Connect Campus President Carlos Morales, has a doctorate in instructional design for online learning and a lot of advice for his students.

Morales came to TCC in 2013 and has been a leader at the regional and national level for online learning.

“Online education is a learning preference,” Morales said, “similar to how some people can listen to music while learning where some need silence.”

Connect offers everything that in-person classes offer. The difference is that tutoring, supplemental instruction and connecting with faculty are all available online. They also have transfer fairs, online speakers and even a chapter of Phi Theta Kappa.

“I want to remove the barriers, shorten the distance and create the best environment for the students to fulfill their desire of obtaining a higher education,” Morales said.

Morales advised students to find what interests and motivates them in life. He said individuals can make up to a million dollars more in a lifetime with a college degree.

“Education is the only thing that no one can take away from you,” he said.

Morales grew up in Puerto Rico where he was surrounded by librarians, engineers, nurses and teachers. He attended the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He then pursued his doctoral degree in the United States.

“The only inheritance my parents gave me was my education,” Morales said.

Nearly two of every five TCC students take classes through Connect.

Many Connect students are an older demographic that go straight to work and then attend classes online. Morales said he commends students for returning to school.

“The online community has many different needs,” he said.

Life, commitments, financial aid and food insecurity are some challenges that online students face, Morales said. If a student is struggling in a class, he encourages them to take advantage of all the resources made available to students.

“Reach out,” Morales said, “those professionals are here and waiting to connect with you.”

There is never a perfect time to go back to school, he said.

“If you wait until everything is perfect, time flies and you lose the opportunity to go to school early,” he said.

Morales has worked hard to develop the online curriculum that Connect students work with now. They have an instructional design group that helps the faculty to build their online classes.

“We must find and design the best strategies for those activities that are taught from a distance,” he said.

His faculty are all certified to teach online. They must renew their certification regularly.

“If it was not as structured online as we have built it, a number of students would not be able to come to college,” Morales said.

Regarding artificial intelligence, Morales wants to equip the students with the best way to use the tool. He said he wants AI to be seen as a tool versus something that hinders, with many employers asking about a person’s skills with AI.

Morales continues to pave the way of online learning for students and his faculty.

“My desire is to facilitate the dreams of the students,” he said.