Gita Varagoor, Ed. D.
651 Homestead Street, Lafayette, CO 80026      
Cell: (303) 522-1312
E-mail: gitavaragoor@gmail.com          
_____________________________________________________________

Objective

Lead an educational institution to the next level in academic and operational excellence by facilitating high quality instruction with credible evidence using my talent and expertise to execute organizational goals and values.

Summary

A highly motivated leader who has fostered and delivered on the promise of quality and excellence in higher education. For 14 years, first at a Medical School, and then at a College for Health Professions, steered institutional strategic goals and needs with cross-disciplinary teams to plan, implement and evaluate services. She has been instrumental in growing online programs by over 700% since 2003 by supporting faculty and students continuously for over 55 eight-week terms. She has been an active participant in the Strategic Planning Team to leverage the digital needs of the University. As the leader of distance education in the University, she was a key player in two accreditation visits by the Higher Learning Commission in 2006 and 2008.

Areas of Expertise

• Leadership in distance education
• Program Evaluation
• Quality Assurance
• Faculty Development & Training
• Just-in-Time support for Faculty and Students
• Applications Administrator, Learning Management System (LMS)

Education

Professional Experience

VICE PRESIDENT (URL: http://ilearnllc.com/)                                      
iLearn LLC, Lafayette, Colorado
10/2010 - Present

• Developed a strategic plan
• Established operational processes
• Co-designed the company website (http://ilearnllc.com/)
• Developing a custom portal for professional development

MANAGER, QUALITY ASSURANCE (URL: http://www.westwood.edu)
Westwood College, Denver, Colorado
6/2010 – 10/2010                                      

• Submitted recommendations for an improved process for developing new online courses and for implementing major revisions in online courses
• Designed a policy for faculty to request course revisions
• Applications Administrator duties - e College LMS
• Fostered collaboration avenues between the course development team and faculty
• Developed a concept map for student success

DIRECTOR/ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, Distance Education (URL: www.regis.edu)
Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions (RHCHP)                     
Regis University, Denver, Colorado  
2/2003 – 6/2010                                         

Leadership in distance education

• Established quality and excellence as the cornerstone for a newly founded Department of Distance Education
• Demonstrated commitment to integrate the mission of institution in day-to-day work
• Prioritized digital needs of the University as a contributing member of the strategic planning team
• Participated in the strategic planning for the Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions (2004, 2008)
• Advocated the distance education services for the Higher Learning Commission’s focused visit (2006) to approve the online programs in the University
• Interviewed and involved in the Higher Learning Commission’s Comprehensive visit (2008) for the University
• Founded and Chaired, Online Learning Advisory Team (2003-2007)
• Chaired, Online Learning Administrative Team (since 2007)
• Streamlined policies and procedures for Distance Education
• Developed clear lines of communication with the faculty and academic advisors

Program Evaluation

• Led Retention Team, RHCHP (2005)
• Collaborated with faculty in enhancing courses by embedding interactive multimedia enhancements to further student learning
• Presented research and evaluation findings on retention efforts at national conferences

Faculty Development & Training

• Nurtured faculty development initiatives by supporting them in attending and presenting at distance education conferences
• Brainstormed with faculty on a regular basis to meet their needs while increasing efficiencies
• Planned and organized faculty development workshops on instructional design and faculty facilitation skills in online environments

Just-in-Time supports for Faculty and Students

• Provided just-in-time support for faculty and students
• Formulated processes for effective operations every 8-week term across the College and University partners
• Creating a digital repository of resources for faculty and students

Applications Administrator, Learning Management System (LMS)

• Applications Administrator, Learning Management Systems – ANGEL & WebCT
• Advise ANGEL LMS Core Team, Regis University (since 2006)

E-LEARNING COORDINATOR                                                                  
Red Rocks Community College, Lakewood, Colorado
8/2002 -1/2003

Leadership

• Formulated a strategic plan for E-Learning at RRCC
• Adapted vision and mission statements for E-Learning
• Acted as liaison between RRCC and Blackboard Inc.
• Performed a needs analysis on the state of E-Learning at RRCC
• Created rubrics for academic deans to assess online courses
• Developed checklist for faculty to maintain quality control in online courses

