Synchronous Sessions: A Valuable Inclusion in Online Learning
Introducing A Policy Change While synchronous sessions have long been a part of online instruction at Northwestern’s School of Professional Studies, their potential impact on student engagement and community building has been underestimated. Now, administrators and lead faculty have developed a revised policy on holding sync sessions. Significantly, new information regarding assignments, material, and concepts integral to the course can now be shared during these live sessions. Previously, this was not the case, which may have contributed to a sense that sync sessions were purely optional social events. As the pandemic progressed, many of us faculty felt that sync sessions