Current Position and Past Experience
Dana Offerman is currently the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Rio Salado College. Prior to this, she spent five years as Provost of Excelsior College, an adult serving online and assessment-based institution in Albany, New York. She also served as Vice Provost of Assessment and Institutional Research at Capella University, a distance learning university based in Minneapolis. Before joining Capella, Dr. Offerman served the University of Wisconsin System as Director of Pre-K-16 initiatives. While at the University of Wisconsin, she chaired the UW- Extension’s distance education committee from 1994 to 1996.

She also held the position as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of New Charter University in San Francisco during their development phase.

Education, Honors and Achievements
Dr. Offerman holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as a baccalaureate and a master’s degree from Kent State University. She is the recipient of the J.O. Grantham Leadership award from NUTN.

Personal Details and Community Involvement
Offerman is a frequent presenter at conferences and workshops, sharing her knowledge of issues such as strategies for learner success, institutional identity and mission, and faculty roles in distance education. She has served as accreditation liaison officer and as an evaluator for regional accrediting agencies.

She has been active with professional organizations such as NUTN and WCET and has participated in national task forces on distance education, including the Distance Education Demonstration Program, Distance Education Standards for Military Education and Transparency by Design.