Assessment and Transformation
Comprehensive Program Review
Distance Education
Spring, 2008
Review Coordinator: Mark Winter
Mission and Relationship to the College of the Redwoods
I.
The Distance Education Program at College of the Redwoods is dedicated to using the creative
application of technology to extend student access to higher education. While maintaining the
College's standards of quality, distance education creates successful learning environments and
decreases such barriers to student learning as time constraints, remote locations, and disabilities.
This mission supports CR’s 2008-11 Strategic Plan, Goal 5, to Ensure Student Access, and
more specifically, Objective and Indicator 5.6 to “Increase distance and online educational
opportunities.” This mission also supports the Educational Master Plan (2020) to increase
District enrollment by 2% per year.
II.
Program History
A decade ago, College of the Redwoods recognized the potential for distance education and
established a distance learning committee to respond to the growing ability of technology to offer
access to District students who could not attend classes on the Eureka campus. At that time, the
College had invested in interactive television (ITV) technology and was offering courses from a
studio at the Eureka campus to local high schools and CR campus sites at Del Norte and
Mendocino Coast. In addition, instructional (cable) television (CTV) began broadcasts on its
“own channel” over COX cable in the Eureka area, public access cable in Del Norte, and
infrequently over public access cable in Mendocino Coast. This initiative, however, was not
sustained and by 1999, ITV was limited to the Del Norte and Mendocino Coast sites, only a few
CTV courses were offered, and the distance learning committee was inactive. For the next few
years, without any direction from College leadership, ITV remained stable while the number of
CTV courses and FTES experienced a brief increase. By the early 1990s CTV lost its initial
popularity. It was at this time that the first online class was offered by an instructor from the Del
Norte campus (although limited to students nearby the campus).
In 2004, the Vice President of Academic Affairs initiated an administrative review of the
distance education program. Chaired by the Division Chair of Arts, Languages, and Social
Sciences, an ad hoc committee of 38 District administrators, faculty, and staff reviewed Distance
Education in the District and made the following conclusion:
The College of the Redwoods distance education program is not providing
adequate access and is out-of-step with other institutions of higher education.
With no administrative leadership for the last five years, CR has offered very few
distance learning opportunities to its students. With the exception of the Del Norte
campus, CR is underutilizing its potential for ITV and CTV services and, most
glaringly, has no real online program. With a commitment from its
administrators, faculty, and staff this situation could be reversed and student
access could be significantly increased at a relatively small cost of District
resources.
The recommendations from this committee included a call for administrative leadership, a
request for a program coordinator and advisory committee, a shift in emphasis to online
education, acquisition of WebCT or Blackboard as a course management system, training in
2
online education for both faculty and students, and the creation of a district designation for
online distance education courses. Although the Committee’s conclusions and recommendations
were largely ignored by senior administrators, some of the recommendations had been met by
Spring 2006 as a result of other initiatives internal to the District. Noted in the Education Master
Plan 2020 report, “The distance learning efforts have made progress toward the 2004 study’s
recommendations. A faculty member now serves as the Distance Learning Coordinator. Online
courses have increased in number to a total of 14 sections in spring 2006. Blackboard, a course
management system, has been adopted and employed to serve all district courses, including
online offerings. And all online sections are now consolidated under the designation of Virtual
Campus in Web Advisor, regardless of the campus affiliation of the course” (pg. 51). This report
echoed the 2004 program review’s observations, noting that “The potential for growth in online
education seems extensive” (pg. 51). The Master Plan cautioned, however, “That the decision to
pursue this enrollment has not been made and will pose a key challenge for the future” (pg. 52).
Despite a decade of relative neglect, distance education courses have increased in number with
corresponding increases in student enrollment. The graph below describes FTES growth since
1996 from the combination of CTV, ITV and Online classes. The growth trend experienced a
temporary reversal from 2000 to 2003, echoing a national trend away from televised to online
distance education methodologies.
A Decade of Growth in Distance Education FTES
REDWOODS ANNUAL DISTANCE ED
160
140
FTES
120
100
80
60
40
20
19
96
-1
19 99
97 7
-1
19 99
98 8
-1
19 99
99 9
-2
20 00
00 0
-2
20 00
01 1
-2
20 00
02 0
-2
20 00
03 3
-2
20 00
04 4
-2
20 00
05 5
-2
20 00
06 6
-2
00
7
0
Recent data since the 2003-04 academic year provide a more detailed picture of changes in
distance education. From the information presented below it is apparent that the number of
3
online classes and student enrollment has increased markedly while the televised modalities
remained stable.
