Dr. Monica Bess has 15+ years of experience teaching online at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition, she has experience with online course development and competency-based education. Prior to academia, she held various leadership roles in Insurance organizations in Ohio, including serving as a Business Change Director at Anthem BCBS, overseeing large-scale projects. Dr. Bess's research interests include student retention in online environments and the importance of real-time interaction in the online classroom.