Scheinman Institute Goes Virtual to Meet Student Needs

A critical outreach component of the Scheinman Institute's mission has been in-person workshops, which are held each semester at the offices in New York City and Buffalo. Hundreds of professionals take courses in subjects ranging from labor relations to collective bargaining and diversity and inclusion. When the coronavirus made holding these sessions impossible during the spring, the Institute moved its classes online. The process required a tremendous amount of organization and coordination.

This move to virtual instruction will continue throughout the fall, and occurs not only because of the Institute’s focus on public safety and social distancing, but also as part of a push to develop flexible and interactive long distance learning to meet the needs of students on a world wide basis.

“Our general instructional approach was to maintain the same level of interactivity in our virtual programs as we had in the in-class version,” states Judy Young, director of diversity and inclusion programs. “The Zoom platform allows us to send participants into groups for different activities including case study exercises, brainstorming, and role play.”

Feedback from those taking the virtual courses has been overwhelmingly positive. Susan Brecher, director of employee relations programs, notes, “The response has been excellent and participants have indicated that the sessions have very robust content and have been a meaningful and interactive learning experience”.

For more information about courses and certificates offered for the fall please check out the ILR professional education website: https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/scheinman-institute/professional-programs/workshops.