AGENDA ITEM BACKGROUND
TO: GOVERNING BOARD
DATE
October 6, 2014
FROM: PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Distance Education 2013/2014 Annual Report
REASON FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION
ENCLOSURE(S)
ITEM NUMBER
Page 1 of 6
INFORMATION
BACKGROUND: Districts are required to make an annual report of their distance education activity to their local
governing boards, and then forward a copy to the State Chancellor’s Office. Goal 4 of the Cabrillo Strategic Plan states that
the College will “Provide for the growth of distance education courses/sections as determined by student demand and DE
Plan.” This report to the Cabrillo College Governing Board will discuss Cabrillo’s Distance Education Program, data about
students, enrollment, course completion rates, faculty training, and program growth.
DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS: The Distance Education Committee continues to focus on student success,
and the design of pedagogy, technology, and services students will engage with along the way. Providing an educational
experience that best suits the needs of today’s student means quality instruction and convenience of delivery. Quality
instruction includes significant faculty-student interaction and is a requirement by Title 5. It is also the leading factor
affecting a student’s level of satisfaction with a course. And, a student’s level of satisfaction is a strong predictor of success
and retention. Information in this report will highlight not only the demographics of our distance students, but processes
initiated by the Distance Education Program to increase student persistence and success in online classes.
Methodology: Data in this report comes from data provided by the Chancellor’s Office, and enrollment and demographic
data provided by the Planning and Research Office (PRO). 1
Impact on student completion of degrees and certificates: The majority of students who received degrees or certificates in
2013-14 took online classes to complete their program, and the total number of students using online classes to complete a
degree or certificate increased by 12.9 percentage points over 2012-13. Table 1 below shows that 46% of students who
received a degree or certificate in 2013-14 took three or more distance courses while enrolled at Cabrillo, and 77.3% percent
took at least one DE course. Students are able to maximize their educational experience by combining both distance and
face-to-face classes to create a full load and graduate on time. Many are able to achieve their goal over several years by
enrolling in required courses offered online, while working and/ or raising families.
TABLE 1: ENROLLMENT IN DE COURSES FOR STUDENTS RECEIVING DEGREES AND CERTIFICATES, 2012-14
Students receiving degrees and certificates – enrollment in DE courses
No enrollment in DE courses (%)
Enrollment in one DE course (%)
Enrollment in two DE courses
Enrollment in three or more DE courses
Total number of graduates taking DE courses
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2012-13
371 (35.6%)
197 (18.9%)
122 (11.7%)
353 (33.8%)
672 (64.4%)
2013-14
258 (22.7%)
191 (16.8%)
158 (13.9%)
531 (46.7%)
880 (77.3%)
Management Information Systems Data Mart. (2014). Distance Education Enrollment, Success, and Retention by Course Status. Retrieved
from http://datamart.cccco.edu/Outcomes/Course_Ret_Success.aspx
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Support for Distance Education students, faculty, and professional development: Cabrillo’s distance learning focus is on
improving success and retention rates through faculty development and smarter course design. Technology competency and
teaching effectiveness are directly related to online course quality and student achievement. In addition, online courses must
include activities for different learning styles and accommodate disabled distance learners. The Teaching and Learning
Center (TLC) staff (director and support assistant) provides support for 9,000 student Blackboard accounts and all the online,
web-enhanced and hybrid courses managed through Blackboard. (Hybrid courses are either mostly online with a few inperson class sessions, or structured so that a course that would normally meet twice a week meets in person weekly and
online for the other half of instruction and participation.) In addition, the DE Faculty Handbook is a supplemental guide to
Cabrillo’s Faculty Handbook and informs faculty of best practices, policies and procedures related to distance education.
The TLC Director assists faculty with instructional design services for developing web-based materials in support of both
online and on-campus classes, including training in distance learning pedagogy, accessible web design (including design for
mobile delivery), effective course design, student authentication strategies, student performance reporting, and the use of
plagiarism detection software. Strategies to engage students through regular effective contact can include the use of webinars,
discussion forums, and various assessment techniques. The two-day Blackboard Academy offered during Flex week trains
both new and experienced online instructors in the latest best practices for all of these areas. Instructors also have access to
regular desktop seminars and instructor-led online courses through the @ONE project, where they can immerse themselves
in learning best practices for online course development and teaching while participating as an online student.
