In a recent interview for the UIC College of Education Faculty Highlight, Dra. Luedke was asked, “Why should a student take your classes?” She replied, “Let the students tell you—I’ll give it to you straight from their course evaluations.”
Summer 2024 – “This was my first time taking a course that was relevant to my job, and I was immediately able to apply some methodology into my recruitment and retention plans with my department’s students. A lot of information I am familiar with from being within the industry for so long, but the reiteration and different voices we read and heard from through our 4 weeks together have been incredibly valuable and informative. My learning style is to listen first, process, and then articulate. This has been a great course to apply to my learning style and I’m thankful.”
“I appreciate the accessibility of the course readings and how we were able to utilize the text-to-speech feature. I also liked how Dr. Luedke used other forms of content for the class like podcasts to listen to.”
“Professor Luedke is a fantastic instructor and person. I’m happy to be in this program, and I’ve learned so much in all courses!”
Spring 2024 – “Doctora Luedke clearly communicated the learning objectives for course/assignments. Students know what to expect and can focus their efforts accordingly. I think the well-defined objectives guide the learning process and help us stay on track. Given the sensitive topics we learned she held a supportive learning environment. Her responsiveness and regular feedback was specific and timely.”
“I really appreciated the time the professor took for lesson plans and it showed how she cared.”
“Dr. Courtney Thank you for a great class. It was tough but we made it! Great info great class discussions. I felt part of a community. I am learning and growing a lot in this program in ways I did not imagine.”
“I appreciated that the professor answered questions over email with advice and feedback on the final paper, which lessened the stress associated with the final paper. She also provided me with tips on what websites to look at for jobs in higher education and was supportive of my life and career goals.”
Spring 2023 – “The readings assigned were engaging and thought-provoking. I was impressed with La Doctora’s knowledge of not only the content in each reading, but the authors as well. Her passion for the topic and knowledge of the content helped the class discussions to flow easily. I learned a lot this term.”
Spring 2021 – “I think this is the best class I’ve ever taken. The course is very well thought out and intentional. There should be an undergraduate course in similar means to start these conversations and thoughts at a younger age to create more agents of change. Or at least make others more aware to change the campus climate.”
Fall 2020 – “I haven’t had a ton of experience with other professors outside of the program, but I can’t imagine there are many program heads who are better at their job than Dr. Luedke.”
Spring 2020 – “Dr. Luedke has been quick with the turnaround time for feedback. She consistently makes sure we are on the same page and makes everyone’s ideas and opinions feel valid. Dr. Luedke asks questions that help us dig deeper into our thoughts and provokes more meaningful conversations. I am thankful to have had her for the course.”
Spring 2020 – “Dr. Luedke does an excellent job of setting up a co-learning environment and making class a safe space to discuss difficult topics. She is thorough in explaining her expectations, reviewing and enhancing content from readings and multi-media, and providing feedback on all work as well as class contributions. She also did an exceptional job of transitioning the course fully online for the second half of the semester and made adjustments that made the workload doable.”
Spring 2019 – “Dr. Courtney L. Luedke is a wonderful person, professor and faculty member here at Whitewater. My time in this program, the successes and everything would not be possible without her assistance and ability to bring out the best in me. I owe these two years to her for keeping me motivated and challenging me to overcome any and everything.”
Spring 2019 – “This class was wonderful, Dr. Luedke is a great facilitator and instructor. Her syllabus was extremely helpful and well thought out (maybe just don’t make it pink next time lol). It’s difficult to have a class regarding these tough topics but she handled it with professionalism and passion.”
Fall 2018 – “Dr. Luedke offers excellence not just in the classroom, but also lends authentic academic and career guidance as the program coordinator. She has provided me with an incredible graduate program education and experience. Not to my surprise, Dr. Luedke pushed me to go above and beyond my own expectations as I prepared to complete the program and graduate this fall—granting me validation that I can be a scholar-practitioner, too. Acting as a research assistant for her this semester, Dr. Luedke equipped me with a sense of belonging in academia, as I had the opportunity to analyze and apply research questions to practice by critically reviewing qualitative case studies, identifying themes, making connections to theory, and preparing a literature review. In addition, I was able to deliver a mock ‘conference presentation’ in the classroom related to my research findings. That entire process was empowering, and I am just getting started. This was all made possible with her instruction, guidance and mentorship. Dr. Luedke is the epitome of a leader in higher education.”
Spring 2017 – “Dr. Luedke provided a detailed syllabus and rubrics, was always well-prepared for class, encouraged meaningful discussion and collaboration between students, and offered thoughtful and thorough feedback on the work I submitted.”
Fall 2016 – “Dr. Luedke does a good job breaking up the class with activities and discussions. I like that we’re not always doing the same thing and that there are different ways of learning the material besides just discussion.”
Summer 2016 – “The breakout group discussions and the videos by Dr. Luedke were beneficial in my learning throughout the course.”
Winter 2016 – “The class was phenomenal and I learned a tremendous amount about comparative higher education and appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this learning experience. Dr. Luedke is an asset to the Whitewater Higher Education Leadership Program and was able to contribute her own personal experiences and how her understanding of Latin American culture has influenced higher education in the world.”
Fall 2015 – “I thought this class was well structured and presented. I learned a lot of valuable information from this course, and believe I will be able to apply it to my future professional life. I thought this professor truly cared about the well-being of the student and wanted us to succeed in the classroom and life after it.
Courtney L. Luedke, Ph.D. 