When Director of the Communication Studies Program at Klein College of Media and Communication Scott Gratson was selected for the University of Oxford’s online Certificate in Higher Education Programme earlier this year, he knew he would gain exposure to various opportunities to explore his intellectual curiosities. However, he did not anticipate how much his perspectives on his educational journey as both a student and an instructor would change for the better. 

Gratson expressed interest in student positions once he started the certificate program at Oxford so that he could engage with the university’s community. Although the difference between time zones in the U.K. and the U.S. is drastic, he made sure to get up in the early hours of the morning to be among the first to respond to promising opportunities. Oxford’s excellent online education and communication has made both his coursework and extracurricular involvement seamless.

“Oxford’s online education system is off-the-charts amazing,” he says. “So I’ve learned a lot about online ed through them just because their level of detail is incredible. They really have worked so hard to make online ed so thorough and so logical.”

One of the roles that Gratson is taking on is as a student representative for the continuing education division on the student staff committee. He serves as a liaison between faculty and students in the division. In the role, he works closely with the assessment and teaching committee, the academic board, the graduate school committee and the committee on library provision.

Deborah Cai, senior associate dean and Klein professor, was one of Gratson’s references for his application to the certificate program. 

“Scott is the perfect student representative, because he works so closely with students,” Cai said in an email. “He will both bring such useful perspective as a faculty member to the role of student rep and learn more about what students need that will be valuable for Oxford as well as for Comm Studies in Klein College. It’s a win-win for both Klein and for Oxford!”

Gratson is also excited about two other positions he recently received at Oxford. He is a member of The Board of Studies, which is a committee within the continuing education board that is responsible for ensuring the quality of the department’s courses and course programs. He will also be a part of an inaugural diversity and inclusion committee. Gratson believes that while Oxford is advanced in some of its inclusion and diversity practices, it has quite a bit of work to do in other ways. He is confident that he can take the skills he gains in his roles and apply them to his responsibilities at Temple University.

“I think that these positions have opened up a chance for me not just for me to consider our curriculum at Temple and obviously the curriculum at Oxford but also to connect with such a wide [variety] of people. That’s really been an amazingly rewarding experience,” he says.

Gratson expects to participate in more opportunities throughout the multi-year certificate program at Oxford.