Sections by DE Modality
60
50
40
CTV
30
ITV
ONLINE
20
10
0
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
Enrollment by DE Modality
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
CTV
1000
ITV
ONLINE
800
600
400
200
0
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
Number of Sections by DE Modality
2006-07
2007-08
Enrollment by DE Modality
4
03-04
04-05
05-06
06-07
07-08
CTV
1
14
13
10
16
ITV
6
12
12
8
4
Online
unavailable
10
29
39
53
CTV ITV
Online
8
43
unavailable
03-04
308
46
283
04-05
382 46
943
05-06
316 36
1153
06-07
158
7
1893
07-08
The rapid growth of online education as part of the District’s total enrollment and headcount is
evident from the information below. Notably, the growth appears to be accelerating, which is
consistent with national trends.
Online as Percentage of District Enrollment/Headcount
12
10
8
% District Enrollment
6
% District Headcount
4
2
0
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
Online Enrollment/Headcount as Percentage of District Enrollment/Headcount
Academic
Year
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
Percentage of District
Enrollment
2.2
2.9
5.3
III. Program Description
5
Percentage of District
Headcount
3.7
6.9
11.4
At College of the Redwoods, distance education courses* are delivered in three modalities: livebroadcast cable television (CTV); site-to-site, live-interactive television (ITV); and
asynchronous online as the Virtual Campus.
For the 2007-08 academic year (census), Distance Education offered 73 sections and served 2058
students. These data place the DE program third in enrollment numbers behind the Eureka and
Del Norte campuses and before the Mendocino Coast campus.
Sections by DE Modality 2007-08
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
CTV
ITV
ONLINE
Enrollment by DE Modality 2007-08
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
CTV
ITV
Number of Sections by DE Modality
ONLINE
Enrollment by DE Modality
6
07-08
CTV ITV
16
4
Online
53
07-08
CTV
158
ITV
7
Online
1893
During the 2007-08 academic year, the Eureka campus provided six CTV sections with a total of
25 students while the Del Norte campus delivered eight sections for 133 students. There were a
total of four ITV sections originating from Eureka with two students in Del Norte and an
additional two students at the Mendocino Coast campus. The Virtual Campus of online courses
provided 53 sections and served 1893 students. Enrollment was moderate for the Del Norte CTV
and robust for the District’s online sections. In contrast, enrollment was very low for Eureka’s
CTV and ITV sections at both Del Norte and Mendocino Coast.
Cable TV Enrollm ent (2007-08)
150
100
50
0
Eur eka
Del Nor t e
Cable TV Sections (2007-08)
10
8
6
4
2
0
Eureka
Del Norte
Average Cable TV Enrollment (2007-08)
20
15
10
5
0
Eureka
Del Norte
7
Enrollment, Number of Sections, and Mean Average Section Enrollment by Campus
Location for DE Cable TV for 2007-08.
Eureka
Del Norte
Enrollment
25
133
# of Sections
6
8
Ave Section Enroll
4.2
16.6
ITV Enrollm ent (2007-08)
5
4
3
2
1
0
Del Norte
Mendocino Coast
ITV Sections (2007-08)
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Del Nort e
M endocino Coast
ITV Average Enrollm ent (2007-08)
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Del Norte
Mendocino Coast
Enrollment, Number of Sections, and Mean Average Section Enrollment by Campus
Location for DE Interactive TV for 2007-08.
8
Del Norte
Mendocino Coast
Enrollment
4
3
# of Sections
2
2
Ave Section Enroll
2
1.3
Average Enrollment per Section (2007-08)
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Cable TV
ITV
Online
Enrollment, Number of Sections, and Mean Average Section Enrollment for DE Online
(Virtual Campus) for 2007-08.
Online
Enrollment
1893
# of Sections
53
Ave Section Enroll
34.96
The distribution of Distance Education courses is listed below. Cable-televised courses were
offered exclusively by three divisions: Arts Languages and Social Science (ALSS), Humanities
and Communications, and Math/Science/Engineering. Interactive television was delivered by
Eureka’s Math faculty to the Mendocino Coast and Del Norte campus sites. Online classes were
delivered primarily by the Business and Technology Division followed by all of the other
divisions except Athletics/PE.
9
DE sections by Division and DE Modality (07-08)
Athletics/PE
Student Learn
Public Safety
Online
Math/Sci/Eng
ITV
Nurs/Health Oc
CTV
Hum/Comm
Business/Tech
ALSS
0
5
10
15
20
25
Number of DE sections by Division and DE Modality for 07-08
Division
ALSS
Athletics/PE
Business/Tech
Humanities/Comm
Nursing/Health Oc
Math/Sci/Eng
Public Safety
Student Learning
CTV
4
0
0
5
0
5
0
0
ITV
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
Online
9
0
21
3
2
5
2
2
The number of distance education sections in the context of comparable California Community
Colleges is listed below. College of the Redwoods ranks 9th among the eleven colleges in
number of online sections. The College was unique in its use of live-broadcast cable television.
