THE STATE OF DISTANCE LEARNING
I N
O L L E G E S A N D U N I V E R S I T I E S
O F T H E
COUNCIL FOR CHRISTIAN
O L L E G E S A N D U N I V E R S I T I E S
T H E
C
C
May 23, 2005
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Table of Contents
The Study ........................................................................................................................................ 4
The Web Search .............................................................................................................................. 4
The Survey ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Demographics ................................................................................................................................. 5
Questions 1 through 5 ............................................................................................................. 5
Programs offered ............................................................................................................................. 6
Question 6: What level of degree programs do you offer online? ......................................... 6
Question 7: What degree programs do you offer online? ....................................................... 7
Question 8: What courses do you offer that are not part of an online degree? ...................... 8
Question 9: Do you provide web support for face to face classes? ...................................... 10
Organizational Structure ............................................................................................................... 11
Question 10: How many personnel have been hired to support the above programs? ......... 11
Question 11: How many students do you have enrolled per year? ....................................... 11
Question 12: The organizational structure for distance learning is?..................................... 12
Question 13: What course authoring tool is used for online courses? .................................. 12
Question 14: What course authoring tool is used for face to face courses? ......................... 13
Question 15: How much online/email help support do you have for students? ................... 13
Question 16: How much help phone support do you have for students? ............................. 14
Question 17: How much online/email help support do you have for faculty course
development? ........................................................................................................................ 14
Question 18: How much phone help support do you have for faculty course development?
............................................................................................................................................... 15
Question 19: Is your web course offering system integrated with your student management
system? .................................................................................................................................. 16
Question 20: Is your web course offering system integrated with your student admissions 16
Question 21: Is your web course offering system integrated with your student registration
system? .................................................................................................................................. 16
Question 22: Is your web course offering system:................................................................ 16
Marketing ...................................................................................................................................... 18
Question 23. How do you do a market analysis when considering a new program? ........... 18
Question 24. How would you describe your target populations? ......................................... 18
Question 25a. How do you market your programs and courses once they have been
approved and are ready to be offered? .................................................................................. 19
Development ................................................................................................................................. 20
Question 26. How many personnel are involved in the development of online courses? .... 20
Question 27: How long does it take to develop one of your online courses? ....................... 20
Question 28: How much do you estimate it costs to develop a fully online course? ........... 21
Question 29: What course management system are you using? ........................................... 22
Question 30: The faculty who teach online courses are: ...................................................... 22
Question 31: Do students pay an additional fee for online courses? .................................... 23
Question 32: Is the cost for delivery of online courses ......................................................... 23
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Training ......................................................................................................................................... 24
Question 33: How are faculty trained to teach online? ......................................................... 24
Question 34: How do faculty receive training in the use of the Course Management system?
............................................................................................................................................... 24
Question 35: How are faculty are given experience and training in functioning in an online
environment?......................................................................................................................... 24
Question 36: How are faculty given training in how to conduct asynchronous online
discussions?........................................................................................................................... 25
Question 37: How are faculty are given training in how to conduct synchronous learning
(chat)? ................................................................................................................................... 26
Faith & Learning ........................................................................................................................... 27
Assessment .................................................................................................................................... 28
Question 39: How are student learning out comes assessed for online courses? ................. 28
Question 40: Student satisfaction is assessed for online courses .......................................... 28
Question 41: What process is in place for the assessment of faculty satisfaction? .............. 29
Question 42: How have assessments been done to compare online and face to face classes?