The Online Education Initiative (OEI): This pilot, funded from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, is
intended to improve the success, accessibility and quality of distance education programs statewide to benefit students.
Cabrillo College has been selected as one of 24 colleges to participate in the pilot, which will include three of our online
courses in an exchange that students from anywhere can access with a common application, assessment, and support services
such as tutoring and technical support.
Online degrees available at Cabrillo: As outlined on the Distance Education website, Cabrillo currently offers seven AA/AS
online degrees or certificates of achievement, in addition to the 50+ General Education courses that students can use to
complete GE requirements for any degree. Courses are offered on a predictable schedule so that students can plan for the
sequence of courses needed to reach their educational goal in the timeliest manner.
Enrollment in online courses: Unduplicated headcount in online courses increased to 4,380 students in 2013-14, up by 269
or 6.54% over the total number of 4,111 in 2012-13. Chart 1 on the following page shows that Summer 2014 in particular
reflected significant growth, with an increase of 60.9% over the previous summer. Spring 2014 grew by almost 10% over
the previous year with increased offerings in Cybersession (online courses offered during the last eight weeks of the
semester), and similar online course offerings are anticipated for spring 2015. Growth continues this fall semester with over
400 web-enhanced course sections hosted through Blackboard, Cabrillo’s learning management system. The number of
hybrid and web-enhanced courses continues to increase, with the use of mobile technologies soon to surpass computers as
the primary point of access to the Internet.
The College is seeking to increase the number of faculty prepared to offer quality online instruction with professional
development through the Teaching and Learning Center. An additional session of Blackboard Academy was offered in
Summer 2014, and increased tech support during the summer session was provided for faculty preparing to teach online.
Chart 2 on the following page shows the relative explosion in growth in online enrollment as compared to course offerings,
starting with the 2006-07 academic year. Periodic statewide budget reductions have an impact on both course offerings and
enrollment, but the overall trend and demand for distance education is increasing rapidly.
2
Headcount (unduplicated) for Online Courses
by Academic Year
3000
2734
2492
2500
2291
2235
2000
1500
1000
613
381
500
0
Summer
Fall
2012-13 Headcount
Spring
2013-14 Headcount
CHART 1. HEADCOUNT FOR ONLINE COURSES BY ACADEMIC YEAR AND TERM
Online FTES (excluding World Languages)
Online Sections (excluding World Languages)
1200
1000
800
600
400
2013-14
2012-13
2011-12
2010-11
2009-10
2008-09
2007-08
2006-07
2005-06
2004-05
2003-04
2002-03
0
2001-02
200
CHART 2. FULL TIME EQUIVALENT STUDENT (FTES) AND SECTIONS FOR ONLINE COURSES BY ACADEMIC YEAR
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SELECTED STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS IN DE SECTIONS: Distance education courses are taken predominantly by young
people, with 60% in the 20–29 age group. Fifty-seven percent of DE students are female and 81% are continuing students.
Table 2 shows the ethnic breakdown of students enrolled in DE courses from 2010-2014, and Table 3 shows the unduplicated
headcount of students registered in DE sections by their zip code of residence for 2013-14 as compared to 2012-13. Table 4
shows how many students enrolled in Cabrillo DE course live outside of the area, and Chart 3 on the following page maps
the distribution of students taking online courses throughout the West Coast.