10
Number of Online Sections: CR and 10 Comparable Institutions
(Spring 2008)
M
ar
in
H
ar
tn
el
l
R
ed
w
oo
ds
av
i la
n
G
Im
pe
ri a
l
Si
sk
iy
ou
ap
a
N
Sh
as
ta
Ba
rs
to
w
M
en
do
ci
no
W
es
tK
er
n
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Ranking by Number of Online Sections by CR and 10 Comparable Institutions and
alternative modalities, Spring, 2008
District
Shasta
Barstow
Mendocino
West Kern
Napa
Imperial
Siskiyou
Gavilan
Redwoods
Hartnell
Marin
# of Online Sects
143
133
57
56
53
43
42
35
30
27
18
Alternative Modalities
None
None
15 commercial-videotaped
37 “offline” or correspondence
None
None
Live: 6 High School ITV sites
None
Live: 14 CTV, 4 ITV
None
3 CTV commercial videotaped
Demographics for distance education students are reported below. Consistent with trends in
higher education, College of the Redwoods reports more female than male students. This
disparity is increased with Distance Education courses. The greatest difference is found online
with a 3:1 ratio of female to male students.
11
Gender by DE Modailty
80
70
60
50
Male
40
Female
30
20
10
0
Cable TV
ITV
Online
District
Gender by DE Modalities, 2006-07
Male
Female
Cable TV
36%
64%
Interactive TV
31%
69%
Online
26%
74%
District
44%
56%
Distance Education student self reports of ethnic affiliation are generally similar to the District
distribution by ethnic status. Cable television students are somewhat more likely to identify
themselves as Native American than are the general District students. Native Americans,
Latinos, and Asian-Americans were also somewhat overrepresented with ITV compared to the
District. Latinos were underrepresented using CTV. Online students were more likely to describe
themselves as White compared to District students.
Ethnicity by DE Modality, 2006-07
White
African Am
Hispanic
Asian Am
Native Am
Cable TV
67%
0%
2%
1%
14%
Interactive TV
69%
2%
10%
6%
12%
12
Online
74%
2%
7%
4%
8%
District
69%
2%
7%
2%
7%
Student attrition, retention and success data are listed below. Attrition appears to be lower with
the Del Norte campus CTV and significantly higher with online classes as compared to the
Eureka campus average of 92%.
Attrition (First Day to Census)
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Cable EKA
Cable DN
Online
EKA Campus
Student Attrition (first day to census) by DE Modality, Fall, 2006
Cable TV EKA
91%
Cable TV DN
106%
Online
75%
EKA Campus
92%
Student retention defined as enrollment from census to end term was somewhat variable from
semester to semester but suggests slightly lower retention rates with ITV and online sections
compared to the District.
Retention (Census to Term)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Fall 2006
Spring 2007
Cable
ITV
Online
13
District
Student Retention (census to term) by DE Modality, 2006-07
Cable TV
90%
81%
Fall, 2006
Spring, 2007
Interactive TV
73%
85%
Online
82%
77%
District
85%
84%
Student success data refer to the percentage of students who were enrolled at census and
ultimately pass the class. CTV shows lower success for one of two semesters, whereas online
sections were slightly lower than the District average. Interactive TV had higher rates of student
success than the District average.
Success (Census to Term)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Fall 2006
Spring 2007
Cable
ITV
Online
District
Student Success (census to term) by DE Modality, 2006-07
Fall, 2006
Spring, 2007
Cable TV
71%
44%
Interactive TV
72%
85%
Online
63%
57%
District
67%
66%
Demand for online classes
Online classes are especially quick to fill. The Fall 2007 data suggest that online classes fill at
nearly a 50% higher rate than District sections, at least until three weeks before classes begin at
which time non-online classes narrow the gap. This is especially remarkable as online sections
generally have a 15-20% higher registration capacity compared to their non-online sections. The
Spring 2007 registration data, which includes adjustments for the higher registration capacities of
online classes, suggest that the actual fill rate of online classes is nearly twice the rate of District
classes until shortly before the semester begins at which time non-online sections close the gap.
14
Moreover, for Spring 2008 more than a third of online sections were closed five weeks before
the semester began and nearly 80% were closed a week before classes began.