............................................................................................................................................... 30
Successes and Challenges ............................................................................................................. 31
Question 43: What major successes have you had in developing or delivering online
programs? .............................................................................................................................. 31
Question 40: What major challenges have you had to over come while developing or
delivering online programs? ................................................................................................. 32
CCCU support............................................................................................................................... 34
Question 41: In what way could CCCU support distance learning among its membership? 34
Question 43: Is there a need for CCCU to provide a listing of faculty openings? ............... 35
Question 44: Are your online courses open to students from other CCCU schools? ........... 35
Question 45: Are there any final comments you would like to add about your distance
learning program? ................................................................................................................. 36
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 36
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The Study
There have been times in history when changes in technology have created a significant
change in society and culture. The printing press is a frequently used example of a change
in technology that changed the way words were printed on paper. It also changed the rate at
which the work could be done, dropped the cost of production and distribution but also the
availability of the information to a different segment of society. The fact that the content of
what was being printed became directly connected with the Christian church, did away
with an intermediary level of interpretations and allowed the common person to read,
understand and evaluate scripture. This played an integral part in the reformation of the
Christian church both in how the church used the technology and how the technology
changed the culture of the church, including its educational mission.
We frequently hear that the internet is dramatically changing the amount, availability and
rate of distribution of information. It could be debated whether this is for good or for evil
with evidence found on both sides. An example is the recent distribution of images by
military personnel during war has leaped over news correspondents and military
intelligence with political and cultural impact. A useful line of questioning could be how
this internet technology is affecting Christian higher education. There are multiple aspects
of this line of questioning relating to the purpose for which this technology is being used,
how it is being used and what effect the technology is having on the culture of the
institutions. What programs are being offered and how do they fit with the mission of the
university? Are the target populations of the institutions changing? Have these changes
created new roles and personnel positions leading to changes in the structure of the
organization? How are personnel trained and evaluated? Is there an impact on the faith and
learning commitment and process in this new educational venue?
The purpose of this study was to determine the state of Distance Learning in the Council
for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) member schools. The problem to be
addressed was the lack of information about the type of distance learning initiatives that are
being pursued by the members of the CCCU. This project was made up of two parts, the
one being a web site search of the 114 members listed on the CCCU website. The second
part was a survey sent out to CCCU contact email addresses. The first part was to
determine which schools were offering distance learning. The second part was to determine
more detailed information about the practices and experiences of those working in distance
learning.
The Web Search
A search was conducted of the web sites of each of the 114 members listed on the CCCU
website. From the member list the URL of the institution was obtained. Using an advanced
search feature of Google, a search was done of the specified URL of the institution using
the keywords Distance and Online. If no reference to distance or online learning were
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found in the first 5 pages of hits, it was assumed that the institution was not offering that
type of learning experience. If no reference was found and an online PDF version of the
catalog was available, it was downloaded and searched for the same terms using the search
function in the Acrobat Reader. Using this combined method, 43 of the 114 institutions
(38%) were found to have some offerings online. A listing of the results of this search may
be found in Appendix A at the end of this document. Appendix B contains this same list
broken down by the type of program rather than by school.
The Survey
This survey is a cooperative venture of the CCCU, the CCCU Commission on Technology.
The survey was developed and distributed by Bruce D. Simmerok, Ph.D. from Azusa
Pacific University using SurveyMonkey.com. The survey consisted of 49 items covering
the following areas: Demographics, Programs Offered, Organizational Structure,
Marketing, Delivery, Training, Faith & Learning, Assessment, Successes and Challenges,
and CCCU support. While a great deal more information would have been desirable to
request, a balance had to be maintained between desired useful information and the length
of the survey. It was decided to collect some information regarding a number of known
critical areas of Distance Learning rather than asking for in-depth information in one or two
areas.
Demographics
Questions 1 through 5
The initial questions were information about the name of the institution, person in charge,
URL, email address and phone number for follow-up.
Responders
A total of 131 emails were sent to CCCU schools in the United States and Canada. A total
of 45 schools responded to the survey for a return of 34%. The following are the results of
the responses to the survey.
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Programs offered
Question 6: What level of degree programs do you offer online?
Degrees Offered
Doctoral, 1, 2%
Master, 15, 32%
Bachelor, 10,
21%
None, 17, 36%
Associate, 4,
9%
This question requested information that would indicate to what degree institutions are
putting this technology into practice by offering degree programs online. Seventeen of the
schools, 36%, reported not offering any degrees online while 64% reported Associate,
Bachelor, Masters or Doctoral level programs. For master level 15 out of 45 schools reported
some portion of degree programs online. Nine schools had completely online degrees, some
with multiple degrees.
