Overview for CSU Board of Trustees Presentation
Over the past decade, several campuses have improved student access to a CSU degree supported by a variety of
academic technology services. Each type of educational delivery method has its defining features, has different
planning and management requirements, and provided different benefits to the university and students. (See
Appendix A for a description of the different types of educational delivery methods).
 Technology enhanced classroom
 Hybrid courses
 Fully online courses
 Fully online programs
The hybrid courses, online courses, and online degree/credential programs maximize campus space requirements,
facilitate speed to graduation, and increase access to a campus degree. Chancellor Reed and the campus
presidents have expressed interest in learning how to best leverage systemwide expertise to increase the reach
and benefits of CSU online offerings.
Focus on Online Degree Programs:
The March, 2009 Board of Trustees meeting will include an informational item on CSU online education strategy.
(Current status: 59 online degree programs. For more information: http:// http://odp.csusuccess.org/ )
In consultation with the ATSC, ATAC, and Academic Council a framework has been established to guide the focus of
the Board presentation:
 CSU campus best practices in distance educations should be disseminated and whenever possible
replicated to increase quality and efficiency.
 A series of distance education design principles are needed to ensure a high quality learning experience
with ample student and faculty support.
 The development of a common online course catalog could afford students across the system with a fluid
mechanism of speeding up their time to degree.
 Improved campus and systemwide policies must be developed to make it easier for CSU students to
enroll in distance education courses at sister CSU campuses.
Campus Best Practices
Many CSU campuses have developed particular strengths in their distance education offerings.
1. CSU East Bay – Course Evaluation and Improvement
a. Provides a student-centered approach to the evaluation of online courses.
b. Uses a systems approach in the evaluation of online courses tailored to the purpose and
nature of the course, the pedagogical needs, and program needs.
c. Follows a continuous feedback process by which students identify best practices and
provide guidance for how to implement them more effectively
2. CSU Chico – Student (and Faculty) Support
a. Uses a centralized help desk that provides a one-stop-shop for all customer service
needs
b. Provides assistance from an instructional design team
c. Ensures that institutional services including program orientation are available online
d. Forges the development of online communities of support
3. CSU Dominguez Hills
4. CSU Northridge
5. Others?
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Common Online Course Catalog
A shared catalog of all CSU fully-online courses would allow students additional opportunities to complete their
degrees expeditiously. The catalog would allow students to discover and enroll in online coursework at any CSU
campus, thereby eliminating campus scheduling constraints that may preclude them from taking the courses they
need when they need them.
Improved Campus and Systemwide Policies for Sharing Coursework
As online courses and programs grow in number and as larger numbers of students take such online offerings, CSU
will experience growing demand for easy ways by which a student matriculated at one CSU campus may enroll in
offerings available at another CSU campus.
Deans of extended / continuing education, provosts and presidents have generally endorsed the idea that sharing
of curriculum between and among CSU campuses should be facilitated, where appropriate. These academic
leaders have online curriculum chiefly in mind, because it may be easily shared via the Internet. The chart below
identifies ways in which such sharing can be done consistent with current policy. Effort is currently underway to
understand existing policy and identify needed changes to facilitate curricular sharing even more easily.
F
R
O
M
Curricular Sharing Between Different CSU Universities
TO:
Student takes class(es)
Student takes class(es)
offered via General
offered via Special
Fund at Campus “Two”
Sessions at Campus “Two”
Student is
matriculated in
A. Facilitate, extend,
B. Facilitate, providing
General Fund
Promote Intrasystem
models & examples
Program at
Visitor Enrollment
Campus “One”
Student is
matriculated in
C. Facilitate, providing
D. Agreement between
Special Sessions
models & examples
extended ed. units:
Program at
facilitate, providing
Campus “One”
models & examples
Design Principles for Accelerating Development and Delivery of Online Programs
Design Principles are statements that will guide the planning, implementation, and evaluation of CSU initiatives to
achieve access to academic excellence with the use of technology. These draft principles have been developed
with the ATSC and Academic Council.
PEDAGOGY and DESIGN
 Meet the needs and desires of learners and foster multiple ways of learning (visual, audio,
interactive). Pedagogy and learning outcomes should drive the choice and mode of use of
technology. Use exemplary guidelines for online learning (e.g. CSU Chico rubrics; WASC
accreditation guidelines; MERLOT evaluation standards) Different learning styles needs to be
considered, and accessibility for persons with disabilities must be built in from the inception.
Designs should account for the current ICT competencies of our students and faculty.
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
Provide flexibility in program delivery mode (e.g., full-online, blended, face to face) to address
student time and place barriers. Working professionals are already comfortable with on-line
communication and modes of learning and seek opportunities for on-line that aligns with their
learning experience. Online/on campus instruction models should make critical-need professional
advancement possible while students maintain their jobs.
