Student Comments

Student Comments for MS103: The Basics of Museum Registration
"I have enjoyed many of the classes offered through NSCC and really learn a lot. … The class was taught extremely well and provided grateful information. Peggy was an inspiring person!"

" I liked the exercise where we chose the different items we would have in the museum. That one was hard because I didn't always know how to justify something I wanted or didn't want … I was even asking my family at the dinner table and we were all talking about what we would keep and what we wouldn't! I would definitely take another class."

This course was a great quick course … I will look forward to taking more in the future … The instructor was very helpful and available.

"The class was set up so that someone with very little time could learn a lot in a short period. It provided information that was useful in the actual context of work."

"I have enjoyed many of the classes offered through NSCC and really learn a lot. … The class was taught extremely well and provided grateful information. Peggy was an inspiring person with so much to learn from!

Student Comments for MS104: An Introduction to Collections Preservation:
"An online course like this is very convenient for people who cannot attend classes in another city."

"I didn't really know what to expect because I had never taken an online class before, nor had a taken any sort of collections/preservation class. I definitely learned a lot; I now understand the overall goals and practices of collections preservation."

"I particularly liked seeing images in the PowerPoint slides. They really can add to the understanding of a topic."

"I really enjoyed the excellent course reading material. It has really helped me understand so much more about the work I do."

"I've been working as a collection manager for 10 years. I have no formal training in museum techniques …I thought this class would solidify everything I've learned. I didn't think I would learn anything new, but I did. Great course. I would recommend it to anyone starting out in the museum field."

"My experience with the MS104 online course has been exceptional, a 10! … Thank you! Thank you for such a high quality and demanding workshop!"

"I AM THE ONE WHO SHOULD THANK YOU! EUREKA! I REALLY GAINED ALOT AND REALLY ENJOYED STUDYING WITH YOU."

"It may have been an on-line course, but I feel like I've got a textbook. And one written by many different sources, two heads being better than one."

Student Comments for MS106 Exhibit Fundamentals: Ideas to Installation:

"The lectures were clearly written and understandable, and the readings (Lord & Lord, Serrell) were surprisingly readable! The Powerpoints provided a great summary for each section … I enjoyed the course thoroughly and have gained some valuable (and somewhat sobering) insight."

"Great teacher, Great technology, Great peers/other students! Enjoyable reading. Very helpful for now and in the future. Great reading. Great Text. A++ and THANK YOU!!!"

"I liked having the content presented multiple ways. I read the lectures, viewed the Powerpoint slides, and completed the readings. With each presentation of the materials I found I learned more."

"The content could be adapted to a project we are working on … Rather than spending time planning and working on an exhibit I would never complete in my facility, I could instead focus on a dream (a big dream) of an exhibit and actually apply what I was learning to something that I will use in my museum. The technology was quite easy to work with. I didn't need help with the technology, but support seemed readily available."

"I enjoyed hearing about plans, experiences and challenges from professionals at other museums, and getting their feedback - it was nice to have a 'virtual community' of people working on similar things."

"The readings/assignments made me think about my exhibit in ways I hadn't. Made me realize that there were more things to keep in mind than I realized. I'll be on the lookout for future courses offered by NSCC. I feel like I really got my money's worth from it."

Student Comments for MS107: Introduction to Museum Security

"Quality information and resources, discussions, and it gave me food for thought."

"I liked not having to sit in a classroom, the depth some of the material offered, and being able to work on assignments when I had the time at work."

"I liked a lot of the extra reading. As we know finding some of this material can take awhile during a general search on the web. The lecture material was also a great review for somebody like myself who has been in security for some time."

"I think this course is on the right track, and should be presented to as many security pros as possible. It would be a great tool to get museum security personel to think outside the box while they are inside their box. It is important to make sure our countries treasures are well protected, so the better educated we are the better we can work to make this a reality."

"I LIKED THE VARIETY OF "VOICES" IN THE MATERIALS; I ESPECIALLY VALUE THE LISTS OF OTHER RESOURCES."

Student Comments for MS108: Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs:

"I feel that this course was an excellent experience that will help start my volunteer program in the right direction, thanks."

"Articles were useful. Chats were useful times where you could talk out ideas."

"I definitely liked taking the class online and being able to schedule my time around it. The assignments were a good foundation for putting what I learned into action. The resources were terrific. And I really enjoyed "Hostetter-Outlaw" Commentaries as a "getting to the point" outline. I am happy that you have filled a special niche for museum personnel who are interested in learning to be the best they can be."

"It made me realize that there is more to volunteer policy than just asking them to participate. The chat time was really helpful as to the direction our policy should follow. (I liked) The availability of the instructor and the prompt feedback she gave."

