We sat down with our esteemed Campus Director for Willis College Online, Aasil Thakkar, as he shared invaluable insights into our programs, the unique learning experiences they offer, career prospects for graduates, and much more! Check out our conversation below!

Hi, Aasil! Thank you for meeting with us today. Can we start by talking a little bit about who you are and what you do at Willis College?

Aasil Thakkar:
I’m Aasil Thakkar, I’m the campus director for Willis College Online. My role primarily revolves around overseeing the majority of online campus operations, so various aspects such as somewhat of program feedback, student services, faculty coordination, and overall ensure that there’s very solid effectiveness of the online learning environment in the online division.

Great. Can you describe the ‘student journey’ for online students?

Aasil Thakkar:
After the admissions process is completed, an enrollment coordinator is assigned to every student. The enrollment coordinator takes care of all the stuff that is associated with the admissions. After that, orientation takes place, student success workshops are conducted. They do get to meet the student coordinator. Every student in the program is assigned a student coordinator. Then they get to meet with the faculty head. Then they are in their learning journey with the instructors. Then at the end, depending on the program, they meet with the practicum and career development team. In some programs there are teaching assistants as well that provide timely support throughout the week with their learning activities, quizzes, assignments and so on. And throughout the journey at Willis, we also provide support via keep.meSAFE, which is available to all learners at Willis College as well.

What kind of support will students receive at Willis College Online?

Aasil Thakkar:
Every day, instructors have office hours, which are synchronous activity, so learners can go and visit the office hours via Zoom meetings and request a little bit of clarification about material that was covered in the class. They can always support the coordinator as well. That support staff will get back to them regarding any learning material questions or any further help they require. All lectures are recorded live, and they are uploaded in Moodle learning management system, and they can access it later. All live classes are transcribed as well, so they can read class notes. All learners must attend two mandatory live classes throughout the week. They are instructor-led, delivered by subject matter experts, and they’re instructor-based as well. And they will come across a lot of great features, lesson plans, which will help them understand the asynchronous journey, in a way, blending well, most of the time, with the synchronous journey.

What sets Willis College Online apart from other institutions?

Aasil Thakkar:
Willis College is different because of its teaching methods. Willis College employs synchronous teaching methods, interactive lectures, simulations, or hands-on projects, depending on the course and the program. Second, I would add support services, the quality, and the availability of service team for students for online learning environment, such as timely advisements, assistance around technical support, access to career services, access to resources, tutoring are major benefits that Willis College offers. The third thing I would like to add is flexibility. Willis College provides flexibility in terms of learning. Monday and Thursday classes are during evening time. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday classes are during morning times.

Could you outline a typical day for a student at Willis College Online?

Aasil Thakkar:
A typical day for student at Willis College includes weekly lectures. At the same time, they must keep up with daily assignments and quizzes that are included in the course. They must attend two mandatory lectures during the week and complete other associated items such as discussion forum, quiz questions, and attend, let’s say, office hours when they have questions. So, there are five attendance check-ins during the week that students must ensure that they are meeting the requirements. And hands-on interaction, learning labs, engaging sessions, guest speakers, and sometimes we do have student success events, which we do like to continuously schedule with most of our student body population at Willis College.

What should people consider before going back to school?

Aasil Thakkar:
When deciding to go back to school, some important questions are the reasons behind it, such as motivations and goals. Are they looking to advance in their career they particularly have, a goal such as a skill goal or they’re pursuing a program with personal interest? So that helps the admissions teams to understand more. Some other questions that do come along with it are the work-life balance, family, and school, managing altogether. So, reflecting a little bit on commitments and responsibilities, assessing their potential workload if they plan on attending school. Time commitment is a big thing. For the duration of the program, they’ll have to put effort into reading, learning, attending classes and completing assignments, quizzes, all of that. And that must align with the lifestyle that they intend to pursue.

What opportunities do graduates of Willis College Online have post-completion?

Aasil Thakkar:
Graduates at Willis College or a potential student considering Willis College, they have a lot of opportunities even after completion of their diploma program. Let’s say a graduate of cybersecurity analyst program has opportunity to complete certifications later down the road. And after attainment of that certifications, they have the potential to enhance their career as well as take their career to the next level by completing as much certification as they can.

Could you share a success story of a Willis College Online graduate?

Aasil Thakkar:
Absolutely. I’d like to share a scenario of, let’s call her Jane. As soon as she completed the program with us and she realized the benefit of the program learning outcomes, how the curriculum was developed and the hands-on work they need to put into assignments and the learning material daily, she realized that it was a perfect match. It aligned very well with the industry expectation outside. And the biggest positive aspect that she related was that she wasn’t surprised about what to expect in the work placement. She felt that she was better prepared, and it helped her successfully transition into the workforce.

If you’re ready to embark on your educational journey and want to explore online options, check out what programs we offer at Willis College!