Augusta University Online adds assistant vice president for online education

Augusta University Online’s associate provost and dean Dr. Marc Austin is pleased to welcome Corey Vigdor to his staff as the initiative’s assistant vice president for online education.

“We are so fortunate to have Corey joining the Augusta University Online team,” Austin said. “Corey has a unique mix of operational and teaching skills that make him well qualified to help us both enhance our online instruction, as well as build the infrastructure we need to support students in their online journey.

“Having worked extensively in the online community over the past eight years with faculty, students, and administrators at all levels and all capacities at Kean University, what I love most about Corey’s passion for this new role is how he always begins with the student in mind,” Austin continued. “This is one reason Newsweek has ranked Corey’s programs among the top in the nation for student satisfaction.”

“I am so excited to join Dr. Austin in bringing additional innovative, high-quality learning opportunities to the Augusta University community,” Vigdor said. “I have been so impressed by the dedication to online learning displayed by all that I have met in the hiring process, and I cannot wait to get started.”

Vigdor, who brings 30 years of experience in higher education, including 20 spent directly focused on online learning, will join recently announced AVP for Strategic Marketing and Enrollment Management Cristina Raecke as the first two hires of Austin’s staff. His expertise includes program development, instructional design, faculty training and mentoring, accreditation, technology and instruction.

Vigdor comes to Augusta University Online after spending the last eight years at Kean University in New Jersey, including the last two as dean of the school of online education. He also served as the associate dean from 2018-20 and director of the Center for Online Learning and Professional Development from 2014-17.

Over the span of his eight years at Kean University, Vigdor built a solid, award-winning online program with over 20 online programs that enroll students from multiple states and around the world.

Kean has been ranked by Newsweek as a top-100 online program nationally, and No. 2 in the state of New Jersey. Kean University’s online programs also received numerous independent rankings, including No. 2 in the state of New Jersey in Biology, No. 5 in the nation in Criminal Justice, No. 10 in the nation in Human Resources Management, No. 19 in the nation in Accounting and No. 21 nationally in Nursing.

Vigdor also helped to generate close to $100 million in revenue from online course enrollments, was instrumental in training about 2,000 Kean University faculty in online pedagogy and technology and led 14 university-wide professional development conferences.

Prior to his time at Kean, Vigdor served as the executive director for the Center for Distance Education at Hudson County Community College in New Jersey (2010-13) and held multiple positions over nine years at DeVry University (1997-2006). He also held positions at The College Board (2007-2010) and Saint Peter’s University (1993-97).

Be a part of the process

The Augusta University Online landing page is a way for Austin and his staff to share updates about the progress of the initiative. Included on the page is a frequently asked questions section.

Part of the process of building this new college is listening, and Austin hopes faculty, staff and current and prospective students will lend their voices to the “Ask a Question” section at the bottom of the page. This input will not only help address questions for the AU community, but also shape Augusta University Online’s development.

Austin is underway with building out the infrastructure and student experience, all tied to the university’s newly launched strategic plan: Creating a Legacy Like No Other.