TABLE 2: CABRILLO STUDENT ENROLLMENT IN DE COURSES BY ETHNICITY, 2010-2014
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
African
American
2.0%
1.8%
1.7%
1.6%
Asian
4.4%
4.2%
3.9%
2.8%
Hispanic/Latino
24.5%
26.8%
31.8%
33.6%
Multiple/Other
2.8%
4.3%
4.8%
7.7%
Native
American
0.7%
0.8%
0.6%
0.6%
White
60.5%
58.6%
54.2%
52.4%
Data source: SQL data warehouse::Student Acad Cred::Person Ethnicities View
TABLE 3: HEADCOUNT OF ONLINE ENROLLMENTS BY ZIP CODE FOR SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
Santa Cruz County area
Aptos, Capitola, Soquel
San Lorenzo Valley
(Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek,
Brookdale, Felton, Mt. Hermon
Davenport
Santa Cruz
Scotts Valley
Watsonville, Freedom
Total:
Zip Codes
2012-13
Students
2012-13
by % in zip
2013-14
Students
2013-14
by % in zip
730
21.75%
771
21.19%
327
5
9.74%
0.15%
326
7
8.96%
0.19%
1,229
224
842
3,357
36.61%
6.67%
25.08%
100.00%
1,294
253
988
3,639
35.56%
6.95%
27.15%
100.00%
95001, 95003, 95010,
95073
95005, 95006, 95007,
95018, 95041
95017
95060, 95061, 95062,
95063, 95064, 95065
95066, 95067
95076, 95077, 95019
Note: Enrollments in Co-Requisite sections were not included for this analysis. Total Headcount is the total unduplicated count of
students in all zip codes in that year.
TABLE 4: HEADCOUNT OF ONLINE ENROLLMENTS BY REGION
Santa Cruz County
Other California Counties
Other States
Unknown
Total Headcount
2012-2013
3,357
81.7%
2013-2014
3,639
83.1%
716
17.4%
709
16.2%
33
0.8%
28
0.6%
5
0.1%
4
0.1%
4,111
100.0%
4,380
100.0%
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CHART 3. HEADCOUNT OF ONLINE ENROLLMENTS IN 2013-2014 ALONG THE WEST COAST.
DISTANCE EDUCATION SUCCESS AND COMPLETION: Statewide, a gap exists in completion and retention rates between
distance education and traditional instruction. This gap is being addressed statewide through the Online Education Initiative,
and locally through training for distance instructors. Student success in online courses is directly related to sound
instructional design and increased student familiarity with the technology. By engaging students early in the course, this
builds a positive faculty-student relationship. Regular assessment of student progress and early alert mechanisms that steer
students towards needed learning resources also improves student achievement. Completion in distance education courses
averaged 79.76% in 2013–14. Table 5 below reflects retention and success rates in DE sections for summer, fall and spring
terms, both statewide and at Cabrillo.
TABLE 5: 2013-14 DE RETENTION AND SUCCESS RATES
Term data collected for SU13, FA13, SP14
Including Basic Skills
Statewide
Cabrillo
Retention
81.12%
79.76%
Success
61.78%
59.49%
Non-Basic Skills
Retention
81.55%
81.61%
Success
64.17%
63.19%
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Students enrolled in Basic Skills level DE courses for 2013–14 demonstrate lower success and completion rates than students
taking degree applicable, transferable, or vocational courses. 2 According to a Chancellor’s Office Distance Education
Report, “If the student is one of those not particularly prepared for college-level work and not an especially motivated
beginning student, online courses early in the college experience may not be advised.”3
NEXT STEPS: The Distance Education Committee will analyze potential areas of growth in Distance Education offerings
that will enable more students to complete degree and general education requirements, as well as ways in which to increase
the success of students taking DE classes and to decrease the achievement gap that is evident for certain groups of students
such as Latinos. The distance education option also provides program flexibility in scheduling and facility use. The DE
committee is interested in providing a forum for the exchange of best practices among Cabrillo DE instructors, in monitoring
the information provided through the College’s participation in the Online Exchange Initiative, and in increasing the number
of faculty members prepared to teach quality online and hybrid classes. While Distance Education is the sector experiencing
the most rapid growth among instructional delivery methods, the quality of instruction and success of students in this mode
are as important to the College as increasing enrollment.
2
Management Information Systems Data Mart. (2014). Distance Education Enrollment, Success, and Retention by Course Status. Retrieved
from http://datamart.cccco.edu/Outcomes/Course_Ret_Success.aspx
3
Harris, B. (2013). Distance Education Report. Retrieved from
http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/reportsTB/REPORT_DistanceEducation2013_090313.pdf
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