Worthington receives international award for work in Sonia
ECU College of Education data manager Mary Worthington was awarded the 2022 User Excellence Award from QSR International, an Australia-based placement management system provider, during their annual North American Sonia® User group meeting in October.
Worthington was recognized among her international peers for her demonstrated expertise with and effective utilization of Sonia, the robust and complex placement management system used by the College of Education.
This is not the first time that QSR has noted Worthington’s efforts. In 2021, QSR asked Worthington to craft a case study about ECU’s Sonia use. A full version of the case study is available on the QSR International website. In addition, Worthington was invited to present her work to the North America User Group in October 2022. Her presentation entitled, “Maximizing Placement Groups – Utilizing groups for more than just allocation,” was well-received by conference participants, and several institutions have solicited consultations to learn how Worthington has made Sonia work for the College of Education.
Worthington has been integral to the implementation of Sonia at ECU. Since ECU’s adoption of Sonia in 2018, she has dedicated an incalculable amount of time and effort to testing the platform’s capabilities, developing Sonia protocols and procedures, managing platform access and content, and training users.
According to her colleagues, Worthington’s work with Sonia is worthy of the accolades.
“Mary is Sonia at ECU,” said Sarah Sconyers, Interim Director of Assessment, Data Management, and Digital Learning and Worthington’s supervisor. “She helped build the system from the ground up. When COVID hit in 2020, and we had to quickly move forms and processes online, Mary was there, finding ways to make things happen in Sonia. She is constantly digging into the system and learning more about all it can do and how we can use it to streamline our processes. I am beyond amazed by her work, and I am thankful for all she does.”
Upon receiving the award, Worthington was quick to acknowledge the contributions and support of other COE and ITCS personnel, in particular Al Barnhill, Dale Owens, and Holly Fales, stating, “the COE couldn’t have implemented Sonia without them.”