Shubha Kumar to serve as Associate Vice Provost for Online Education

Shubha Kumar, PhD, MPH, has been appointed Associate Vice Provost for Online Education effective January 1, 2024. Kumar, an associate professor (clinical) of global health and director of online program initiatives in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at Keck School of Medicine of USC, previously served as director of education & training and the director of operations at the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, and was the founding director of USC’s Master of Public Health online program which she oversaw for ten years.

In her new role, Kumar will be working with the vice president for global and online initiatives, the USC Online team, and USC’s schools in establishing USC as the premiere destination for working professionals.

“We certainly see that online education is growing and becoming increasingly popular as a mode of instruction,” says Kumar.  “Continuing to support excellent student outcomes and expand and innovate in the online education space is key for our collective future.”

USC was one of the first major universities to move into the online education space and Kumar’s MPH online program was among the first handful of offerings. Today, USC boasts over 100 online degree programs taught largely by core faculty.

“USC is in a really unique position because we have so many online degree programs and offerings across the University,” says Kumar. “We’ve had the opportunity to really fine tune online education. It’s very intentionally crafted, created, curated learning that’s taking the best advantage of both synchronous and asynchronous modalities, working with pedagogical best practices and instructional design. It’s a strong foundation that allows us to take things to the next level.”

For Kumar, the next level includes increased focus on facilitating interdisciplinary online education.

“Professionals collaborate across industries in the real world, and education should be mirroring that,” explains Kumar, citing the COVID-19 response as a large-scale example of cross-industry collaboration. “So, you’re learning from multiple disciplines and understanding the diversity of needs, operations and viewpoints of different stakeholders.”

Kumar is uniquely qualified to accomplish this and other goals. Before taking on director of online learning for the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, she launched one of the first Master of Public Health online programs in the nation in 2013. It is now one of the most popular offerings at Keck School of Medicine. She gives full credit to the program team for its success, though Kumar’s vision and determination undoubtedly laid the groundwork for its development and longevity.

“Online education wasn’t as widely accepted at that time – we were pioneers,” says Kumar. “We had to clear perceptions and stereotypes of online learning and make the case to our faculty and students. The team was thinking outside the box and really a big part of the innovation.”

Kumar is eager to continue this vein of innovation, exploring cutting-edge tools, techniques, and technologies to enhance learning.

Harnessing and employing new initiatives has long been a strength of Kumar’s. This extends to fostering access and community for a niche of students previously shut out of degree opportunities.

“We’ve seen that online education has increased accessibility to working professionals, and to so many diverse students with any kind of life circumstance that makes it harder to come to campus,” says Kumar. “I think that’s only going to grow.” She notes approximately 95% of online MPH students are working professionals and one third are first generation, which has a lasting impact on communities and helps diversify the workforce. “That’s one of the things I am most proud of,” she says, “is bridging the access gap.”

Kumar also believes strongly in creating a Trojan experience for online cohorts.

“It is key, because community is one thing we know is really important to students in terms of their overall success and well-being,” says Kumar.

In addition to creating group work and online forums for students, Kumar and her team have seen success organizing outings to events and international immersion courses that allow online students to interact in ways most online programs don’t.

“We experimented, we learned what was working and what we could improve, and it’s some of those lessons that we’re taking with us to the next level and will continue to evolve,” she says.

Kumar now looks forward to making an impact for online students across USC.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to have been selected for this role,” says Kumar. “To further grow and expand opportunities and collaborations, and to facilitate learning, innovation and sharing of best practices across the University.”