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Question 7: What degree programs do you offer online?
There were a total of 64 degrees were reported online. The responses were grouped into the
following levels of associate, bachelor, masters and doctoral levels.
Associate Level
A.S. in Christian Ministries
AA Biblical Studies
AA Christian Ministry
AA Management
AA: Justice Administration: ministry concentration public policy concentration
AA: Liberal Arts: history concentration interdisciplinary concentration social science
concentration
AS in Business (ASB)
Associate of Arts in: Biblical Studies
Bachelor Level
B.A. Biblical Studies
BS Christian Ministry
B.A.S. Christian Ministries
BS Human Development
B.A.S. Psychology
BS in Accounting (BSA - launching May 2005)
B.B.A. Management
BS in Business Information Systems (BSBIS)
B.B.A. Management Information Systems
BS in Management (BSM)
B.B.S. Management
BS Management
B.B.S. Management Information Systems
BS Church Leadership
B.S. in Christian Ministries
RNBS completion for Nursing (RNBS)
Bachelor of Business Studies Business Admin
Masters Level:
M.A.O.M. General Management
Master of Educational Leadership
M.A.O.M. Human Resources Management
Master of Intercultural Studies Master of
M.B.A. eBusiness
Ministry Leadership
M.B.A. Finance
Master of Organizational Leadership
M.B.A. International Management
Masters in Business Administration
M.B.A. Management
Masters in Education - Reading Masters in
M.B.A. Management Information Systems
Religion - Spiritual Formation
M.B.A. Marketing
Masters in International Business
M.Ed. Educational Leadership
Administration
M.Ed. Higher Education
Masters in Religion - Christian Education
MA Educational Technology
Masters in Religion - Pastoral Ministry
MA in Ministry - Ministerial Leadership
Master's of Arts in Special Education (blended)
(MML)
MBA
MA in Ministry - Youth Ministry (MYM)
MBA MA LMT Library Media Teaching
MBA MA in Education (MEd)
MA Management and Leadership
MBA -- partially online (mixed online and face
MA Ministry
to face.
MA Nursing (launching May 2005)
MEd
Master of Arts in Christian Education (MACE)
MS in Management (MSM)
Master of Arts in Global Leadership
Special Education Licensure program (SEd)
Master of Business Administration - Church
Business Administration Emphasis
Doctoral Level
Doctoral: Ed.D. in educational administration
Doctoral: Ed.D in Organizational Leadership
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Question 8: What courses do you offer that are not part of an online
degree?
A total of ten (10) schools reported having no courses online. (44%) Of the schools responding,
56% reported offering full courses online which are not part of an online degree. The following
are a list of 240 courses that were reported offered online. Assigning approximate academic
areas to each of these courses shows the following breakdown of how many courses are offered
in each area.
Business
45
Computer Science
4
Education
12
Liberal Arts
77
Music
5
Nursing
3
Religion and Theology
89
Soc
5
4 undergraduate general education courses
7-8 courses in the Graduate School of Theology
ACCT3307 Financial Accounting
ACCT3308 Managerial Accounting
ACCT5301 Managerial Accounting
Alcohol and Drug Education
American Civilization after 1865
Art Appreciation
Basic Economics
BIB 101 Old Testament Survey
BIB 102 New Testament Survey
BIB 202 Synoptic Gospels
BIB 261 Methods of Bible Study
BIB 300 Pentateuch
BIB216E Historical Books
BIB217E Genesis
BIB218E Matthew
BIB273E Bible Study and Interpretation
BIB311E The Gospel of John
BIB313E Romans
BIB325E Deuteronomy
BIB330E Acts and the Early Church
BIB331E Pauline Epistles
BIB332E Hebrews and General Epistles
BIB350E Poetic and Wisdom Literature
Biblical Archaeology
BINT 1233 New Teatament Survey
BIOL 1333/133L Hum. Anatomy & Phys. with Lab
BIOT 1133 Old Testament Survey
BUA230E Principles of Marketing
BUA363E Human Resource Management
BUA443E Ethics in Leadership
BUA444E Business Ethics
BUA462E Organizational Behavior
CFM300E Intro to Conflict Management
CHH 321 Church of God History & Polity
Christian Care and Counseling
Christian Life Doctrine
Christian World View
Church Ministries
CMI220E Personal Evangelism
COMM 2233 Intro. to Mass Comm.
