Two NECC Professors, Jody Carson (left) and Jill Becker, received Course of Distinction Awards from Massachusetts Colleges Online.

Two Northern Essex Community College faculty members, Jody Carson of Hampton, NH, and Jill Becker of Andover, are the recipients of the Massachusetts Colleges Online (MCO) Course of Distinction (COD) Award given to state faculty who have developed and teach innovative online and blended courses that are representative of the best uses of eLearning instructional tools to enhance student success.

The awards were presented during Mass College Online’s 10th annual conference on elearning at Bridgewater State College, which was held in June. Massachusetts Colleges Online (MCO) is a consortium of the 15 community colleges and 9 state colleges of Massachusetts. The institutions have joined to share their convenient and flexible online courses and programs with students throughout the state and beyond.

An assistant professor in Northern Essex’s Early Childhood Education Program, Carson was recognized for “Child Care Administration”, a course which is designed for students who want to be child care directors or lead teachers. The fully online course covers leadership styles, financial management, personal management, licensing regulations, and state and national day care legislation.  Her course was selected for the award based on the multitude of tools she uses for enhancing the group learning experience.  Carson will be offering this course again this fall.

She is an assistant professor in NECC’s early childhood education program. She has been teaching at NECC since 2007. She has been teaching an NECC online course since 2008. In addition, Carson has 12 years of additional experience in the field from classroom teaching to training adult educators. She holds an Associate of Science in Early Childhood Education from NECC, a Bachelor of Arts on Human Development from Lesley University and a Master of Education in Child Development from Southern New Hampshire University. 

Becker’s hybrid/blended iHealth nursing course “Professionals Issues in Nursing” which provides students in the licensed practical nurse advanced placement cohort the  opportunity to critically examine contemporary issues and trends in nursing practice as they transition into the professional registered nurse role.

Topics in this nursing class include legal responsibilities, ethical decision making, and political forces affecting the practice of nursing. Students are asked to choose a health care issue or topic that is meaningful to them and reach out to elected officials. In a sense, the students control the focus of the class through participatory learning. By having most of the theory presented online, students have the opportunity to reflect on the content and make connections between online and face-to-face time leading to more spirited discussions both online and during class. The hybrid environment increases both student and instructor engagement, making this an exemplary course.

She has taught nursing at NECC since 2002. Prior to that, she taught as an adjunct at the University of Cincinnati, Simmons College, Xavier University, and Raymond Walters College. She has also worked at North Shore Medical Center and Eliot Hospital as nurse educator. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Iowa, a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Cincinnati, Legal Nurse Consultant from Northeastern University, Doctor of Nursing Practice from Northeastern University and a Certified Nurse Educator awarded by the National League for Nursing (NLN). 

Northern Essex offers dozens of online courses, web enhanced courses, and hybrid courses each semester. More than 20 degree and certificates are now offered exclusively online or 80% online. These programs include business management, criminal justice, liberal arts, computer and information sciences, and sleep technology.

Here are NECC’s online course and program offerings.