eLearning Consortia: Stories from the Past Looking to the Future

Kevin Corcoran

Executive Director, Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium

Carol Gould

Executive Director, Great Plains IDEA, Kansas State University

Pat James

@ONE Course Facilitator, California Community Colleges Virtual Campus & Online Education Initiative

Pat James was the initial executive director of the California Community Colleges Online Education Initiative (OEI). Currently, Pat is a project consultant for the OEI and for Pat James Consulting, an Online Network of Educators (@ONE) facilitator for CVC, an instructor at Evergreen Valley College, and a part-time consultant for Instructure. She is a creative, experienced online educator in the areas of program planning, course design, implementation, professional development, budget development, and program management. She is the recipient of multiple grant awards and holds awards for her leadership work from OLC Leadership, Pearson Excellence in Academic Leadership, Mt. San Jacinto College, and the California Community Colleges.

Russ Poulin

Executive Director, WCET & Vice President for Technology-Enhanced Education, WICHE

303-541-0305rpoulin@wiche.edu

LinkedIn Profile

Russ Poulin is the executive director for WCET. He directs the team’s work in supporting the efforts of postsecondary institutions from all 50 states with a focus on the policy and practice of digital learning. He is a highly sought-after expert and leader regarding policy issues for distance education and on-campus uses of educational technologies. As WICHE vice president for technology-enhanced education, he advises on policy and projects for the regional higher education compact. Russ’s commitment to the field is continually noted, and he was honored to have represented the distance education community on federal negotiated rulemaking committees and subcommittees. Russ has received recognition from the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), the Presidents’ Forum, Excelsior College, and the National University Technology Network (NUTN) for his contributions to postsecondary digital education and educational policy.

Russ received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Denver and holds a master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado. For no discernible reason, Russ also writes movie reviews for WCET members. As a movie enthusiast, Russ is most fascinated with characters and plots that surprise him. In addition, Russ is a recovering trivia guy who is also partial to cats and to his wife, Laurie.

Tina Parscal

Associate Vice Chancellor for CCCOnline and Academic Affairs, Colorado Community College System

tina.parscal@cccs.edu

LinkedIn Profile

Tina Parscal is the associate vice chancellor for CCCOnline and Academic Affairs for the Colorado Community College System (CCCS). She serves as the system’s chief online learning officer responsible for developing and implementing a strategic vision that ensures the continuation of the CCCS as a nationally recognized consortium model for online and shared course teaching and learning. Additionally, she oversees system-wide academic technologies and online services and coordinates collaboration and communication among the colleges, CCCS, Colorado Online, and CCCOnline.

For her outstanding service and leadership in digital learning, Tina received WCET’s Dick Jonsen & Mollie McGill Award in 2022.