Management

• Designed guidelines for Academic Deans, relating to courses using WebCT
• Facilitated one-on-one training for faculty
• Established a help desk for students
• Improved communications between the Faculty and the senior management team
• Created a Web-based survey for student opinion of instruction
• Organized a workshop for Math and English faculty

MEDICAL EDUCATOR                                                                   
The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas
8/1997-7/2002

Leadership

• Outlined policies and procedures for Blackboard LMS use in the Medical School.
• Administrator, Blackboard 5 (enterprise version)
• Initiated, designed and developed curricular materials.
• Co-designed a multimedia CD on patient-physician encounter.
• Researched the efficacy of a summer enrichment program.
• Provided leadership for technology-based initiatives.

Management

• Conducted faculty-training workshops.
• Assisted curriculum committee with technology component.
• Established a help desk for students.
• Improved communications between the Dean’s office and Faculty.
• Created a Web-based survey for undergraduate clinical rotations.
• Organized product demonstrations for basic science Faculty.

ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR, Instructional Design Theory                             
Department of Curriculum & Instruction, College of Education
University of Houston, Houston, Texas.
2000 & 2001
Student comments from Summer 2000 and Fall 2001

CAREER NOTE: Past job history includes a Graduate Assistant, Intern, and Research Assistant. Details are available upon request.

Selected Scholarly Publications and Presentations

• Varagoor, G., & Berardinelli, C. (2008). Using Student Feedback to Guide Learning in Online Environments. 113th Annual Meeting of the Higher Learning Commission, Chicago, Illinois.
• Varagoor, G., & Weber, C. (2006). Promoting Retention in Online Nursing Programs through Meaningful Collaboration. 22nd Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, Madison, Wisconsin.
• Varagoor, G., & Weber, C. (2006). Enhancing Quality and Excellence in Health Professions through Assessment and Collaboration. IFWE 2006: The 2nd International Forum for Women in E-Learning, Galveston, Texas.
• Varagoor, G. (2002). Teaching in the Information Age: Challenges and Opportunities. Technology in Teaching and Learning Symposium jointly organized by the University of Texas - Houston Medical School and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
• Matthew, K., & Varagoor, G. (2001). Student responses to online course materials. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 33(5), 1-20.
• Varagoor, G., Perkowski, L., & Mylona, Z. (1999). Web-based multimedia courseware in medical education: Benefits and challenges. The Nineteenth Annual Conference for Generalists in Medical Education, Washington DC.
• Varagoor, G., Joyce, B., & deSantis, M. (1999). The CATCHUM Consortium effort for developing Cancer Prevention Curriculum using the World Wide Web. WebNet 99-World Conference on the WWW and Internet, Honolulu, Hawaii.
• Varagoor, G., Bassham, B., Butler, PM., & Huang, CH. (1999). Web-based courseware for assessment of clinical reasoning skills of medical students. EdMedia 99-World Conference on Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Seattle, Washington.
• Varagoor, G., & McNeil, S. (1999). Learning among individual members in cross-functional teams in new product development: A case study. Ed-Media 99-World Conference on Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Seattle, Washington.
• Varagoor, G., Butler PM., Lund, K., Rosenfeld, GC., & Schultz, SG. (1998). Pre-entry program at UT-Houston medical school: An assessment. Eighth Ottawa International Conference on Medical Education and Assessment, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Professional Service

Reviewer

• American Evaluation Association (AEA) - Integrating Technology into Evaluation TIG
• International Journal on E-Learning
• AACE (Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education) 
• AERA (American Educational Research Association)

University Service

• Member, Regis University’s ANGEL (LMS) Core Team
• Digital Repository Committee, Regis University
• Regis Operations Improvement (ROI) Committee, Regis University
• College Operations Council (RHCHP)
• Academic Council (RHCHP)
• Faculty Forum (RHCHP)
• Curriculum Committee, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston - Medical School Educational Computer Services Advisory Committee
• Learning and Technology Advisory Team, UTHSC
• Program Evaluation Committee, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Self-Study Project, UTHSC