The vice provost with a can-do attitude has worked in many forms of UofL academic affairs and services throughout the 35-year tenure that ended with her June 30 retirement. In recent years, Rhodes had the additional title of executive director of the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning.

“People knew if you gave me something, it got done – and I enjoy that reputation,” Rhodes said.

“She has grown a small Delphi Center program into a juggernaut that offers expertise including instructional design, pedagogy/college teaching, higher education administration, IT, disability services, program and administrative support, conference and events services and sales, enrollment counseling, marketing and finance,” Provost Lori Stewart Gonzalez said. “The most recent addition to the Delphi Center is Military and Online Initiatives, an area that was created to lead institutional efforts to support on-campus and online military-connected students.”

Rhodes is quick to credit her staff members, who number close to 60 and who share her viewpoint that “at the end of the day, we need to do excellent work,” she said. She is proud of what they’ve accomplished together.

“The beauty of my unit is we are a service unit, and my staff thoroughly understands that,” she said.

When Rhodes arrived at UofL, she established and coordinated the freshman orientation course and soon served as director of academic services, earning her UofL doctorate along the way in counseling and college student personnel in 1994. She also had responsibility for UofL’s Quality Enhancement Plan meant to enhance critical thinking skills to address real-world problems.

Over the years Rhodes assumed more and more responsibilities and assignments in the evolving areas of professional, distance and continuing education and, ultimately, the burgeoning field of online education.

And, although the processes were well in place beforehand, at no time was the importance of online education more important or visible than when UofL needed to shift to remote learning mid-spring semester 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I knew our staff and I knew we were structured in such a way we could turn on a dime,” Rhodes said. Her message to her team was simple: “We’ve got to bring our faculty online for our students.”

“This is our opportunity,” Rhodes recalled saying to a team leader. “This training has to be outstanding.”

Rhodes said the unit also assessed along the way to ensure it was meeting faculty needs and ultimately the learning outcomes for students.

“I think we rose to the occasion,” she said. “People saw the value of what we have to offer them.”

The Delphi Center also has concentrated on working with faculty within their colleges or academic departments for better coordination of ways to deliver their subjects as peers. “You make a difference with people one at a time,” she said.

Most gratifying for her has been the reaction of some professors who’ve relied on the Delphi Center expertise in refining their approach to reaching their students, not only during the pandemic shift.

“The number of people who’ve said they’ve changed the way they teach….,” Rhodes said. “Working with my staff has made them better teachers. That’s been wonderful.”

She praised the “faculty who are willing to grow and learn,” adding that most people are most comfortable with teaching the way they were taught.

“I am grateful to those who are open to learning new ways to deliver education,” she said.

Delivering online education now can even mean offering entire graduate programs that way. Rhodes credits deans and other administrators who show leadership and understanding of what it takes to market to adult students who might have some college credits but lack a full degree or who need more education through an advanced degree. Those adults often are juggling families, full-time jobs and locations outside Louisville with their need for coursework – and for them, online is the way to a brighter future and more opportunity.

Rhodes cited the online master of business administration degree and the university’s new, first fully online doctorate in social work as examples of ways UofL is trying to reach different populations and bring them to the university through online curriculum in a stiffly competitive market.

Rhodes leaves the university proud of what she has accomplished with her staff and hopeful about the future.

“I think the university is really poised to move forward, and for me that’s really exciting,” she said.

UofL’s fully online programs were acknowledged among some of the top education programs for online students in 2021 across the following categories:Ěý

• Online bachelor’s
• Online bachelor’s psychology
• Online graduate criminal justice
• Online graduate education
• Online graduate engineeringĚý

UofL’s online bachelor’s ranking rose nearlyĚý40 spots between the 2020 and 2021 reports. UofL also is ranked as a Best Online Program for Veterans across all the same categories.

“Online learning is an extremely important area of growth for the University of Louisville,” said Gale Rhodes, vice provost and executive director of the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning. “We continually strive to offer programs that deliver flexible education at the standard of quality UofL is known for while also meeting the needs of learners today, who often are juggling careers, families and other priorities while pursuing an education. This recognition by U.S. News & World ReportĚýis a testament to our commitment to bring market-driven online education opportunities to students.”

In pursuit of extending education opportunities to the Greater Louisville area and beyond, UofL launched 14 new online programs in 2020 including a managerial analytics certificate, a healthcare administration master’s, interdisciplinary early childhood education programs, engineering programs in areas like artificial intelligence in medicine and materials and energy sciences, as well as a business administration bachelor’s degree.

Online programs are targeted toward the non-traditional students, including adult learners, working professionals, military and degree completer students – as well as anyone looking to earn a college credential through flexible, high-quality online education.

UofL News: For those that don’t know, what is “Winter Session”?Ěý

Gale Rhodes:Ěý is a university-wide academic session that runs during UofL’s winter break, and offers a selection of accelerated three-week undergraduate and graduate courses. Delivered through a 100-percent online format, these courses present students with the opportunity to catch up or get ahead in their studies.

UofL News: What was the reason for starting the program last year?

GR: Here at the University of Louisville and within the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning, we are continuously evaluating new ways to help our students succeed and stay on track to graduation. After researching the success of similar sessions at other colleges and the student-demand for year-round courses, the university chose to launch Winter Session last year to provide students a way to stay engaged in the learning process over the winter break.

UofL News: How successful was the first year? What did you learn that has helped shape the program moving forward?

GR: We believe Winter Session 2017 was very successful for a pilot program. We offered 31 courses, generating 530 enrollments, a response that validated the perceived demand for a chance to take courses over the winter break. Furthermore, following a post-Winter Session survey, we learned from participants that Winter Session was extremely important for lessening course load in future semesters (92 percent), meeting intended graduation timelines (85 percent) and having a convenient way to accelerate their studies (93 percent).

Based on these findings and feedback from students, we’ve adjusted our course offerings this year to better meet the needs of our students. And these adjustments are already paying off. We saw a huge increase in enrollment on the first day of registration, with three times as many students registering for a winter session course this year compared to last. Within the first few days of registration, over 200 students have enrolled, and we expect to continue to see that number grow as advising continues and students consider their options.

UofL News: Who is the ideal Winter Session student?

GR: The session is open to UofL’s current on-campus, online and returning students, as well as new, transfer and visiting students from other universities. Given the online and accelerated nature of the session, students do need to be focused, driven and organized to succeed in Winter Session courses. With the right motivation, this is a great opportunity to make up for lost time, complete extra credit hours or squeeze in an additional elective or gen ed requirement between semesters.

UofL News: How many overall courses will be offered this year?

GR: Building on the success of the 2017 program, this year’s Winter Session offers even more online courses for students to choose from. More than 60 courses are available across various disciplines within the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Business, Kent School of Social Work and the College of łÉČËÖ±˛Ą & Human Development.

Current University of Louisville students can enroll in Winter Session courses onlineĚýand clicking the “Register Now!” Button. New, transfer and visiting students first need to to the university and will be given a chance to enroll once that process is complete.