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Post University
Bonnie Solivan
Instructional design volunteer for Save the Children
Class of 2011, master’s degree in education
Post University
Bonnie Solivan graduated from Post University in 2011 as one of the university’s first groups of online M.Ed. students. A native New Yorker, Solivan moved to Connecticut in 2004 after living several years abroad in Puerto Rico. She completed a master’s of social work at the University of Connecticut and began working as a social worker supervisor for a foster care program. Solivan’s main responsibilities as a social worker supervisor included training foster parents and social work staff about caring for children who have undergone severe trauma. Leading these types of training programs inspired Solivan to pursue a master’s of education degree in order to apply for similar positions within the state system.
Solivan chose to pursue her M.Ed. at Post University over other universities because it offered a great program that was available fully online. “Being a single mother of two and working full time, I required a program that would be flexible to my schedule,” Solivan said. She chose to focus on a concentration in instructional design. The degree was open to not just teachers, Solivan said, “but also others that have been training and instructing outside of the classroom.”
The mix of teachers and non-teachers suited Solivan’s needs perfectly, as she was looking for an opportunity to gain perspective on training and instructional methods, but not those that only pertain to an academic environment. The goal of Solivan’s master’s work, she said, was to “better prepare the next social workers who were coming up the ranks.”
“All my classes were wonderful,” Solivan said, “and I learned an immense amount about true grading and assessing a student, the importance of meeting various styles of learning, and creating material that is well-rounded so that the objectives are met in a creative manner [and students are involved and interacting with one another].” Every course for the graduate degree program was available online, and most of the course work consisted of reading and writing papers.
“In online courses, [we] were [often] required to view educational videos on different themes, research on the current issues, and collaborate with peers, comparing learning environments and what has been brought into practice in one’s current work arena,” Solivan said. For Solivan, the flexibility of the online program was one of the best parts of pursuing a master’s through Post University. “I don’t tend to sleep much,” Solivan said, “so the best hours to work were in the wee hours of the morning — from 12 midnight to about 3:30 a.m. to 4 a.m,” she said, “the other great part was that you can do it in PJs and not worry about having a bad hair day!”
According to Solivan, all of her courses were engaging and challenging, but the true effort, especially in an online format, must come from the students themselves. “The worst part for me was that not everyone participated in the weekly discussions like required,” said Solivan. “It was frustrating to me that, if there was a small class and the requirement was that you had to respond to three classmates’ discussions by Wednesday, and no one did, then there was no collaboration on the topic at hand or exchanges of ideas,” Solivan said. She said that, as in any academic setting, there will be some students who are there to learn, and some who are there to coast.
However, in an online format, lack of participation by fellow classmates is more noticeable. “If they were late and incorrectly completed the assignment, how could they comment? They couldn’t,” she said. “So, at times there was little to no discussion or collaboration.” According to Solivan, these kinds of situations were more present in the beginning level courses.
All in all, though, Solivan found the online experience fit exceptionally well with both her expectations for a quality master’s program and her lifestyle. Balancing school with family, work, and children is a challenge, but one that Solivan has found manageable. “For me, adding one more activity, such as school, fit pretty easily, since I have [already] been raising my children alone with very little support,” she said. “Each of my children has their friends and after-school sports,” Solivan said.
“When I made the decision to return to school, it was a topic of conversation for all three of us to ensure that I would be able to incorporate my studying in along with their study time,” Solivan said. “My children were excited with the fact that I was returning to school and [would] be studying along with them. I would not have been able to complete my studies without my children’s support,” she said. “They accompanied me to meetings with the dean of my department when needed, too,” Solivan said. “My children were able to see different facets of college life and the importance of brainstorming with others to obtain solutions to challenges.”
After completing her M.Ed., Solivan has continued to work as an instructional design volunteer for Save the Children, an international NGO organization that she began working with as part of her master’s research. She also teaches as an adjunct at both Post University and Naugatuck Valley Community College. Solivan kept in touch with the dean of the master’s of education department, who has stayed connected with several students in order to get feedback about the program the first time around and make necessary changes to better the experience.
Her main advice to other students looking into online M.Ed. programs is to “think about what you want and ensure that [a program] meets your personal needs.” Solivan recommended that students research extensively on amount of feedback and support from professors. She also advised looking thoroughly into whether or not the IT department will be present and supportive through any problems. “People don’t think about that, they just go and register,” Solivan said.
“I have a friend who is working toward an online degree with a different university, and she found out after beginning her program that the IT department was only open from 9-7 on weekdays and closed on the weekends. It didn’t work with her schedule at all,” she said. Solivan said that students should not, “get [a degree] online because you can get it online.” Instead, students should consider how it would benefit their careers, and to consider “what is it at the end that you are really looking to achieve, and can [a degree] do that and more.”
