Rewarding experiences keep each day interesting for Tamra Swann, Mississippi State’s distance education coordinator for the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering.
Swann serves as a liaison between distance engineering students and faculty, with her primary goal being the academic success and satisfaction of distance students. On any given day, Swann may assist a soldier serving in Afghanistan or a mother returning to the classroom. Students come to Bagley’s distance programs from a wide variety of backgrounds, and Swann said helping them navigate online education is both humbling and rewarding.
“Distance students bring a different set of challenges to the classroom, but they also bring quality life experiences,” Swann said. “Online business students can give actual examples that expand upon the classroom lesson. Online engineering students can explain how their organization addresses issues brought forward in class.”
Swann has been involved in distance education for most of the 14 years she’s been employed at MSU. She previously worked at the university’s Center for Distance Education, where she coordinated distance education efforts for the colleges of Business and Forest Resources. In that role, she was part of the team that developed the center’s online orientation program. For the last two and a half years, Swann has coordinated the Bagley College of Engineering’s 12 distance programs.
In addition to bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State University, Swann has earned many distance education credentials. She completed training with the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning sponsored by Penn State University and the Online Learning Consortium. She also has earned the LERN Certified Program Planner designation as part of her professional development efforts.
As she continues in her MSU role, Swann said she anticipates continued growth in the university’s distance education program and looks forward to helping students from around the state, country and world fulfill their educational goals.