Communications Certificate
Communications I
Communications II
Concepts of Wellness
Consumerism and Society
Contemporary Science
Creative Writing
CRIJ3300 Criminal Law
CRIJ3310 Criminology
Criminal Justice Certificate
Criminology
Crisis Intervention
CTED4302 Aims & Objectives of Workforce Development
CTED4303 Human Relations for Vocational Instructors
CTED4304 Designing, Delivering & Managing Instruction
CTED4308 Implementing Instruction & Assessment
CTED4309 Fulfilling Professional Roles & Responsibilities
CTED4316 The Adult Learner
CTED4330 Counseling Theory & Techniques
Cultural Anthropology
Drivers Ed on the Information Superhighway
Early American Literature: Little Known Gems
Earth Science
ECON2307 Principles of Macroeconomics
ECON2308 Principles of Microeconomics
ECON4346 Survey of Economics
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BUAD4334 Business Ethics
BUAD5304 Business Ethics
BUAD5412 Strategic Management
Business Administration
Business Mathematics
CAM260E Intro to Journalistic Writing
Career Development
CAS120E Interpersonal Communication
CAS382E Family Communication
CED 241 Educational Ministry of the Church
CED219E Ministry to Children
CED223E Ministry to Adults ECON5310
Managerial Economics
EDIT2310 Computers in the Classroom
EDIT4311 Multimedia & Video Technology
EDIT4340 Integrating Technology into Curriculum
EDIT5310 Microcomputer Applications
EDIT5342 Adv. Integration of Tech. into
Curriculum
EDU110E History and Philosophy of Education in
America
EDU115E Teaching about Religion in the Public
Schools
EDU260E Educational Psychology
EDU367E Culturally Diverse Teaching
EDUC5303 Multicultural Education
ENG 106 College Writing ENG 110 Rhetoric &
Research
Eng. Comp. I
Eng. Comp. II
ENG417E Article Writing
ENGL 1133
ENGL 1233
ENGL 2133 Intro. to Lit.
ENGL 2233 Intro. to Humanities
ENGL3303 Studies in Fiction
English Composition
Ethical Leadership
Ethics Philosophy and Christian Thought
FINA3309 Financial Management
FINA5303 Managerial Finance
Finance - Practicum in Portfolio Management
GRK203E Greek 1
GRK204E Greek 2
GRK205E Greek 3
HEB202E Hebrew 1
HEB203E Hebrew 2
Heroes in Early British Literature
HIST1303 World Civilization to 1500
HIST1304 World Civilization after 1500
HIST3309 History of the 20th Century World
HIST3310 US Diplomatic History
HLAD3324 Health Professions HR Management
HLAD3335 Admin. & Organization of Health
Facilities
PHI110E Intro to Philosophy
O F
D I S T A N C E
L E A R N I N G
HLAD3339 Theory & Practice of Supervision
HLAD4336 Health Care Marketing
HLAD4337 Health Care Law
HLAD4340 Long-Term Health Care Administration
HLAD5337 Health Care Law
HLAD5340 Long-Term Health Care Administration
Human Services Certificate
Humanities: Fine Arts Environmental Conservation
Humanities: World Civilization
IAS103E Intro to Portfolio Development
Internet Tools
Introduction to Computer Applications
Introduction to Corrections
Introduction to Criminal Justice
Introduction to Human Communication
Introduction to Mass Communication
Introduction to Social Work
ISP 250 Introduction to Missions
Leadership Messages: Communication, Conflict, and
Collaboration
Literature and Ideas
Marriage and Family
MAT110E Finite Mathematics
MATH 1213 College algebra
MATH 1533 Business Math with Calculus
Methods in Bible Study
MGMT3304 Principles of Management MGMT3310
Managerial Communications
