Beyond Boundaries

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Beyond Boundaries
Weaving E-Learning Into the Higher Education
Mainstream
Managing Quality Supporting Instruction and
Scalability Despite Economic Duress
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Managing QualitySupporting Instruction and
Scalability Despite Economic Duress
Moderator Janis Hall Washington State
University
Presenters George Self Cochise College
Carol Lacey Metropolitan State University
Mary Ellen Hrutka, University of Maryland
University College
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Cochise College Total Online Quality Program

• George Self
• selfg_at_cochise.edu

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Three Factors
Students
Quality
Admin
Faculty
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Multifaceted Program

• Student Readiness Assessment
• Student Evaluations

• Faculty Training Class (EDU 280B/C/D)
• Instructional Management Team Involvement
• Professional Development on a Compact Disk (PD
  on a CD)

• Peer Mentors for New Faculty
• Peer Course Evaluation (Online Campus
  Instructional Quality OCIQ)

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Student Factor

• Readiness Assessment
• READI Online Tool (http//www.readi.info)
• Technical Skill
• Learning Style (based on Kolbs work)
• Reading Speed/Comprehension
• Student Evaluations
• Flashlight Online Tool (http//www.tltgroup.org/)
• Departmental Assessments

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Administration Factor

• Re-designed Faculty Training Course
• Renewed Involvement of the Instructional
  Management Team
• Professional Development on a Compact Disk (PD on
  a CD) Still in Development

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Peer Course Evaluation (OCIQ)

• Selection of Classes
• Newly developed classes
• New faculty members
• Classes with significant prior complaints
• Classes taught by faculty members with previous
  less-than-satisfactory student evaluations
• Classes not evaluated in previous two academic
  years

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Peer Course Evaluation (OCIQ)

• Selection of Evaluators
• Recognized as discipline experts by peers
• Taught online for at least two semesters

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Peer Course Evaluation (OCIQ)

• Evaluation Process
• Mechanics (Developed Rubrics)
• Methods (Chickerings Seven Principles)
• Discipline (Commonly Accepted Standards)

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About Cochise College

• Rural, comprehensive community college in
  south-eastern Arizona
• Total FTSE about 6000 annually
• 2 main campuses, 5 centers (including online)
• Online
• First class in 1997
• Fall 2004 114 classes about 1400 students
• 3 degrees and 2 certificates online
• Member of eArmyU and Western Governors University

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Faculty Stakeholders

• Peer Mentors
• Discipline-specific, online experienced
• Assigned to new instructors for first semester
• Small stipend for this work
• Answers questions about schools standards (how
  much homework to assign, etc.)
• Peer Course Evaluation (OCIQ)
• Small stipend for this work
• May evaluate one or more classes each term

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Faculty Development and Support at Metropolitan
State University
Carol Lacey, interdisciplinary faculty Carol.Lace
y_at_metrostate.edu
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Stiff Budget Challenges

• Minnesota state revenues fall 7-10 below
  projections.
• The states revenue shortfall of 1.953 billion
  for 2002-2003 expected to worsen to 2.535
  billion for 2004-2005.
• Escalating health and long-term care costs
  exacerbate budget shortfall, widening gap between
  revenue and expenses.

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Public Higher Education Impact

• 2002-2003 higher education budget took a 1.6
  hit.
• That decrease more than doubled to 3.4 in the
  2004-2005 higher education budget.
• MNSCU (Minnesota State Colleges and University
  System) took a disproportionately huge hit a
  14.8 reduction in its legislative appropriation.