Percentage of Enrollment by Registration Capacity
(Fall 2007)
100
80
60
Online
40
District
20
0
Week -5 Week -4 Week -3 Week -2 Week -1
Percentage of Enrollment by Registration Capacity (Fall 2007)
Sections
Online
District
Week -5
75.4
55
Week -4
79.4
58
Week -3
80.5
59.8
Week -2
76.5
73.9
Week -1
89.6
71.1
Percentage of Enrollment by Registration Capacity
(Spring 2008)
140
120
100
Online
80
Online*
60
District
40
20
0
Week -5
Week -3
Week -2
15
Week -1
Percentage of Enrollment by Registration Capacity (Spring 2008)
Sections
Online
Online*
District
Week -5
75.9
90.0
48.6
Week -4
N/A
N/A
N/A
Week -3
79.6
104.7
51.2
Week -2
85.4
108.3
56.2
Week -1
95.3
118.0
66.3
*Adjusted for Class capacity as established by the curriculum committee.
Physical and Technological Infrastructure
Distance education classrooms serve as television studios both at the Eureka and Del Norte
locations. The Eureka classroom is located in the LRC 105. This room is equipped with an LCD
projector, computer workstation with internet access and disk drives, and 30 individual
networked computers for student use. There is a control room (LRC 104) with a technician to
assist instructors using the DE classroom. The technician also operates cameras, microphones,
and routes CTV broadcasts to the local cable provider (Sudden Link) with the potential to feed to
the Del Norte and Mendocino Coast cable systems. ITV also originates from this classroom with
the assistance of the DE technician. The former video conferencing system (Eclipse) for ITV has
been recently replaced by a Video-over-IP (Ethernet) system. This new system will provide
much greater capabilities including simultaneous conferencing and additional sites. ITV classes
originate from Eureka and are currently limited to the Del Norte and Mendocino Coast sites.
Del Norte has a distance learning classroom with a capacity of 50 students and control room for
one-way local cable broadcasts with the potential to feed to the Eureka and Mendocino Coast
cable systems. In addition, it has another smaller room for ITV classes usually broadcast from
Eureka. At the Mendocino Coast campus there is a special classroom that is used for distance
learning classes. It has video-conferencing equipment to receive courses broadcast from Eureka
for ITV classes. There is a local cable television system that can receive feeds from the Del
Norte and Eureka television studios.
Technical support for Eureka comes from a technical specialist housed in the television studio
control room. The Del Norte campus has the support of a technical specialist who is responsible
for the equipment maintenance and training/supervising student “producers/directors” for the
courses. In addition to the distance education-dedicated tech specialist, Information Technology
Services (ITS) provides additional support.
Online course delivery is relatively decentralized with support from a faculty Distance Education
Coordinator. Using the College’s course delivery system (Blackboard), faculty and students can
be located anywhere there is internet access. Faculty and students can get assistance from a “help
desk” staffed by ITS personnel. ITS personnel also staff and support Blackboard functions. ITS
hours are limited to M-F during normal business hours, although they provide emergency “on
call” services for the College’s web services including Blackboard.
16
Faculty Training and Compensation
There is no faculty training for any of the distance education modalities. However, the Eureka
technical specialists (ITS) provide invaluable help to instructors. Similar informal assistance
occurs in Del Norte. For online classes, although there is no systematic training provided by the
District, the California Community College @One provides free online training for online
teaching.
For CTV or ITV there is no minimum number of students required for a section to be offered and
compensation is based on a teaching load unit (TLU) multiplier. This provides compensation of
up to the maximum TLUs for a distance learning section of 50 or more students. The on-site
class of these televised sections receives the normal TLUs. Online classes are normally
compensated as traditional classes but have to meet a minimum standard of enrollment.
According to the current contract language, instructors are entitled to a $1500 stipend for each
new distance education course offered. There is no limit to the number of stipends an instructor
can receive. Stipends are not adjusted for the DE modality or course credit hours.
Faculty Stipends
2006-07
Fall, 2007
$ 19,500
$ 18,000
Student Services Support for Distance Education Students
There is no coordinated program of student services available specifically for distance education
students outside of the normal array of services available to all students. Listed below are student
services programs and a brief description of how they support the mission of distance education.
Admissions and Records: Prospective students can apply to the college using the online
services available on the college’s website. Students can also register and pay for classes
using Web Advisor accessible from the college’s website. Admissions and Records also
provides phone and email support for student inquiries regarding distance education
courses.
Counseling and Advising Services: Students can get online information about the
Counseling Center, Transfer Center, CalWorks, and articulation, in addition to staff
contact information as well as degree and transfer requirements. The complete college
catalog is available online.
Career Development and Student Employment Center: Information is available
online to assist students in their career planning. In addition, resources available at the
Eureka campus are described. The Employment Center advertises District and regional
job announcements.
Financial Aid: Website information is available regarding scholarship programs and
services including downloadable forms and links. Staff contact information includes a
financial aid services email address.
17
Health Services Center: Information about health services available on the Eureka
campus are posted online.
Bookstore: The Bookstore provides textbooks for Distance Education students at each of
the campus sites. Students can also phone the bookstore to order textbooks which, if
purchased by credit card, are mailed to the student with no handling or mailing fee.