ACCESS:
 Focus online program development on areas of critical need for the state
o health, education, engineering, serving the military
 Ensure that online curricula that are developed can be widely accessed throughout the CSU. This
includes surmounting intellectual property issues and assuring sufficient similarity of design and
approach to permit students easy access across the system. More widespread use of academic
technology would be enhanced by the creation of a virtual commons for cross-campus student
collaboration.
 Provide online learning opportunities for current students to speed time to degree by offering
options that allow shifting of time and place or student learning (e.g., hybrid course options and
online course options as part of an on-campus student's curriculum, and mixtures of synchronous&
asynchronous learning in a single online course). Create portability of individual courses.
 Enable international educational experiences by providing local access to the global community of
experts, teachers, and learners and the global collections of educational content.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 Provide faculty professional development for the effective use of academic technologies is essential
for success.
 Foster collaborative work among campuses to share faculty, student, and staff expertise in effective
and efficient online education.
MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT
 Support online instructional programs with 24/7 access to instructional materials, library resources,
information technology support, and student services for both on-campus and off-campus students.
 New approaches to instruction using academic technology should be financially sustainable beyond
startup funding. Online education is an investment in the future of the CSU. A business plan should
accompany the academic plan for online education, where staffing, training, funding, and
management are appropriately allocated in scope and scale.
 The integration of technology and administrative infrastructure should be part of online education
and the requirements from academic programs should be a major driver of the technology and
administrative infrastructure services.
 Assessment of learning outcomes and other success indicators should be a requirement part of
online education. A variety of stakeholders (e.g. students, faculty, staff, administrators, industry,
and other community constituents) should participate in the continuous assessment process, guide
the management of online education, and improves public accountability of learning results.
 Online education is still changing in significant and innovative ways. Managing academic technology
projects should include plans and processes for migrating from current practices to new practices.
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Near Term Road Map
1.
Define the alignment of online education, beginning with online degree programs to Access to
Excellence strategic goals/commitments. Explains why online education should be one of the
means to achieve the CSU’s strategic goals. Include indicators of success enabling accountability
of our efforts
2. Define the CSU’s Design Principles for Online Education. The Design Principles will guide the
planning , selection, and implementation of online education projects
3. Develop project plans for supporting campuses accelerating development of their online degree
programs, including
a. Policy revisions and development. Resolve policy issues that are barriers for speedy
graduation with online degree programs
b. Sharing exemplary practice in online education development and management.
c. Support the adoption of exemplary practices by campuses
d. Leveraging technology and support services across the CSU.
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Appendix A:
Summary of Different Types of Online Educational Delivery Methods
Type of Educational Delivery Method
Benefits to
Students
Benefits to
the
university
Technology Enhanced
Classes
Hybrid Classes
Fully Online Courses
Engaging pedagogy can
improve student
learning, reduce time to
degree; Employers
value ICT ready
employees and support
university
Reduced
repeat/deletes/
withdrawals reduces
time to degree;
PLUS: Students’ life
schedule can be blended
into a university
schedule more easily;
PLUS: Students’ life
schedule can be blended
into a university
schedule new ways;
New educational options
available from outside
local area
PLUS: Greater use of
campus facilities;
Greater reduction in per
student capital
investment costs and
facilities operational
costs; Increased
retention rates that
boost CSU college
ranking
Students DO NOT attend
classes for a course on
campus. All instruction
is delivered off campus
(they are “online”)
Defining
Features
Students attend all
classes for a course on
campus
How
Technology is
used
Technology changes the
way students engage
curriculum and learning
processed in the
classroom
Learning Management
Systems, Smart
Classrooms; Clickers,
multimedia
instructional resources
Examples of
Technology
used
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PLUS: University can use
physical capacity of
campus to deliver more
courses. Reduce per
student capital
investment and facilities
operational costs;
Increased retention rates
that boost CSU college
ranking
Students attend some
classes for a course on
campus. Some
instruction time is
delivered off the campus
(online)
Technology provides a
substitute for some of
the classroom
experiences
Technology provides a
substitute for ALL
course experiences
Learning Management
Systems, online
multimedia instructional
resources and library
resources, online
communication tools
Learning Management
Systems, online
multimedia instructional
resources and library
resources, online
communication tools.
online help desk &
technology support
services, some online
advising/student support
Fully Online
Degree/Credential
Programs
PLUS: Students’
professional careers and
life schedule can be
blended into a university
schedule more easily;
P L.US: Greater outreach
to new markets in need
of accredited education
Students DO NOT attend
classes for any courses
for a degree requirement
on a campus. All
instruction, advising, and
support services are
delivered off campus
(they are “online”)
Technology provides a
substitute for an entire
degree program
experience
Learning Management
Systems, online
multimedia instructional
resources and library
resources, online
communication tools.
online help desk &
technology support
services, complete online
registration, complete
online advising/student
support,
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