Meet Gina Madden, an attorney in the Chicago area, and a graduate of AIPS.
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching courses at AIPS?
A: It’s about the type of student AIPS attracts. They are very motivated. They want to master whatever the topic is as opposed to students in traditional classroom who either feel like they have to be there or they’re fulfilling some other obligation. It is a joy to teach students who truly have a desire to learn and do well.
Q: In your opinion, what kind of student is successful in the AIPS program?
A: They are not daunted by challenge. They are highly analytical and extremely conscientious. They work hard and pay close attention to detail. They have a lot of life experience.
Q: How do you stay in touch with your students?
A: All instructors have at least one or two e-mail addresses and two or three phone numbers where students can reach us. We all give constant and prompt feedback on assignments, exams, and quizzes. The program is set up so that students can contact us in several different ways.
Q: What are some of the academic strengths of the program?
A: The assignments are selected in such a way that they mimic what’s going to be required of students on the job. The assignments are not fanciful or so abstract that they’re unrelated to what they’re going to be doing. On the contrary, I think every assignment I’ve graded so far—and I teach a variety of subjects—has been very closely related to the kinds of assignments they’re going to get on the job. The level of difficulty and the level of independent work that’s going to be expected of them is all there, and I feel so confident that when they leave the program that they’re really prepared for any work situation in a law firm environment or a corporate environment.
Q: How about as far as weaknesses or areas where there could be improvement academically? Do you see any of that or have an opinion about that?
A: I certainly don’t see any weaknesses, and I came from the AIPS program in the classroom to the online setting, and if anything, the program continues to grow in scope and sophistication. I thought it was difficult then, but I am very impressed with the level of difficulty now and how we challenge the students because I consistently see them rising to the occasion. I don’t hear anybody saying, “this is too hard and I don’t want to do this.” On the contrary, I have had people say, “I want to figure this out and I will and I’m going to get better at this,” and from an instructor’s perspective, you can’t hope for anything better than that. We’re pushing them to the level they’re capable of.
Q: What does AIPS do best, in your opinion?
A: Help students succeed. There’s a lot more discipline involved in successfully completing an online program, and we operate on a very tight schedule, so there’s very little opportunity—actually there’s no opportunity—for a student to slip through the cracks. We provide a great deal of personal attention and support. We know when students are doing well, and when they need a little help. We are there with them every step of the way.