MGMT3324 Human Resources Management
MGMT3339 Theory & Practice of Supervision
MGMT4325 Technical Management Operations
MGMT4326 International Management
MGMT5305 Organizational Theory
MGMT5309 Human Resources Management
MGMT5412 Strategic Management
MISM3303 Information Systems Theory & Practice
MISM3311 Personal Computer Applications
MISM3325 Cyberlife
MISM5306 Management of Information Systems
MKTG3312 Principles of Marketing
Modern Concepts of Mathematics
MUS121E Music Fundamentals: Beginners
MUS122E Music Fundamentals: Intermediate
MUSI1303 Music Appreciation
MUSI3305 American Music
Music Appreciation
New Testament Survey
Nursing - Human Resource
Nursing - Missions
Nursing - Research
Old Testament Survey
one undergrad psych course
Online Electives:
Organizational Communication
Personal Finance Life and Meaning in the 21st Century
RLED4301 Survey of Christian Education
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PHI201E Logic
PHI262E Contemporary Issues in Philosophy
PHI372E Christian Ethics
PHI410E Bio-ethics
PHI412E Apologetics
PHI452E Philosophy of Religion
PMI111E Christian Worship
PMI251E Pastoral Theology
PMI361E Intro to Preaching
PMI471E Preaching Difficult Texts
POLS2301 Federal & State Gov't
POLS3303 Public Administration
Principles of Sociology
PSY 200 Understanding Human Behavior
PSYC 1133 Intro. to Psych
PSYC 2233 Marriage & Family
PSYC4310 Social Psychology
Psychological Research
Psychology of Personal Adjustment
Psychology of Personality
REL107E The Christian Canon
REL225E Modern Cults
REL227E Perspectives on the World Christian
Movement
REL343E Theology I
REL344E Theology II
REL345E Theology III
REL346E The History of the Bible
REL347E Postmodern Theologies
REL407E OT Theology
REL423E The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
REL435E Archaeology and the OT
Religious Studies Certificate
O F
D I S T A N C E
L E A R N I N G
RLGN4302 Christian Theology
RLGN4307 Church History
RLGN4310 World Religions
RLGN4320 Life and Teachings of Christ
RLGN4321 Psychology of Religion
RLGN4322 Life and Letters of Paul
RLGN5307 Church History
RLGN5310 World Religions
RLGN5315 The Christian Ministry
RLGN5320 Life and Teachings of Christ
RLGN5321 Psychology of Religion
RLGN5322 Life and Letters of Paul
RLGN5327 Christian Worship
RSWR3345 Research Writing Methods Graduate-SOC 200 Understanding Contemporary Society
Social Problems
Social Work - Advanced Internship
Social Work - Research Project
Software Tools
SSC 2133 Intro. to Socology
Technology Standards, Trends, and Applications
THE 230 Introduction to Theology
THE 231 Christian Ethics
THE 335 Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
THE 337 Theology of the Old Testament
The Exceptional Learner
The Power of Engaged Learning
THE320E Doctrine of Angels
Themes in Biblical Literature
True North: Identifying Your Moral Compass
Women: Self-Direction Through Learning and Career
Development
YCE 433 Contemporary Issues in Youth Ministry
YMI200E Ministry to Youth
Question 9: Do you provide web support for face to face classes?
There is strong evidence that there has been a significant change in the way teaching and
learning has changed in the responding institutions. Of the 32 responding to this question a
large majority of 84% said yes they provide web support for face to face classes and 16%
said no.
