Higher Education Administration
PhD
Morgan State University
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Faculty
Faculty
Morris Thomas, PhD, MBA, PMP (He/Him/His)
Associate Professor
Department/Office
- Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
School/College
- School of Education
- School of Business
Additional Positions
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Assistant Provost for Digital and Online Learning & Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CETLA)Office of the Provost
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Adjunct ProfessorInformation Systems & Supply Chain Management
Biography
Morris Thomas, Ph.D., MBA, PMP is responsible for providing visionary, strategic, and operational leadership for the Office of Digital and Online Learning and the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Assessment (CETLA). As Assistant Provost for Digital and Online Learning, he provides oversight for the selection and implementation of digital learning tools as well as the coordination for matters pertaining to online course and degree program development. He leads this office in facilitating the development and implementation of the university’s digital learning infrastructure which supports the university’s strategic plan. Thomas has an extensive background in facilitating learning across modalities (face-to-face, hybrid-blended, and online). Thomas is Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the School of Education. He is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management in the School of Business. Thomas has an appointment as a Special Member of the University of Maryland, College Park Graduate Faculty.
Thomas employs Quality Matters, a global recognized, peer-review process used to ensure the quality of online and blended course design. He holds several Quality Matters certifications, including Master Reviewer, Peer-Reviewer and Quality Matters Coordinator. He is also certified to facilitate the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric workshop face-to-face and online. Dr. Thomas served as the Chair of the Quality Matters Academic Advisory Council (QMAAC) 2023 & 2024. He also serves on the Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) Advisory Panel (CAP), Echo360 Advisory Board, and McMillan Learning Micro-Credential Advisory Board.
Thomas is an established scholar, his research focuses on instructional dynamics which encompass instructional domains, design, and delivery. He has developed a conceptual framework called the ENHANCE Learning Model. This conceptual framework provides seven strategies to inform intentional course design and delivery. Thomas is also the creator of the framework, “The WHOLE Experience,” a model that addresses the ever evolving higher education landscape. Thomas serves as an editorial board member for the Journal of African American Males in Education, the Journal of Innovative Higher Education, the American Research Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, and as reviewer for the International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments. He is a frequent presenter at conferences and for webinars. His scholarship has taken him throughout the continental United States, Canada, Cuba, Germany, India, Ireland, Malawi, Puerto Rico, and South Africa.
Thomas earned his Ph.D. in higher education administration from Morgan State University, a M.A. in educational policy and leadership from The Ohio State University, an Executive Master of Business Administration from Howard University, a M.S. in instructional technology management from LaSalle University, a M.M. in classical vocal performance from New Jersey City University and a B.A. in music from Fisk University.
In addition to his multidisciplinary degree attainment, he has completed post graduate studies at Cornell University and Georgetown University in project management and holds the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification with the Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). He has also completed the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace and the Inclusive and Ethical Leadership Certificates from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business.
Education & Expertise
Education
Educational Policy & Leadership
M.A.
The Ohio State University
Executive Master of Business Administration
MBA
Howard University
Instructional Technology Management
M.S.
LaSalle University
Classical Vocal Performance
M.M.
New Jersey City University
Vocal Performance
B.A.
Fisk University
Research
Research
Specialty
Teaching and Learning, Online-Digital & Technology-Enhanced Learning, & Higher Education LeadershipGroup Information
Dr. Thomas's research expertise centers on advancing inclusive and technology-enhanced learning environments and experiences in higher education, with particular emphasis on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Through the development and application of original frameworks such as the WHOLE Experience Framework and the ENHANCE Learning Model, his work bridges theoretical understanding with practical implementation of effective teaching and learning strategies. He has made significant contributions to understanding how digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and online learning can be leveraged to create more inclusive and effective educational experiences while maintaining the distinctive aspects of HBCU culture and learning facilitation. His scholarship extends to examining adaptive strategies for institutional survival and transformation in HBCUs, as well as exploring the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education settings. Recent work has focused on the integration of AI tools in academic settings and the development of quality assurance frameworks for online education. Thomas actively contributes to the broader discourse on higher education leadership and digital transformation through scholarly publications, editorials, and presentations at national and international conferences, demonstrating a commitment to advancing both theoretical understanding and practical applications in educational innovation. His scholarship has taken him throughout the continental United States, Canada, Cuba, Germany, India, Ireland, Malawi, Puerto Rico, and South Africa.
Accomplishments
Accomplishments
Quality Matters Directors’ Award for Exceptional Service
Howard University and Quality Matters (QM) are proud to announce that Morris Thomas, Ph.D., has been awarded the Directors’ Award for Exceptional Service. The award honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to QM’s quality assurance efforts with online and blended education at institutions and for learners.
