Letter from Dr. Bryon Grigsby

Welcome

"The best way to learn
is to learn by doing."

Shenandoah University is a great place to come to learn. To be honest, there are many colleges and universities that are great places to acquire knowledge and to be a successful student. But here at Shenandoah, we give our students a real head start on learning and on applying knowledge in real world ways.

All of our incoming students take part in the iMLearning program, which puts state of the art technology into their hands so they can participate in an interactive and information-rich learning style. Our faculty also have access to this first-class Apple technology and this creates an academic environment that’s fast-paced, creative and vibrant. Education takes on a whole new dimension when you’re asked to express what you’ve learned using the latest technology. Valuable class time is devoted to exploration and discovery -- it’s not a matter of just listening and taking notes. During class you’ll present the creative work you’ve done to share your insights with your fellow students and your professor. Learning in this highly charged, interactive classroom means you not only learn the facts, you also understand how to use the information in dynamic, hands on applications. It’s that all-important learning by doing.

Here are some more benefits of the iMLearning program:

• By creating a common platform, faculty are able to help you learn how to use technology that is most important for your discipline and career. This takes teaching and learning beyond web surfing and really engages you in the type of technology you need to know for your career. You become expert in using it.
  
  
• As a Shenandoah student you learn from your faculty and your fellow students, as all of you become adept in general technology skills, such as creating blogs, podcasts, web pages, digital media presentations along with all the software programs that are common to your discipline.
  
  
• With common mobile tools, students, faculty and staff can remain in contact 24/7. This truly enhances engagement, interaction and learning. Through mobile tools, you are able to contact faculty and staff outside the class, allowing you to be more engaged with your professors, which provides more value for your tuition dollar.
  
  
• Shenandoah has made the laptop a requirement, and students are able to use loans and grants to pay for the technology fee. This enables all students to use the technology no matter how much need they have.
  
  
• As an institution committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility, Shenandoah is proud to partner with Apple, which has created one of the greenest laptop computers available.
  
  
• With a common technology platform, Institutional Computing is able to provide the greatest service to our students and faculty. Our Help Desk is able to provide complete customer service on one platform, quickly and easily for all students.
  

The iMLearning program reflects Shenandoah’s goals for you and all of your fellow students -- you will be conversant and comfortable with technology and the many changes that will come with it over the course of your career, and you will be able to employ what you have learned to become a leader in your field.

Sincerely,
Bryon Grigsby, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President &Vice President for Academic Affairs