"Everything I read and did was helpful and only hope the "people who do not like change" can be convinced sometime down the road that we need to implement some if not all these procedures. I liked the forums and quick problem solving ideas best."

Student Comments for MS109: Museum Management:

"The instructor was very helpful and informative. She did a great job. The diversity of topics within the course were well selected. It covered a broad enough scope to really educate without being too much."

"The textbook selection was very good. It is an easy to read text and not too long. With this particular course, I found some of the additional readings more useful than the PowerPoint or lectures."

"This is a really good course."

"I found it informative and felt my knowledge of the subject increased quite a bit."

"It was a great experience. I look forward to taking more courses in the future."

"I enjoyed learning through my classmates, being able to ask questions regarding things I deal with at work, and discovering new sources of information."

"I enjoyed the course a lot. I felt very satisfied when I completed it, I am looking forward to furthering my education more through online courses."

"I liked that Sue provided a wide range of reading and learning material for most of the sections in addition to the required text and any powerpoint or lecture notes. It allowed me to pick and choose the ones that were most useful and meaningful to me."

"I enjoyed the class and learned new things and confirmed my knowledge on other things. Sue was a great teacher and kept the ball rolling. Thanks Sue and Helen."

Student Comments from MS201: Storage for Infinity: An Overview of Museum Storage Principles:

"My first online class. I plan to do more."

"I am so glad that you offered this course. I found it very beneficial."

"The most valuable part of the class will be the reference book I compiled with all the lectures, forums, assignments, additional readings, etc. This class contained a staggering amount of information … Something like this is much more accessible, no travel expenses or 'lost' work time."

"The layout of the web site made perfect sense to me. The flow of it was easy to follow and it was nice to be able to see what things had transpired/been posted."

"You seem very approachable and knowledgeable, Helen. This was a good opportunity for meeting new colleagues and networking."

"You could not have decided to offer a course any more relevant to the precise issues that our institution is currently dealing with. Tons of detailed info. and a lot of practical help that will actually be useful in daily operations."

"This was my first online class and I believe that it was quite a success thanks to the organization that was provided by yourselves. I did not know what to expect but both of you have surely set a very high standard of excellence in online courses."

Student Comments for MS202: Museum Storage Facilities and Furniture:

"The content was perfect for what I was looking for. Though my class participation as minimal, the materials and information are here, there are links and lots of jumping off points that provide direction in areas I'm more interested in, and I can interact as time permits."

"I liked the course content, the online nature of the course, the online chat and the self-paced work. I also liked the upload feature and the ability to re-submit after uploading for a period of time. . I would rate my online experience as a 10"

"I like that the material is at accessible, and I like being able to look ahead, or review the materials without having to go two or three places (book at home, papers on desktop, lessons in a deskfile). I like the journal feature."

"I appreciated how thorough the information in the lectures were and enjoyed the slides which gave "real-life" images."

"The chats were the highlight of the course - great to have give-and-take with colleagues and an experienced conservator like Helen. I felt like my specific questions were answered."

"I really enjoyed having all the extra readings and references. I truly feel I can use those heavily in the future. The chats were very useful for having some questions answered."

Student Comments from MS204: Materials for Storage and Display:

"The PowerPoint slides were really helpful; I need to visually see what the material looks like and how it is used. Being able to touch the samples also was a plus."

"A high mark because you obviously know the material well, and the lectures and readings have been very informative."

"I enjoyed the format of the lectures, the additional reading lists provided and the feedback from the professor."

Student Comments for MS205/6 Disaster Plan Research and Writing:

"This course was a great motivator to get me to work on the disaster preparedness plan."

"The course exceeded my expectations … I am looking forward to developing a plan that will protect the collections. I really enjoyed the course and plan on taking additional courses in the future."

"Terri was good at asking little questions about procedures that I had either overlooked or had not considered, and this got me moving in new directions."

"To write the disaster preparedness and response plan, you need to set aside a significant amount of time and this class forced me to do that so I completed most of the plan. Hooray!"

"A great motivator to get me to work on the disaster preparedness and response plan. I really appreciate Terri's time, knowledge, and flexibility."

Student Comments for MS207 Cataloging Your Collection:

"I'd give it a 10 out of 10."

"I liked the convenience, I liked the chats, I liked the reading material, I liked that there were people from all over the country enrolled."

"The technology made sense … It was scary at first, but really was very simple."

Student Comments for MS208: Applying Numbers to Collection Objects:

"All in all, I learned more than I thought I would. I and my colleagues are eager to have the handouts in a binder for immediate and future reference."

"I loved the practical assignments. I loved the feedback from Helen. And I loved the live chat sessions."

