNING of evaluating quality. If the quantities do not we are quickly alerted to the areas of deficiency. If the required quantities of participation do exist, continued evaluation of the quality is a MUST. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
William, Well stated. It often true that the difference between mediocre and magnificent is in the details. Dr. S. David Vaillancourt

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