“Thomas is recognized for his selfless service to the QM community as chair of the Quality Matters Academic Advisory Council, a group of educators who guide QM in fulfilling the needs of online educators and learners,” said QM. “During his impactful tenure, he has provided unwavering leadership, particularly in large-scale quality assurance implementation, developing synergy among academic leadership and instructional design and development centers, and championing inclusive online learning.
State Department selects Dr. Morris Thomas to host a delegation from Jordan to demonstrate innovative learning spaces and practices.
The U.S. Department of State selected Howard University's Dr. Morris
Thomas, assistant provost for digital and online learning, director of the center for excellence in teaching, learning, & assessment (CETLA), and associate professor of educational leadership & policy studies in the School of Education to host a delegation of university educators and administrators from Jordan as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The visitors came from Hashemite University, Mu’Tah University, University of Jordan, and Yarmouk University. The visit demonstrated Howard's leadership in digital learning innovation and the unique role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in U.S. higher education. For complete article, please access: https://provost.howard.edu/sites/provost.howard.edu/files/2024-10/Jordan%20Delegation%20Press%20Release.pdf
Dr. Morris Thomas Appointed Chair of the Quality Matters Academic Advisory Council
Howard University is delighted to announce the appointment of Morris Thomas, PhD, as the new chair of the Quality Matters Academic Advisory Council (QMAAC).
"Dr. Morris Thomas is the first elected Chair of the Quality Matters Academic Advisory Council. He was nominated by a peer and unanimously voted in as chair by his colleagues on the QMAAC. We look forward to working with Dr. Thomas to help advance the mission of Quality Matters," said Brenda Boyd, vice president of program services at Quality Matters. For the complete press release, please access: https://thedig.howard.edu/all-stories/morris-thomas-appointed-chair-quality-matters-academic-advisory-council
Strategies for Change Management: How Howard University Led a Successful LMS Migration
Dr. Thomas served as the academic lead for transitioning Learning Management Systems (LMS). This strategic institutional initiative was designed for Howard University to enhance academic excellence by updating its digital learning infrastructure (DLI). Howard University made the decision to transition LMS providers from Blackboard to Canvas. This initiative turned out to be a huge success, but only because its team built a well-constructed change management plan, created open lines of communication to all stakeholders, and implemented a solution that seamlessly migrated 20,000 courses to Canvas without disrupting faculty or students. For the complete article and webinar, please access: https://www.k16solutions.com/resources/webinars/strategies-for-change-management-how-howard-university-led-a-successful-lms-migration/
How Digital Learning Saved the Classroom
Dr. Thomas's leadership during the pandemic and beyond featured in this article, How Digital Learning Saved the Classroom. For complete article, please access: https://magazine.howard.edu/stories/how-digital-learning-saved-the-classroom
Principle Investigator
Awarded $245,500 for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Digital Learning Infrastructure and Knowledge Sharing Support grant. This funding will facilitate the formation of the Office of Digital and Online Learning and allow the University to continue developing a centralized online instructional strategy, online courses consistent with that strategy, as well as processes for online program development and implementation. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation considers Howard University a leader among HBCUs in this area. For complete press release, please access: https://thedig.howard.edu/all-stories/bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation-award-supports-formation-office-digital-and-online-learning
Principle Investigator
Awarded $50,000 for creating and implementing new courseware for Introduction to Statistics that focuses specifically on eliminating race and income as predictors of success for students. Lumen has established partnerships with Minority Serving Institutions across the United States. Lumen Learning is working with Howard University's faculty and CETLA staff, who are providing guidance and direction for its statistics course and platform. Lumen Learning, a leading provider of teaching and learning materials focused on improving student success, affordability, and access, today announced a partnership with Howard University's Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Assessment (CETLA) to develop courseware to increase the effectiveness and cultural relevance of Lumen's solutions for Black students as well as Latinx, Indigenous, and low-income students across the United States. For complete press release, please access: https://thedig.howard.edu/all-stories/lumen-learning-partners-howard-university-improve-educational-outcomes-students-color
Faculty Spotlight
The Minister of Education of Malawi invited Dr. Morris Thomas, Howard University School of Education Associate Professor to present his article, A Missing Piece (Peace): Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age and chair a session with DEASA's Vice Chancellors at the Distance Education Association of Southern Africa (DEASA) 58th Conference.
