IRSC Global Honored with Blackboard Exemplary Course Award

December 9, 2020 Melanie Coppola

Dr. Leigh Clay, the Indian River State College (IRSC) Global Student Learning Coordinator, was honored with the Blackboard Exemplary Course Program (ECP) Award. This award recognizes faculty and course designers from schools, colleges and universities around the world who develop engaging and innovative courses that represent the very best in technology and learning.

Dr. Leigh Clay, recipient of the Blackboard Exemplary Course Award.

“We are beyond proud of Dr. Clay and her well-deserved accomplishment,” remarked Dr. Kendall St. Hilaire, IRSC Global President. “The Blackboard Exemplary Course Program Award is an impressive achievement to begin with—and this accolade is even more significant given the increased need for online learning.”

Dr. Clay was selected as a winner for her Victimology course, which demonstrated excellence in four areas:

Course Design: the elements of instructional design, such as its structure, learning objectives and instructional strategies.
Interaction and Collaboration: the level of engagement offered by the course and the level of student interaction and collaboration
Assessment: the evaluation of student work toward the achievement of learning outcomes and the quality and type of student assessments
Learner Support: the resources made available to students, which may be accessible within or external to the course environment.

For nearly two-decades, the ECP has honored instructors and course designers whose courses demonstrate best practices. Since its founding, thousands of instructors, teachers and designers have used the ECP to evaluate and improve their courses with recognized best practices. To be considered for the award, applicants must be a user of the Blackboard Learn learning management system. Submitted courses are evaluated by other course developers, instructional designers, teachers and professors using the ECP Rubric.

“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Clay to the ECP family,” said Lee Blakemore, Chief Client Officer and President Global Markets at Blackboard. “Now more than ever, educators are challenged with creating engaging and effective courses. This 2020 cohort is among the best of the best for engaging and maximizing learning outcomes for students.”

Dr. Leigh Clay and other outstanding ECP recipients are recognized on the Blackboard website as well as in the Blackboard Community, a platform where the largest organized network of Blackboard users connect, collaborate and learn from their peers.

To learn more about the Exemplary Course Program, visit https://www.blackboard.com/resources/are-your-courses-exemplary.

About Indian River State College

A leader in education and innovation, Indian River State College (IRSC) transforms lives by offering high quality, affordable and accessible education to the residents of Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties through traditional and online delivery. IRSC is recipient of the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges. The College serves nearly 30,000 students annually and offers more than 100 programs leading to Bachelor’s degrees, Associate degrees, technical certificates and applied technology diplomas.