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Metro States Appropriation Cuts

• Appropriation
• 2002 20,305,314
• 2003 20,662,081
• 2004 19,040,157 (7.9 reduction parallels state
  revenue shortfall)

• Revenue/expense ratio
• 2002 1.17
• 2003 -7.2
• 2004 -.38

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Serving More with Less (Metro)

• Undergrads (fall term)
• 02 5662
• 03 5989 (5.8)
• 04 5940 (-.085)

• Undergrad credit mean
• 02 8 credits
• 03 8.38 credits
• 04 8.45 credits

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Metro State Student Motivators

• Expanded student (current/prospective) interest
  and demand for online learning, evident in
  significant growth in online course enrollment.
• Metro States student population, predominantly
  older adults, have additional motivators
• - Family responsibilities/moves
• - Variable work responsibilities/sites
• - Military deployment
• - Language and family support challenges for new
  immigrants

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MNSCU System Response

• Adopt a new (significantly less expensive)
  platform for online learning delivery
  (Desire2Learn).
• Provide system-wide help desk live 7 a.m.-11
  p.m., 24/7 online access for FAQs and inquiries.
• Integrate student registration and record systems
  with the new platform.
• Accelerate system-wide access and commitment to
  online learning through MNVU (Minnesota Virtual
  University) and Minnesota Online initiatives.

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Metro OL Faculty Support Past

• Using primarily WebCT tools, faculty had almost
  total responsibility to create and maintain
  content and for course management (including
  rostering).
• Special grants provided up to 1,500 stipend to
  develop courses for initial online delivery,
  mostly for Business Administration Online and
  nursing.
• Much work still done out of hide particularly
  for community faculty who teach 60 of
  curriculum.

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Faculty D2L Introduction

• Introductory sessions for faculty teaching
  summer/fall began in late March, about six weeks
  before the sites had to go live for students.
• D2L training targeted to specific tools (content,
  quizzes, communication, grade book) began in
  mid-April, two weeks before the sites were to go
  live for students.

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Focused Faculty Training

• Availability
• Training offered every 4-6 weeks beginning late
  April to give faculty basic command of essential
  tools content, quizzes, communication,
  gradebook.

• Obstacles
• Scheduling problems (offered when faculty was off
  contract/unavailable).
• Complications with transition to MNSCU server
  cancelled/delayed some training.
• Some tools (especially quizzes) needed
  significant technical adjustment to function
  reliably.

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Metro Transition Support

• Fast transition from WebCT to Desire2Learn late
  spring, 2004, necessitated major IT and grad
  assistant support to move course content from
  one platform to another.
• Migrated courses available to faculty and
  students only 2 weeks before term started.
• Online faculty support services and staff
  expanded to meet rocky system transition and
  integration challenges

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Course Management Assets

• One-stop access for students and faculty to
  online courses, registration, electronic library
  access, email.
• Specialized jumpstart electronic library resource
  links customized by library staff to the research
  needs of particular courses.
• Integration with student record system
  automatically updated class list rosters.
• Tuition surcharge for online courses supported
  new faculty training and online advising staff.

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Design Team Approach to D2L

• Templates provide consistent, usable and
  accessible course design and quality publication
  standards.
• Develop or convert course content using standard
  navigation processes.
• Integrate new instructor-developed content into
  the site.
• Once converted, it was expected faculty could
  then maintain and expand content.

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Scalability Challenges

• D2L, a newcomer to online education, hadnt been
  used/tested on such a large scale.
• Infrequent system crashes and inaccessibility
  earlier in the summer with relatively few
  students online.
• Major and frequent crashes and inaccessibility
  with entire MNSCU system activating fall classes
  and concluding summer classes.

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Professional Development Foci

• Improve quality and delivery of online content.
• Strengthen command and application of learning
  and course management tools.
• Gain Dreamweaver fluency to edit and integrate
  content more effectively and independently.
• On the horizon training to integrate rich media
  to enhance teaching.

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Faculty/Support Team (current)

• Faculty
• Develop, edit and update all content.
• Maintain and revise course website.
• Seek tech support to troubleshoot website
  problems.

• Grad assistants/IT staff
• Convert existing content from development sites
  to active sites.
• Integrate new instructor-developed content into
  the site.
• Apply consistent style sheets to
  instructor-generated content.
• Repair links (especially Quicklinks) using sound
  Dreamweaver framework.

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Web Usability/Course Design

• Web site usability employs emerging standards in
  web design focus on providing a positive online
  user experience (IT staff).
• Course pedagogy employs sound teaching practices
  (including specialized online strategies) to
  ensure a productive learning environment, student
  grasp, retention and application of subject
  matter (faculty).