THEME: Open Distance & eLearning (ODeL) for Sustainable Future
https://education.howard.edu/sites/education.howard.edu/files/2024-08/dr-morris-thomas-at-DEASA.png
https://www.facebook.com/share/PKQJcAVcjEaF8Cau/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Featured News
Publications and Presentations
Publications and Presentations
Leveraging the W.H.O.L.E. Experience Framework to Elevate Inclusive Learning
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/jerap/vol12/iss0/10/
The case study methodology was used to analyze instructional strategies to discuss and refine diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in two psychology courses at a community college in California’s Bay Area. A mentor and mentee professional development experience, referred to as the DEI studio, used four sessions over 5 weeks to explore reflective practice using the W.H.O.L.E. Experience framework as a guide to review current DEI practices and implement additional strategies intended to improve the engagement, experience, and success of all students.
Adaptive Survival Strategies: A Case Study Analysis of Four Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have faced challenges since their inception. This chapter will explore adaptive survival strategies through the lens of organizational adaptation. Although HBCUs have long histories and just over 100 of them currently exist, the researchers have focused on four of these institutions and the factors that have enabled them to adapt to change. These changes are forcing colleges and universities to re-examine their organizational strategy to adapt to changes in the educational environment.
Employing the ENHANCE Learning Model to Inform a High-Impact Course Design.
This study illustrated the principles of self-determined learning in undergraduate capstone courses that embeds community inquiry in a blended learning design. The ENHANCE learning model served as the theoretical framework to measure a high-impact instructional course design. This longitudinal approach provided a rich context of the events as they evolved using the case study methodology. Understanding the historical perspective is important to comprehend what factors enabled the learners to become capable and competent graduates in their chosen field. The study concluded that to improve the learners’ experience, an intentional high-impact course design should be used for best results.
Starting a Center for Teaching and Learning
https://podnetwork.org/content/uploads/PODSpeaksIssue3_StartingCTL.pdf
A center for teaching and learning (CTL) can provide crucial leadership for creating a rich teaching and learning culture on a campus. Starting a CTL is an exciting but complex endeavor, requiring a strong awareness of institutional culture and needs. Administrators, faculty, and other stakeholders can support the starting (or restarting) of a CTL through both practical and symbolic efforts that signal the importance of the new CTL to the institution.
Experience of Multiple Instructors About Student Presentation-based Teaching (SPET) Approach.
Many college instructors are hesitant to adopt student active teaching approaches. Student activity-based classroom teaching may require a lot of time investment in designing and conducting student activities. Also, student activities during the class period may lead to inadequate coverage of the course content mentioned in the syllabus. Incomplete course coverage and the amount of effort required on the part of an instructor for designing active teaching strategies are cited as the common hindrances in adopting active student teaching. To address these widely recognized inhibiting factors, we recently implemented a new student-active teaching approach. This approach is based on the students’ presentation and hence termed as student presentation based effective teaching (SPET).
ENHANCE Learning Model: A Case Study in Moving the Learner Needle from Novice to Proficient
https://arjonline.org/papers/arjhss/v4-i1/2.pdf
The ENHANCE Learning Model (ELM) is a theoretical framework designed to measure how blended course design impact the learning experience of undergraduate learners. In order to test the utility of this model, longitudinal data had been captured in a general education capstone course that provided rich context of course activities that was juxtaposed against each variable of the ELM. The evaluation of this learning model
was to determine its predictability of the learners’ progress and success in this course and whether it moved the learner from a novice learner to a proficient learner as it pertained to the course’s content. Additionally, it was expected that the research gathered from the data used to inform the ELM would also provide guidance
as to salient characteristics of a high-impact course design. The knowledge learned from this evaluation would support replication of future totally online and/or blended high-impact course designs
Strategies for Enhancing Online Teaching in Social Work Education
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10911359.2017.1311817
In response to the growing importance of online education in social work education, this article describes the context of online teaching and learning in social work education. Online teaching and learning are further discussed in the context of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). We emphasize the importance and need for trained faculty to teach in an online environment, particularly in HBCUs; offer an example of how the University of the District of Columbia, an HBCU, prepares its faculty to teach online; and conclude with specific strategies for online teaching and social work faculty. Finally, we provide recommendations for social work education.
Creating Inclusive Online Learning Environments That Build Community and Enhance Learning
The current status of today's society is driven by and involves technology. Many people cannot function without their cell-phones, social media, gadgets, tablets, and other forms of technology for which people interact. Many of these technologies depend upon and are utilized within an online context. However, as it pertains to online learning environments, many faculty struggle with developing and implementing opportunities that builds a sense of community for their learners. This chapter: 1) Discusses key factors that impact student engagement, 2) Addresses factors that facilitate continued engagement for diverse online learners, 3) Provides evidence-based practices for creating and sustaining online learner engagement, and 4) Offers real world suggestions from the online teaching experience of chapter's authors.