Disabled Students Programs and Services: The DSPS website offers a description of
its services, related publications, and web links to relevant information and a DSPS
Student Online Orientation. DSPS Staff inform DE instructors of students requiring
accommodations and provide assistance and support to students and faculty alike. DSPS
Staff also consult with faculty to provide accessible courses in compliance with Federal,
State, and Board of Trustees regulations. For example, specific instructions how to create
accessible online documents and web pages are available to faculty online.
Library: The Library, located in the Learning Resource Center, provides reference and
instruction services by a professional reference librarian. A rich range of electronic,
audio-visual, and print resources are available to support on-site and distance curriculum
alike. Computers are available in the Library for those DE students who use the Eureka
campus or branch libraries in Del Norte and Mendocino. Electronic books and online
databases are accessible from off-campus. On-campus and distance education student and
faculty access to resources is an important part of the CR Library mission. Online
resources accessible from the library to support students and faculty, from on and off
campus, include: AccessScience, Britannica Online, CountryWatch, CQ Researcher,
EBSCO Databases, GALE Small Business Resource Center, NetLibrary E-Books
Collection, NewsBank, NoodleTools, Project MUSE, ProQuest, STAT!Ref Medical EBooks, and, of course, the CR Online Library Catalog. Information about these databases
is available at (http://www.redwoods.edu/eureka/library/onlinedbs.asp), and there is a
web page that faculty may integrate into their Blackboard sites. Handouts about using
MLA and APA styles to write papers and cite sources are also available on the Library
website.
Academic Support Center: The Academic Support Center, located in the Learning
Resource Center, provides proctored testing services for distance education courses. The
Eureka campus ASC is equipped with group and individual testing rooms. In addition,
there are computers dedicated for testing purposes. Similar services are available at the
Del Norte, Mendocino Coast, Klamath/Trinity, and Arcata sites.
Online Classes Website: With a link to the CR homepage, the “online classes” website
provides an introduction to online education. In addition there is a link for students to
assess their online readiness. A schedule of online classes is available, which includes
links to specific course information created by instructors. This website is managed by
the DE coordinator.
Captioning Services: Federal, State, and Board of Trustees’ regulations require the
captioning of all televised DE courses. Beginning Fall 2006, the District committed to the
live captioning of televised distance education courses. These mandated services were
made possible by continuous grants from CCCLive Captioning. These grants are
managed by the DE coordinator.
18
Live Captioning Costs by Semester
Fall, 2006
Spring, 2007
Fall, 2007
Spring, 2008
$ 32,240
$ 38,880
$ 34,560
$ 43,200
Organizational Structure
The DE program has a part-time faculty Program Coordinator with 9.0 TLU (two classes)
reassigned time per academic year. This person reports directly to the Vice President of
Academic Affairs. Responsibilities include recruiting and supporting distance education faculty,
seeking grant monies for the live-captioning of televised courses and videos for online courses,
reviewing DE course proposals for the Curriculum Committee, reviewing and facilitating course
scheduling, creating and managing a DE website, and responding to state distance education
inquiries.
There is no specific administrator such as a Division Chair, Dean, or Director responsible for
distance education. There are no clerical support staff designated for distance education.
* For reporting purposes, Distance Education (DE) program consists of courses designated by
the State of California as Distance Education instruction in which the instructor and student are
separated by distance and interact through the assistance of communication technology. The
basic criterion established in the GUIDELINES (March 2004) under Section 55205 where the
course utilizes technology 51 percent or more of the time to deliver instruction during the course
term.
IV.
Summary and Recommendations
Program Strengths:
1. There is a high student demand for online courses. The number of online sections has
increased 96% and student headcount has doubled in the last two years to account for 11.39%
of the District’s total headcount. Online classes are especially quick to fill. The Spring 2008
registration data suggest that the fill-rate for online classes is nearly twice the rate for District
classes and the highest of any campus location. In addition, more than a third of online
sections were closed five weeks and 80% one week before the semester began.
2. There is a core of faculty teaching each of the three DE modalities: Cable TV, Interactive
TV, and online courses. In addition, Math faculty have developed an online testing system
available for other disciplines. These faculty could serve as faculty mentors.
3. The District has an upscale version of Blackboard, an online course management system.
4. Many essential student services are available online, including Enrollment and
Registration services, financial aid, and Library resources.
5. DSPS provide invaluable support to faculty and students regarding accessibility for
disabled students.
19
6. The Academic Support Center provides proctored testing services for Distance Education
students.
7. The Eureka and Del Norte campuses have sophisticated classroom equipment and
technicians for Cable TV and Interactive TV broadcasts. New equipment (Video over IP
Ethernet) has replaced obsolete Eclipse system and is capable of offering Interactive TV
courses to additional sites.