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Faculty Training and Support

• Train faculty to use instructional and course
  management tools, scheduled strategically to fit
  teaching and course development needs so they
  can update and manage courses much more on their
  own.
• Provide individualized training for specialized
  applications, especially expanding fundamental
  grasp of Dreamweaver and specialized rich media
  applications.
• Provide up to 500 per credit stipend for
  creating courses taught online for the first
  time.
• Systematic professional development funds for
  faculty support research, training and
  collaboration.

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Positive Responses to the Challenges

• Redirection and innovation strengthen quality of
  education even when higher education faces
  economic duress.
• Reliable support and empowerment of faculty with
  the tools they need to create and manage content
  improve instructional design and delivery
  effectiveness and give them more control over
  their course content and management.
• Improved collaboration and communication
  strengthen quality and quantity of online
  learning opportunities available to MNSCU
  students.

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Quality with Growth in Distance Education

• Mary Ellen Hrutka
• mhrutka_at_umuc.edu

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Mission
The University of Maryland University College
(UMUC) is the Open University of the State of
Maryland and of the United States. The
University in its entirety has but one focus, the
educational needs of the non-traditional student.
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Defining Characteristics

• Institution of distributed education
• - Online
• - Global
• Rapid change
• Rapid Growth
• Non-traditional student
• Marginal financial support

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Growth Stateside/Overseas
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Growth in Online Enrollments
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SUS Fall Enrollments
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Setting the Context

• Four Strategic Goals
• Growth
• Quality
• Access
• Affordability

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The Challenge of Retention
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The Undergraduate Experience
Early Assessment of Students
Master Learner Course
Writing Initiative
Curriculum Clarification
Persistence Project
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Academic Quality Initiatives

• Common syllabi
• Worldwide discipline groups
• Prerequisites
• Accuplacer compliance
• PeopleSoft preparation
• Faculty Development

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Early Assessment of Students

• Initial data on new students
• At risk if
• Fewer than 45 credits
• New to online
• Further analysis underway

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Master Learner Course

• Supports retention
• Orients to higher education
• Provides skill development
• Incorporates self assessment

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WritingInitiative
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Writing Initiative

• Placement and Sequencing
• Assessment
• Faculty Development and
• Training

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Writing Initiative

• Assessment
• Preliminary findings on UL and
• LL writing assessments
• Assessment process coordinated
• with course goals
• Use of audio feedback

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Writing Initiative

• Faculty Development and Training
• ENGL999 section available
• Course observations
• New collegiate writing faculty
• Writing conferences

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Learning Outcomes Assessment

• Evaluation of student learning
• Across the University
• Across SUS
• Across the program and course

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Learning Outcomes Assessment

• Based on
• Core learning areas
• (cross-curricular initiatives)
• Goals and objectives
• Degree, major, course
• Focus on
• Continuous improvement of
• teaching and learning

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Learning Outcomes Assessment

• Variety of approaches and tools
• Rubrics
• Common exams or assignments
• Pre- and post-tests
• National standardized exams
• Five year plan

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Open Access

• Turn no qualified applicant away
• Deal with diverse educational backgrounds
• Provide support for students to succeed
• Minimize barriers to retention and graduation
• Embed learning outcomes into our culture
• Value Lifelong Learning

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Issues Related to Access

• No qualified applicant turned away
• Growth
• Students with diverse academic backgrounds
• Scalability
• Standardization of Services
• Technology-mediated support services
• Mass customization (to support individual needs)
• Measurement (business metrics)

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Issues Related to Quality

• Curriculum Current, Relevant, and Innovative
• Highly skilled faculty
• Emphasis on Standards/Expectations/Outcomes
• Emphasis on consistency
• Mass Customization (faculty value added)
• Student Support (skills needed for success)
• Persistence/Retention
• Assessment/Measurement (learning outcomes)

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Issues Related to Affordability

• Growth
• Scalability
• Standardization
• Self-service
• Technology mediated delivery
• Cost management
• Differential pricing
• Measurement (business metrics)

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THANK YOU
George Self Carol Lacey Mary Ellen Hrutka