PUC’s Online Campus: Delivering High-Quality Education in a Digital World

Pacific Union College has long recognized the value of online education in expanding access and flexibility for students while maintaining academic excellence. Building on this foundation, the college recently pursued two grants from the Archie Tonge Education Foundation to strengthen its online offerings further. Because of these funds, PUC was able to create the Online Campus to support the BSN, MBA, MEd, MSN, and MA in Communication programs.

Since 2021, two teams have successfully secured funding that enabled key enhancements: upgraded instructional technology, standardized syllabi across courses, and over 600 hours of faculty development focused on effective online teaching. These efforts also supported the creation of quality assurance processes designed to uphold and continually improve PUC’s academic standards in the digital learning environment.

To foster sustainable growth for the college and reach students off-campus and working professionals, this program will meet their needs by delivering high-quality education that reflects PUC’s Christ-centered values. To ensure lifelong learning success, orientation resources will help students start strong and confidently navigate their learning experience. This online resource supports the design of all the college’s courses with accessibility, academic rigor, and Adventist values in mind, ensuring that students receive a personalized, engaging, and transformative education.

Leading this project is Online Campus Director and Communication Chair Tara Hargrove, alongside RN-BSN Director Sandra Ringer, Professor of Nursing Laurie Parsons, Education and English Professor Jennifer Peñaflorida, Psychology Professor and Counseling Center Director Michael Jefferson, Systems Programmer and LMS Administrator James Burville, and Music Department Chair Rachelle Davis.

The committee introduced key initiatives this year that reflect the importance of online learning at PUC, including the formation of a governance and strategic vision through the establishment of this campus-wide strategic committee of experienced faculty members in online education, which the Academic Senate approved. Committee members attended national AI and online learning conferences, where Hargrove presented on AI for a faculty development session.

Additionally, Hargrove and her team revised and aligned the online course review processes with Quality Matters (QM) standards to tailor them to the Adventist mission and received support from the Archie Tonge Education Fund to finance QM training. QM standards are a nationally recognized and research-backed set of quality assurance standards for online courses. They are now developing a transition plan to the Seventh-day Adventist Online Course Rubric to ensure continued excellence and compliance.

Launching the Online Campus felt “incredibly fulfilling” for Hargrove after all the thorough work she and the committee had done, but they will not stop there. They plan to incorporate additional improvements to create a more innovative program and gather feedback from students on how to enhance the Online Campus to better fit their lifestyle.

“Higher education has changed, and online learning isn’t just a trend—it’s a necessity,” said Hargrove. “This was a massive team effort from Academic Administration, committee members, and our dedicated faculty and staff who are committed to seeing online learning come to life,” she said. “To know our students will benefit from it is so meaningful! There were policy hurdles and technical details to solve, which will continue, but knowing we’re expanding PUC’s reach makes it all worth it. Every step is rooted in our goal to make PUC’s online offerings not just accessible, but deeply meaningful and mission-aligned.”