Flags Magazine Volume 9 No 1: March 2014 Issue | Page 5

Academic

AIIAS President Dr. Stephen
Guptill, Southern Asia-Pacific
Division Associate Education
Director Dr. Canadian Panjaitan,
and Silang Educators Club
President Nick Valdez, addressed
the students, faculty, alumni,
and seminar participants during
the occasion which was held at
the Amphitheater. Testimonial
videos were shown of former
online students who highlighted
how their education has greatly
impacted their present work and
responsibilities.
In his keynote address, Dr.
John Wesley Taylor V, former
AIIAS faculty who currently
serves as the Associate Director
of Education of the Adventist
World Church, spent time
reminiscing on how AIIAS Online
programs started by showing
the original proposal, committee
actions, and key issues in
opening the program.
“Thinking out of the box
is not enough, sometimes we
need to be as far away from the
box as possible,” says Dr. Taylor
speaking metaphorically on the
challenges of developing and
implementing online programs.
Dr. Leni Casimiro, present
director of AIIAS Online, said

AIIAS ONLINE CELEBRATES
10TH ANNIVERSARY

BY BRUCE SUMENDAP

PHOTO CREDIT: BRUCE SUMENDAP

T

he AIIAS Online (formerly
called Division of Online
Learning) celebrated its
th
10 Anniversary last October
30, 2013, by hosting a program
showcasing activities that honor
the past and look toward the
future of E-Learning.

Administrators present gift of appreciation to Dr. John Wesley Taylor V.

that one of the challenges
in the early stages of the
Division of Online Learning was
encouraging faculty to teach
online without face-to-face
interaction.
“It was a challenge to do
something that has never been
done before,” says Dr. Casimiro.
AIIAS Online is an important
initiative to provide higher
education via the internet. The
Master in Public Health was the
first fully online AIIAS program
that opened on March 6, 2003.
The Seminary, Education, and
Business departments followed
soon afterward. Enrollment
grew from 30 (in 2003) up to
400 students (in 2013) with

government officials, diplomats,
and United Nations personnel
among its students.
“AIIAS is a pioneer in this
area in the Philippines, if not
internationally, and certainly
among Adventist institutions
around the world,” says Dr.
Guptill. He added, “So, today
is the time for celebration,
praising God and also a time
for looking back and renewing
our vision of offering quality
Christian Education.” O
BRUCE SUMENDAP is the Public Relations
Director of AIIAS. He is in-charge of the
Advancement and Recruitment Office.

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