School Counseling Prof Wins State Distance Learning Award

Dr. Audrey Heron with her TxDLA Award

The award recognizes a person who has done the most to benefit and advance the applied practice of digital learning during the past year. Heron won the individual award for the 4-Year Higher Education category, and it was announced during the TxDLA annual conference in Galveston.

An assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, Heron teaches courses in ASU’s nationally recognized online Master of Science (M.S.) in professional school counseling degree program. She has helped develop multiple online courses for the program, and she provides oversight and support by ensuring compliance with distance education policies and best practices at the national, state and university levels. She also coordinates the implementation of technology initiatives within her program using ASU’s Blackboard learning management/online course delivery system.

Dr. Audrey Heron “I am honored and humbled to receive this recognition,” Heron said. “Although this is an individual award, it is truly a reflection of our program’s dedication to implementing a quality program that integrates both rigor and the flexibility of online learning to provide opportunities for our students to excel. Student success is our top priority, which motivates us to keep our instruction fresh and progressive.”

As part of the M.S. in professional school counseling team, Heron also earned a 2021 TxDLA Outstanding Commitment to Excellence and Innovation in Distance Education by an Organization Award, as well as a 2020 John R. Bourne Outstanding Online Program Award from the Online Learning Consortium. The online “School Counseling Techniques” course she helped develop won a 2020 Exemplary Course Program Award from Blackboard Inc.

The M.S. in professional school counseling degree is designed for teachers with at least two years of classroom teaching experience who are interested in becoming Texas school counselors. Heron teaches courses in the program along with Dr. Ashley Atwood and Dr. Lesley Casarez.

An ASU faculty member since 2013, Heron has been nominated for a President’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Teaching and a Gary and Pat Rodgers Distinguished Faculty Award. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at ASU, and her Ph.D. in educational psychology at Texas Tech University.