Yes
No
27
5
84%
16%
Comment: There appears to be a significant change in the way education is being delivered
through these Christian institutions. The first indication is that institutions are reaching out to the
community in new ways. Two thirds of the institutions reported degree programs online with a
total of 64 degree programs. More than half of the institutions have individual courses online,
with the most popular areas being religion and theology, liberal arts and business. The second
indication is that institutions are teaching in new ways. The very large majority of 84% providing
web support for face to face classes is an indication of this type of technology changing the
pedagogical model used within the institution.
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Organizational Structure
Question 10: How many personnel have been hired to support the above
programs?
Of 27 schools reporting degrees or courses online, 17 (62%) had hired additional support
people. The following number of people has been hired to support the programs.
Director
18
Secretary
14
Curriculum
Developer
11
Graphics
Media
Specialist
5
System
Administrator
12
Other
13
Question 11: How many students do you have enrolled per year?
The responding schools have about the same number of enrollments in online programs as
the do in single course offerings. The largest enrollments are in support for face to face
instruction. One school reported a large number of students in web for F2F courses. The
median score was also calculated to account for an extreme score in the mean.
Total students per year
Mean
Median
Online
Programs
8789
488
100
Courses
Only
8927
496
225
Web for
F2F
55395
2518
900
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Question 12: The organizational structure for distance learning is?
One of the considerations of this investigation was how this form of learning has fit into the
organizational structure of the institutions. The answer options ranged from: Separate online
school, Support service / department for existing schools, Support through faculty
development, No additional departments or services to Other (please specify).
Organizational Support
Other (please
specify)
12%
No additional
departments or
services
15%
Separate online
school
6%
Support service /
department for
existing schools
46%
Support through
faculty
development
21%
The responses indicated two institutions have created separate schools while the others
have some form of support or service structure. Over half, 67% have either set up a
separate department or used faculty development to support online learning. One school
said this area was under “Part of Assistant Provost of Research and Service”.
Question 13: What course authoring tool is used for online courses?
This and the following question are directed at what technological programs have been
adopted to implement distance learning. Blackboard was most used but we do not have
an indication of the level of that program being used.
Blackboard
WebCT
eCollege
Janzebar
Other
13
1
4
1
6
52%
4%
16%
4%
24%
Those who responded “Other” listed the following other course platforms: ANGEL,
Jones open source, Learning House, Moodle, and CAMS.
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Question 14: What course authoring tool is used for face to face courses?
Blackboard
WebCT
eCollege
Janzebar
Other
17
1
2
1
7
61%
4%
7%
4%
25%
HELP SUPPORT: The following four questions related to the level up help resources
that have been developed for distance learning.
Question 15: How much online/email help support do you have for
students?
Email Help for Students
None
3%
Business hours
29%
Other
12%
7/24
26%
Business hours
+ evenings
30%
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Question 16: How much help phone support do you have for students?
Phone Help for Students
None Other
0% 10%
7/24
24%
Business hours
+ evenings
24%
Business hours
42%
Question 17: How much online/email help support do you have for faculty
course development?
Email Help for Course Development
Other
14%
7/24
10%
None
10%
Business hours
+ evenings
10%
Business hours
56%
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Question 18: How much phone help support do you have for faculty course
development?
Phone Help for Course Development
None
14%
Other
3%
7/24
7%
Business hours
+ evenings
17%
Business hours
59%
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Integration with other campus information systems:
The following four questions related to the level of integration with other institutional
information resources. Very few had a dynamic level of integration with any of the other
systems. Almost half had no integration. The remainder used ftp file transfer or some
type of manual transfer of information. The majority have a course authoring system that
is housed and maintained in-house.
Question 19: Is your web course offering system integrated with your
student management system?
Dynamic real time.
Uses ftp file transfer
Manual
No integration
3
5
5
10
13%
22%
22%
43%
Question 20: Is your web course offering system integrated with your
student admissions system?
Dynamic real time.
Uses ftp file transfer
Manual
No integration
1
3
5
15
4%
13%
21%
63%
Question 21: Is your web course offering system integrated with your
student registration system?
Dynamic real time.
