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MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Walden University's president, chief academic officer, and key faculty and staff will be presenting on topics such as faculty development, online learning and technology use at the 22nd Annual Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Accelerate Conference. The premier global conference in online learning—held in Orlando, Florida, November 16–18—brings together a range of key players in higher education.

This year's conference, titled Accelerating Online Learning Worldwide, features Walden presenters including:

• Jonathan Kaplan, president, "All That Glitters Is Not Gold: Understanding When Innovations in Online Education Matter."
• Dr. Eric Riedel, chief academic officer, "Faculty Behaviors and Characteristics That Impact Student Retention in Online Graduate Programs at Two Universities."
• Dr. Rebecca Jobe, executive director, Student Progress Initiatives, "New Student Orientation: Engaging and Retaining Online Students Through a Virtual Orientation."
• Nicole Holland, director, Institutional Research; and Dr. Gary Burkholder, senior research scholar and faculty, College of Health Sciences and College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, "Using Welcome Kits to Build New Student Connectedness to an Online Institution" and "Understanding Graduate Online Student Retention."
• Dr. Shelley Armstrong, interim program director, School of Health Sciences undergraduate programs; and Dr. Michelle Burcin, program director, Master of Public Health, "Promoting Wellness Online: Assessing the Health Needs of U.S. Fully Online College Students to Develop Healthy (Virtual) Campus Initiatives." Dr. Armstrong will also participate with representatives from other institutions in a town hall interactive discussion on "Learner Services and Support."

The OLC is the leading professional organization devoted to advancing quality online learning by providing professional development, instruction, best-practice publications and guidance to educators, online learning professionals and organizations around the world.

For more information about Walden University and its programs, visit www.WaldenU.edu.

About Walden University

For more than 45 years, Walden University has supported working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and their communities. Today, more than 52,600 students from all 50 states in the U.S. and more than 155 countries are pursuing their bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees online at Walden. The university offers more than 80 degree programs with more than 400 specializations and concentrations. Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. Walden is the flagship online university in the Laureate International Universities network—a global network of more than 70 campus-based and online universities in 25 countries. Laureate Education, Inc. is a public benefit corporation, and both Laureate and Walden completed a rigorous, independent assessment to become a Certified B Corp®. For more information about Walden and Laureate, visit www.WaldenU.edu and www.laureate.net.

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SOURCE Walden University