8. The District has designated a Virtual Campus to capture institutional data for online
classes.
9. The District provides $1500 stipends to faculty for developing and teaching a distance
education course for the first time.
10. The District distance education televised courses are live-captioned in compliance with
Federal, State, and Board of Trustees regulations. Captioning costs are covered by State
CCCLive Captioning grants totaling approximately $75,000 each year.
Program Weaknesses:
1.
The supply of online courses is lagging well behind student demand
Online sections are quick to fill and have high fill percentages. Recent data suggest that the
fill rate for online classes is nearly twice the rate for District classes and the highest of any
campus location. More than a third of online sections were closed five weeks and 80% one
week before the Spring 2008 semester began. In addition, there are currently 88 students
using the ASC for proctored exams from twenty-seven colleges, including seven colleges
from the California Community College System. Inasmuch as most online classes do not
have proctored exams, it is very likely that there are many more students within our District
service area taking online classes through other institutions.
CR is 9th among eleven comparable community colleges in number of online sections for
Spring 2008. The Virtual Campus would have to increase its section offerings by 13
sections (43%) to equal the median number of sections by comparable institutions.
For the California Community College System, there has been a 552 percent increase in the
DE student headcount from 1995-1996 to 2005-06. The percentage of students enrolled in
DE course sessions rose from 2.52 percent of total student headcount to 11.81 percent of
that total in the eleven-year period of the study. Within the past two academic years, DE
student headcount has grown by 40 percent. In 2005-06, DE student headcount represented
11.81 percent of total student headcount. The average annual rate at which DE student
headcount has grown was 18.73 percent for the period of 1995-96 through 2005-06 (CCC
System Distance Education Report, 2007).
There has been no leveling of the growth rate of online enrollments; institutions of higher
education report record online enrollment growth on both a numeric and a percentage basis.
Community college students are especially likely to take online classes. Online students,
especially undergraduates, are more likely to be studying at associates institutions than are their
face-to-face contemporaries (Sloan Consortium, 2006).
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2.
Absence of an Organizational Structure and Isolation of Distance Education within
the District’s Organization and Function
There is no Administrator (division chair, dean, or director) responsible for the
management of distance education. The DE program is served by a faculty coordinator
reassigned from one section/semester. The coordinator reports to the VP of Academic
Affairs and serves on the Technology Advisory Group.
There is currently no Distance Education Advisory Committee. There are significant
infrastructure requirements to support Distance Education including Student Services and
Information Technology Services.
There are a variety of critical distance education issues which cannot be resolved
successfully without leadership and the involvement of all District stakeholders. These
issues include the continued District investment in low enrollment CTV and ITV
programs and the faculty stipends.
3.
Absence of Faculty Training and Support for Online Instruction
Faculty training and support for online instruction and Blackboard is no longer available
through the Center for Teaching Excellence. In addition, there is no student evaluation of
faculty or student surveys to assist faculty in improving their online teaching, nor to meet
the contractual obligations with the District.
4.
High Student Attrition in Online Classes
Online classes lose 25% of their enrollment from the beginning of the semester to census
as compared to 8% for district classes (F06). This may be due in part to the absence of
training and support for online students. Many students may be unprepared for the
technological and academic demands of an online class.
Student email addresses are often incorrect. This makes it impossible for faculty to
contact students with class information before the semester begins. It also is an obstacle
to contacting students who miss the first week’s assignments.
The Blackboard Help Desk is not available after hours or weekends.
5.
High District Investment in Low Enrollment Televised Courses
The District should reconsider its commitment to televised distance education courses.
Instructional television has been largely abandoned by distance education programs a
decade ago. Enrollment in interactive televised courses and Eureka cable broadcast
courses is very low, while enrollment in cable broadcast courses from Del Norte
continues to be moderate. The District continues to support its expensive video
infrastructure without sufficient consideration of its Distance Education plans.
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Recommendations:
Recommendation 1: The College should direct sufficient resources to increase its online
presence.
Recommendation 2: The College should direct sufficient resources to provide the
necessary organizational structure to address current issues and support an expanded
Distance Education program.
Recommendation 3: The College should provide the necessary training to insure that all
online faculty have the basic skills to teach online courses.
Recommendation 4: The College should commit to decreasing student attrition in online
classes from the start of the semester to census.
Recommendation 5: The District should reconsider its commitment to televised distance
education courses.
