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Iḷisaġvik College in Alaska has received approval for a new 15-credit Tribal Emergency Management certificate, with classes beginning in fall 2026. Developed with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, the program will prepare students to respond to emergencies in rural and remote communities while incorporating Indigenous perspectives and local knowledge. The certificate provides a short-term pathway into emergency management and can also lead to further education in the field.

Why It Matters to RCCA

The program highlights how rural community colleges can develop education and training around the specific needs of their communities. For Iḷisaġvik College, preparing local residents for emergency-management roles helps build capacity in remote communities where access to specialized services can be limited. The program also demonstrates how partnerships with universities and local organizations can help rural colleges create targeted, career-focused credentials that address regional workforce needs.

When I joined Western Dakota Technical College in 2017 as the Health Information Management/Coding Specialty Program Director, the program’s technical courses were traditional, in-person classes, while some general education courses were available online. Fast-forward to 2026, and the entire program is now offered online.

The idea of moving the program online was first brought to me during the 2022–2023 academic year. We had prospective students from across South Dakota and surrounding states who were interested in the program, but geography created a barrier. If a student lived several hours away, attending class on campus simply wasn't a realistic option. The change wasn't an easy decision. One of my biggest concerns was student success. I had students who had specifically chosen our program because they had been unsuccessful in other online medical coding programs. I knew that simply putting our existing courses online would not be enough. If we made the transition, we needed to intentionally design the online experience for student success.

So, we started small. Rather than immediately converting the program to fully online delivery, we transitioned some in-person courses to a hybrid format as a test. Lecture material and readings moved online, while practical, hands-on activities remained in the classroom. We also began incorporating video demonstrations for some of the hands-on coding activities.

During the 2023–2024 academic year, we tested the courses and gathered student feedback. What we heard surprised me.

One of the unexpected benefits of online instruction was the ability to record demonstrations. Students told me they loved being able to rewind and replay the demonstrations until they understood the coding process—something they simply couldn't do during a traditional class. As one student put it, they could essentially “rewind and replay” me until it made sense. At first, I had recorded only a handful of demonstrations. But students wanted more. Their feedback helped me realize that something I initially viewed as a challenge—the loss of a live classroom demonstration—could become one of the strengths of online learning. I began to see that online education didn't necessarily mean less interaction, less instruction, or less hands-on learning. It could provide students with more opportunities to learn at their own pace and revisit instruction when they needed it.

That's when I felt we had our answer.

I knew making online learning effective was going to require a tremendous amount of work. If I wanted to recreate the classroom experience online, I needed to create training videos for the demonstrations I had previously provided in person.

So, I started recording. And recording. And recording.

To date, I have created more than 290 training videos covering coding conventions, demonstrations, revenue cycle processes, and hands-on instruction essential to learning medical coding. Those videos didn't replace teaching; they became another tool in my teaching toolbox.

Just as important, I knew I couldn’t let the instructor-student relationship disappear along with the classroom. I intentionally built personal interaction into my courses through assignments that required video responses from students and mandatory monthly one-on-one meetings. During these meetings, we discuss progress, answer questions, address concerns, and sometimes I ask students to demonstrate the skills they’ve learned. Those meetings have become one of the most valuable parts of the online program. They allow me to get to know students personally, understand how they are progressing, and identify areas where they may need additional support.

I also learned that instructor presence must be intentional online. In a classroom, interaction happens naturally. Online, it has to be created.

When a student asks a question about a skill or assignment, I may create a short, anonymous video explaining the answer for the entire class. One student's question can become a learning opportunity for everyone.

I also provide a weekly recap video highlighting assignments, upcoming deadlines, and concepts students should consider during the week. Another strategy I use is what I think of as “listen, write, rehear.” Students watch an instructional video, take notes, and then record a short response explaining something they learned. They aren't simply watching a video, they are processing the information and communicating their understanding.

Full online delivery has now entered its second year, and the results have been encouraging. Since transitioning to fully online delivery, enrollment has increased, and by the second year, enrollment has doubled. We are also reaching students well beyond the geographic area we could realistically serve with an in-person program, including students as far away as Shreveport, Louisiana, and Chicago, Illinois.

What started as a concern about whether our students could be successful online has become an opportunity to reach students who otherwise may never have had access to our program.

The biggest lesson I learned is that moving a course online isn't about putting a classroom on a computer. It's about rethinking how you teach.

For me, the classroom didn't disappear. It changed.