Community Building at the Programmatic Level

Arguing for the Implementation of the PARS Model in a Distance Learning Graduate Program

Abstract

Distance learning graduate programs in technical communication can work at building community at the programmatic level as well as the course level. This work might be best done by leveraging the position of the faculty member tasked with administering the program, often called the Graduate Program Director. Through the scholarship on community of practice, this article makes a case for the GPD to take on this role and recommends as a starting point the PARS – personal, accessible, responsive, and strategic – framework developed by Borgman and McArdle (2019) for community building in distance learning courses.