Self Study Participants
Review Coordinator: Mark Winter. Review Team Members: Paul Agpawa, John Anderson,
Nadene Bass, Michael Butler, Dan Calderwood, Tom Cossey, Christine Dobrowolski, Lynn
Durkee, Josh, Edelman, Helen Edwards, Linda Ellis, Phil Freneau, Jennifer Gardner, Kathy
Goodlive, Melissa Green, Toby Green, Stephan Grimes, Rudy Jager, Clyde Johnson, Sydney
Larson, Jason Leppaluoto, Lynn Machen, Carol Mathews, Darlene McClure, Roxanne Metz,
Tom Owen, Martha Racine, Jose Ramirez, Mark Renner, Michelle Rosensteel, Gary Sokolow,
Jim Stemach, Lynn Thiesen, Tracey Thomas, Brian Van Pelt, Bruce Wagner, Gaye Warren,
Cathy Zazueta, Dave Zdrazil. External Consultant: Bob Bramucci
Vision and Goals
Distance Education at College of the Redwoods should become a well organized and integrated
part of the college community. In addition to having a clear and functioning structure, DE will
also have sufficient technological support for student and instructor training. Enrollment and
student success data will be much improved. These changes will be in sharp contrast with the
current undersized program, which lacks organization and integration with the District.
Listed below are specific objectives:
Recommendation 1 The College should direct sufficient resources to increase its online
presence.
Objective 1: Increase the number of online sections by 25% each year for the next five
years beginning Fall 2008.
Recommendation 2 The College should direct sufficient resources to provide the necessary
organizational structure to address current issues and support an expanded Distance Education
program.
Objective 1: The College should immediately assign an administrator the responsibility
of managing the District’s DE program.
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Objective 2: The reassigned time for the faculty coordinator should be increased to a
total of 18 TLUs (two classes each semester) beginning Fall 2008.
Objective 3: A DE advisory committee should be created and include all District
stakeholders. The committee should begin its work Fall 2008.
Objective 4: An ad hoc committee of the DE advisory committee should investigate the
use of Faculty Stipends as proper compensation. The committee would report its findings
Fall 2008.
Recommendation 3 The College should provide the necessary training to insure that all online
faculty have the basic skills to teach online courses.
Objective 1: Beginning Spring 2009 all instructors teaching online for the first time will
have received adequate training from the District.
Objective 2: The District will have a full-time staff person skilled in instructional
technology to provide faculty training and support beginning Fall 2008.
Objective 3: A process will be in place allowing student evaluation of online instructors
beginning Fall 2008.
Recommendation 4 The College should commit to decreasing student attrition in online classes
from the start of the semester to census.
Objective 1: The District will provide students self-direct tutorials for basic online skills.
These tutorials will be required for registration to a first-time, online class beginning
Spring 2009.
Objective 2: The District will take measures to increase the reliability of student email
addresses to over 90% for Fall 2008.
Objective 3: The District will provide “after hours” Blackboard support by Spring 2009.
Recommendation 5 The District should reconsider its commitment to televised distance
education courses.
Objective 1: A DE Task Force will be created to define the District’s commitment to
CTV and ITV courses. This committee would report its findings Spring 2009.
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Quality Improvement Plan
Distance Education
Year 2008
Recommendation # 1 The College should direct sufficient resources to increase its online
presence.
Planned Implementation Date:
Fall 2008
Estimated Completion Date:
Fall 2009
Action/Tasks:
1. Establish a DE organization including an administrator.
2. Hire Instructional Technology Staff
Measure of Success/Desired Outcome:
1. Increase in numbers of online sections and enrollment.
Estimated Cost(s):
Salary for administrator, program coordinator, and instructional technician will be significant.
Who is responsible:
VP for Academic Affairs
Consequence if not funded:
Access for students will be limited. Students will take online courses at other community
colleges.
Recommendation # 2: The College should direct sufficient resources to provide the necessary
organizational structure to address current issues and support an expanded Distance Education
program.
Planned Implementation Date:
Fall 2008
Estimated Completion Date:
Fall 2009
Action/Tasks:
1. The College should immediately assign an administrator the responsibility of managing
the District’s DE program.
2. The reassigned time for the faculty coordinator should be increased to a total of 18
TLUs (two classes each semester) beginning Fall 2008.
3. A DE advisory committee should be created and include all District stakeholders. The
committee should begin its work Fall 2008.
4. An ad hoc committee of the DE advisory committee should investigate the use of
Faculty Stipends as proper compensation. The committee would report its findings Fall
2008.
Measure of Success/Desired Outcome:
Data indicators of enrollment, student retention, and student success should improve.
Estimated Cost(s):
Expenses will be primary salary for the administrator and coordinator. Other staff and faculty will
24
commit time in supportive roles (e.g., advisory committee).
Who is responsible:
VP for Academic Affairs.
Consequence if not funded:
Distance Education will remain significantly underutilized and student access diminished.
Recommendation # 3: The College should provide the necessary training to insure that all
online faculty have the basic skills to teach online courses.