"The organization of the course was excellent - readings were well-constructed and well-placed within the greater course context … I was pleased that we had homework where we were expected to apply some of the concepts we'd read about."

"I liked the ability to receive instruction without having to leave my office or go out of town."

"I was able to learn so much about numbering museum items that I did not know. I had tried to do research on the Internet and had found some things, but nothing like what we covered through the course."

Student Comments for MS209: Collections Management Policies:

"The online chat provided a personal touch to the class. Bill's comments were very helpful. The required readings were a good length and complemented the section overview and PowerPoint presentations. The class was extremely flexible for dates and times."

"Bill's readings were very helpful, more so than the textbook. The PowerPoint slides provided a nice overview of the section."

"I enjoyed the readings, and applying what I read to writing the City policies. The class helped write policies in a logical and practical manner, which will ultimately help in the overall goal - developing policies for our institution."

"Bill did a great job and I really enjoyed the chat times and reviewing his comments."

"The reading materials, slide shows and feedback given by Bill were outstanding in quality."

"Bill's reviews of the assignments were thorough and detailed."

"Bill's lecture notes provided a good summary of the topics covered in each section. I found them very helpful when I wrote my cmp."

"I learned a great deal about cmps and am confident that I have the tools to put my cmp in good form."

Student Comments for MS210 Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Libraries and Archives:

I'd give it a 10 out of 10.

I was able to create plans for my institution and actually put them into action.

This class was exceptional and overall am generally pleased I took this course. The content and material provided were so valuable for research tools and training manuals. Thank you!

Student Comments for MS211: Preservation Environments:

Mr. Conrad did a superb job…the information from the course has helped me professionally, especially in describing the impact of relative humidity on objects and artifacts and paper.

I thought the lectures along with the powerpoint slides were great.

This course helped me to understand quite a bit more as far as the psychometric and maximum room RH without condensation charts. I already had a psychometric chart but made little use of it, since no one had explained how to use it. I also was very interested to hear of digital monitoring systems. This course exceeded my expectations.

The instructor was very knowledgeable, approachable (with probably rather silly questions) and gave straight forward answers to inquiries.

Student Comments for MS212: Care of Textiles:

Course was great & worth the time. I liked how the materials tied in together; the lectures were brief, yet to the point, the powerpoint slides showed images relating to the lectures.

It more than met my expectations. I never realized there was so much involved in textiles. Wow, what a lot of information! Thank you for all the time and effort that goes into providing the services of the Northern States Conservation Center. Your classes, materials, website, publications, etc. are awesome and a real help. I appreciate all that goes into this.

I enjoyed the weekly chats. I found them to be very helpful. I also liked how the course was meant to be a good refresher. Lastly, I enjoyed the fact that all classmates could post comments/suggestions on the forum for all to see. I enjoyed the class and the chats. Ann was very helpful in answering any questions I posed during those chats. Thanks!

Good course and I highly recommend it.

Student Comments for MS213: Museum Artifacts: How they were made and how they deteriorate:

All created and selected materials were very informative and flowed together. I like the power point slides. It's like note taking for me, summarizing the lecture. After the course I always go back and read various sections again. They are excellent reference materials.

Classmates from all over the world made it interesting for our assignments.

Always enjoy instructor involvement for the professional input and advice.

The downloadable manual and materials were excellent. The course content was very thorough. The syllabus set up access online was very good, listed clearly. The chats were great, and the calls/prompts to participate were very much appreciated.

I liked the readings a lot because I knew they were hand selected by the instructor and therefore were the most accurate and relevant materials for the course.

The interaction with other participants, sharing their experiences and their knowledge was eye opening. As we have different collections, different problems we might come across and different areas of experience, we can definitely learn from each other.

Student Comments for MS215: Care of Archaeological Artifacts:

I would rate my experience a 10.

Three things I really liked about the course were the reading selections, the availability and willingness of the instructor to answer questions and provide additional information, and the access it gave me to sources that I wasn't aware of for information.

What I liked best about the materials provided was that the class lectures gave a good general overview of the topic before we began doing the more specific and complex readings- that really helped me to put all of the individual reading assignments into context.

This course definitely met my expectations- I'm very happy with it. Diana Komejan was a wonderful instructor and very helpful. I would recommend her class to anyone. I heard about the course through my manager, who took several of them.

The volume of the materials is what I liked best. The information we received is valuable in terms of not just what we were quizzed over for the short term, but in being resources that will be kept on our own office shelves for future reference. I found the PowerPoints useful as they contained examples utilizing photographs. The diagrams illustrating packing techniques were useful as well.

The site was well-scripted and easy to use.

