It’s not every day that a Sessions faculty member is recognized as one of the finest educators in the country. So all at Sessions College were delighted and honored on Monday, April 30, when veteran instructor Piper Nilsson was awarded a USDLA Platinum Award Best Practices Awards for Excellence in Distance Learning Teaching.
The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 to support research, development, and praxis in distance learning education, training, and communications. As a non-profit group, the USDLA serves a wide range of schools, colleges, and training institutions from K-12 through graduate school who offer distance education of all kinds.
The USDLA Awards, announced at the USDLA Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, is the most important independent education awards program for distance institutions. Hundreds of schools and programs compete for the awards, with educators at the following institutions honored in the 2012 USDLA awards: Drake University, The Department of Veterans Affairs Learning University, University of Lincoln-Nebraska Independent Study High School, Open High School of Utah, SCAD Elearning, and the NASA Digital Learning Network, as well as Sessions College.
USDLA Education awards are given in four categories:
- Best Practices Awards for Distance Learning Programming (Curriculum)
- Best Practices Awards for Excellence in Distance Learning Teaching
- Outstanding Leadership by an Individual in the Field of Distance Learning
- 21st Century Awards for Best Practices in Distance Learning
Sessions College has won USDLA Gold awards for Distance Learning Programming twice, in 2008 and 2009. Sessions has never won a Platinum award—the highest education award from USDLA—until now, which is a reflection of the enormous contribution that Piper Nilsson has made in 10 years of teaching at Sessions. As a teacher, curriculum designer, and department head, Piper has helped many thousands of students reach for excellence in their design work, regularly scoring among the highest in student evaluations each year.
Earlier this year, we were delighted to give Piper our Sessions College outstanding instructor award for her achievements. Now, we are honored that her efforts have received a wider recognition. Please join us in congratulating Piper on her USDLA award.
