OUR PURPOSE


The Higher Learning Company® provides consultation to universities and colleges on how to create an innovative strategic plan, how to establish new academic programs, how to evaluate and improve the critical thinking and problem-solving skills of students, how to design a team-based learning curriculum, and how to develop and assess learning outcomes. The company also offers faculty development workshops to improve teaching effectiveness and design effective teaching-learning materials. 

OUR TEAM

OUR CEO

Dr. David Hawkins has more than 40 years of academic experience in pharmacy and medicine.  He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of The Higher Learning Company.  His previous positions include serving as the Founding Dean of Pharmacy at the California Health Sciences University and the Founding Dean of Pharmacy at California Northstate University, where he led the design of the entire curriculum in a team-based learning format.  Dr. Hawkins has more than 100 publications in the medical and pharmacy literature and he is the editor of the book, A Team-Based Learning Guide for Faculty in the Health Professions, and co-author of A Thinker’s Guide to Clinical Reasoning His professional expertise includes strategic planning, developing new academic programs, designing team-based learning curricula and assessing and improving critical thinking skills and learning outcomes.

View Dr. Hawkins’ CV

OUR PRESIDENT

Dr. Victoria Nesnick is a faculty development consultant, interactive workshop facilitator, and also mentors faculty and academic administrators. Her work focuses on the principles and strategies needed to improve teaching and learning and assess student-learning outcomes.  She uses her faculty development manuals and series of best practice/quick reference guides to transform faculty and subject matter experts into highly effective educators. She has taught 24 different courses on teaching and learning, both in class and online.  Dr. Nesnick’s academic experience includes serving as an associate dean of instruction and deputy chair of education.  She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards.

View Dr. Nesnick’s CV

OUR ADVISOR

Dr. Larry K. Michaelsen invented TBL while teaching a course in management to a large class at the University of Oklahoma in the late 1970’s. Dr. Michaelsen is known and respected all around the world for his teaching and innovation in education.  He has given countless workshops and seminars on TBL, has been the author and editor of four books on TBL, and has been enormously helpful to numerous faculty whose passion is to engage students in active learning, critical thinking, and problem solving. In his 40 years of academic life, Dr. Michaelsen has received numerous awards for his outstanding teaching and for his pioneering work in TBL.