I had been told that classes at the NSCC were good and required lots of reading. It lived up to it's reputation.

Student Comments for MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics:

The course content and lectures were very informative, the instructors were very helpful and pleasant, and the assignments, particularly the hands-on tests and cleaning, brought the lectures to life, as we practiced what we had learned.

I liked the examples that followed the explanations. This helped to visually show what had been discussed.

A very informative course…instructors were very knowledgeable and made the Powerpoint lectures fun. I give you an "A"!

I liked the fact that the class was extremely well organized. We did not waste time while the instructor figured out what to do next.

I liked that high museum standards were pushed for cleaning (this is very important), but that the instructor (Gretchen Anderson) did not condemn those who could not implement every single facet. I know we can implement most, but not every single thing at my institution. This is certainly the case at museums smaller than my institution. I believe every museum employee wants the very best for the museum artifacts, but sometimes institutional funds prevent full implementation. Nevertheless, people should know best museum practices and strive to meet them as much as possible.

Student Comments for MS218: Collection Inventories:

I liked: a. Assignments were fun b. Chats were informative c. Lots of emails that had good suggestions-seemed like more emails that the other classes-I guess a good mix of people and museums. I have enjoyed each online course-hope to take another one next year. Peggy your emails were helpful-I think people this time emailed more than the other classes. I liked that. I liked the variety of museums represented.

Exceptional. All of the classes I have taken from NSCC have been valuable to me and the work I do in my museum. If my count is correct, this is my tenth online class - all from NSCC. Peggy, I think you did a very good job.

I had numerous classes in graduate school with online components or that were strictly online. I have preferred the more straightforward layout offered at Northern States Conservation Center to those I had in graduate school.

Absolutely a 10. I really enjoyed the class and getting to know Peggy and all of my fellow students through forums and discussions.

It delineated the difference between an inventory project and a cataloging project. I think it will help our institution narrow our current project to fit the greatest need.

There was just enough reading material to provide the information needed but not too much to overwhelm. I liked the handling instructions for each different type of artifact museums might encounter. I plan on providing it to new interns and staff as a concise introduction or reminder.

I enjoyed the chats. Hearing other people who have the same goals and challenges state the case of inventory vs. inventory/cataloging really made it sink in that our institution is overreaching our current need and should scale back the current project.

Thanks for offering the course. Keep up the good work.

It was good fact-based material, presented in a succinct and useful way. I printed much of it out for future reference.

I liked the course and found it extremely useful. Peggy was an excellent instructor, offering encouragement and helpful hints, and managing the chats gracefully.

The course material was extremely thorough and will be an excellent guide and resource as we continue to plan our inventory project. I really thought the forum and chat sessions were helpful, its nice to hear that other institutions are facing the same problems. It was very thought provoking to hear how they solve their problems and to try to apply their solutions to our situation. The assignments were very effective exercises in applying the concepts introduced in the course.

I really liked the class chats. After the first one I felt like I had made great connections with the others in the class even though we had never met.

It actually exceeded my expectations. I have been having such an issue with the inventory here that I just had hope that this would work. But I feel that I actually have a game plan now. I have a logical set of steps that will work even for a collection as far behind as mine. It's been a great relief to me to know that this can be done and done in one lifetime.

Student Comments for MS303: Found in the Collection:

It covered situations which I am encountering in my work. It showed me where to look to answer questions about the legal aspects of FIC objects. It made me aware of the weakness of current Abandoned Property laws in my state (and apparently most others)… I found the lectures and readings very helpful.

I liked being able to work on the materials at my own pace. The feedback from the instructor was very helpful. My favorite part of the course were the online chats. These were very engaging and it was great way to discuss issues and find solutions to the challenges our collections pose.

I thought the course was very helpful and the technology worked wonderfully for me. The lectures were very helpful in giving an overview and did a good job of summarizing the major points. I thought the readings were especially helpful in gaining different perspectives about the issues. It was interesting to see other institutions' policies and procedures.

Thank you for facilitating this course. Lin, our instructor, was very helpful and insightful. She asked very good questions, which helped me really think carefully through all of the steps of handling old loans, FICs and abandoned property. While I will be making some revisions to our policies and procedures, the course did confirm that many of the policies and procedures we have in place are very good. I certainly feel empowered to deal with these objects now! I think that the chats were extremely helpful for hashing out the issues and gave me much-needed reassurance that I was not the only one dealing with them.

I liked: a) how much content was covered; b) how the information presented could be applied to a variety of museums across the board (i.e. state museums, not-for-profit, and yes, private-owned); c) the ease that we could still interact as a class even though we were all over the country.
It brought forth a lot of things that we haven't been doing as a museum…