Planned Implementation Date:
Spring 2009
Estimated Completion Date:
Fall 2009
Action/Tasks:
1. Beginning Spring 2009 all instructors teaching online for the first time will have
received adequate training from the District.
2. The District will have a full-time staff person skilled in instructional technology to
provide faculty training and support beginning Fall 2008.
3. A process will be in place allowing student evaluation of online instructors beginning
Fall 2008.
Measure of Success/Desired Outcome:
Online instructors will be trained and supported in instructional technology. This should result
in improved student evaluations, lower student attrition, and higher student success.
Estimated Cost(s):
The primary cost will be the full-time staff person in instructional technology.
Who is responsible:
Faculty Coordinator
Consequence if not funded:
Reduced supply of online sections. Diminished student access. Increased enrollment of District
students in other online programs.
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Recommendation # 4: The College should commit to decreasing student attrition in online
classes from the start of the semester to census.
Planned Implementation Date:
Spring 2009
Estimated Completion Date:
Fall 2009
Action/Tasks:
1. The District will provide students self-directive tutorials for basic online skills. These
tutorials will be required for registration to a first-time, online class beginning Spring
2009.
2. The District will take measures to increase the reliability of student email addresses
to over 90% for Fall 2008.
3. The District will provide 24 hour Blackboard support by Spring 2009.
Measure of Success/Desired Outcome:
Student attrition should decrease. Student success should increase.
Estimated Cost(s):
The primary cost would be Blackboard support (outsourced at $25/call).
Who is responsible:
Program Coordinator
Consequence if not funded:
Student attrition for online classes will remain high.
Recommendation # 5: The District should reconsider its commitment to televised distance
education courses.
Planned Implementation Date:
Fall 2008
Estimated Completion Date:
Spring 2009
Action/Tasks:
1. A DE Task Force should be created to define the District’s commitment to CTV and
ITV courses. This committee would report its findings Spring 2009.
Measure of Success/Desired Outcome:
There will be a reasoned strategic plan for the use of televised distance education resources.
Estimated Cost(s)
This has the potential for significant savings to the District.
Who is responsible?
VP for Academic Affairs or Administrator in charge of DE
Consequence if not funded:
If the recommendation herein is not implemented, the low enrollment CTV and ITV programs
with their expensive infrastructure will continue.
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Appendix A
Specific Sections of Distance Education Courses for the 2007-08 Academic Year
Cable Television (Del Norte)
ECE 2Y
Child Growth and Development
ECE 5
The Child in the Family and Community
HIST 5
Western Civilization: 1600 AD-Present
HIST 8
History through Reconstruction
HIST 9
US History Reconstruction-Present
PHIL 10
Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 15
Religions of the World
POLSC 10
American Institutions
Cable Television (Eureka)
MATH 120 Intermediate Algebra
MATH 15
Elementary Statistics
MATH 50A Calculus I
MATH 50B Calculus II
MATH 4
Matlab Program
MATH 55
Differential Equations
Interactive Television (to Mendocino Coast and Del Norte)
MATH 50A Calculus I
MATH 50B Calculus II
MATH 4
Matlab Program
MATH 55
Differential Equations
Online
AJ 6
ART 4
BUS 1A
BUS 1B
BUS 10
BUS 94
BT 16
BT 17
BT 112
CIS 1
CIS 18
CIS 31
GUID 8
GUID 41
Intro to Evidence
Art Appreciation
Principles of Accounting
Principles of Accounting
Intro to Business
Business Math
Word Processing I
Word Processing II
Keyboarding Skill Development
College Computer Literacy
Intro to Applications Programming
Network Operating Systems
Career Planning
World of Work
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HO 15
HRC 1
HRC 5
HRC 16
HRC 17
HRC 23
MATH 15
MATH 25
MATH 120
PSYCH 1
PSYCH 11
POLSC 10
SOC 10
Nutrition
Intro to Hospitality Industry
Hospitality Law
Hospitality Supervision
Sanitation – Servesafe Certificate
Hospitality Training and Development
Elementary Statistics
College Trigonometry
Intermediate Algebra
General Psychology
Life Span Development
American Institutions
Intro to Sociology
Vice President Student Services and Learning Support Recommendation
Comments: Supporting the recommendations discussed in the QIP will help the college
diversify its course delivery system and boost enrollment.
Keith Snow-Flamer
Vice President for Student Services and Learning Support
03/17/08
Date
Program Review Committee Comments
Comments:
______________________________________________________ _____/_____/_____
Co-Chair of the PRC
Date
Institutional Effectiveness Committee’s Recommendation
Comments:
______________________________________________________ _____/_____/_____
Chair, Institutional Effectiveness Committee
Date
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