Uses ftp file transfer
Manual
No integration
2
5
6
10
9%
22%
26%
43%
Question 22: Is your web course offering system:
Housed and maintained in-house
Out sourced to a service provider
Other
18
7
2
67%
26%
7%
Comment: The question of the impact of the technology on the structure of the institution is
reflected in the results that most institutions have fit distance learning into the organizational
structure as a support service / department for existing schools. Given this structure 62% of the
institutions have hired additional support people. The most frequent are a director and secretary
followed by curriculum developer and system administrator. Many had combinations of these
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positions. These positions are likely being funded by the increased enrollments of close to 500
per year in online programs and online courses. Blackboard was the favorite of the authoring
tools being used. Help desk is a significant part of the support needed to run this technical
operation and about two thirds reported offering students business hours support with half of
those also giving evening hour support. Faculty are more likely to get support during business
hours. The amount of integration with other computer systems was surprisingly small with 43 to
63% reporting no integration with other current systems. Only 9% said they have dynamic
integration with other systems. The remainder was either using ftp file transfer or manual
operations. Most of the systems were housed and maintained in-house.
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Marketing
Question 23. How do you do a market analysis when considering a new
program?
Hire an outside consultant.
Use in-house marketing department
No specialists used
Other (please specify)
2
11
10
5
7%
39%
36%
18%
The comments from “Other” were:
 Both Use in-house marketing department (2) and No specialists used (3) above
 BOTH: use in-house and sometimes hire outside consultant
 Departmental and Institutional self-studies with outside peer review.
Question 24. How would you describe your target populations?
The target population was split between currently enrolled and students who would not
otherwise attend this institution. While 24% identified national population, 16% were
targeting international populations.
Target Population
International
16%
National
24%
Currently
enrolled
students
31%
Students w ho
w ould not
otherw ise
attend this
institution
29%
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Question 25a. How do you market your programs and courses once they
have been approved and are ready to be offered?
Hard copy brochures
Online advertising
Email blasts
Other (please specify)
7
7
1
12
26%
26%
4%
44%
The following are the comments for those who specified other:
 Hard copy brochures 1 and Online advertising 2 above
 A combination of all three methods.
 all in most probability
 All of the Above
 all of the above
 all of the above
 all of the above - primarily online advertising
 both 1 and 2 above
 One and two above
 Publish on course schedule
 word of mouth
Comment: Planning for a change in the programs offered or in how these programs are offered
by an institution can be perplexing. There is significant investment in time and money to move
into this arena. Accrediting agencies are interested in the feasibility and need for such programs
requiring significant marketing analysis. The results seem to indicate that this type of study is
being done in-house with no out-side specialists. The target populations, 29% of the time, are
being reported as students who would not otherwise attend the institution, both national and
international. The method of marketing is a combination of both online, email and hardcopy
advertising. This would indicate a direct intention of the institution to expand its boarders.
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Development
Question 26. How many personnel are involved in the development of
online courses?
Development Personel
Other (please
specify), 11, 19%
Faculty, 22, 36%
System
Administrator, 8,
14%
Graphics Media
Specialist, 7, 12%
Curriculum
Developer, 11, 19%
For those who specified “Other” the responses were:
 Director
 Director &/or Assoc. Dir.
 Director of CDEALT (Center for Distance Education and Learning Technologies)
 faculty instructional technology specialist
 Instructional Designers, Program Manager
 Instructional Technology Specialist for support of face to face
 None at present
 Not always all in all cases
 Out Sourced
 support personnel
Question 27: How long does it take to develop one of your online courses?
Most of the respondents, 62% estimated Nine weeks to One Semester to develop an online
course. Only 17% could develop a course in less than a semester.
One year
Six months
One semester
Nine weeks
Less than nine weeks
1
5
9
9
5
3%
17%
31%
31%
17%
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Question 28: How much do you estimate it costs to develop a fully online
course?
A majority of respondents, 91%, estimated the cost of developing a course to be under
$10,000. The next highest estimate was between $10k and $19k. No estimates were
higher.
=>$50,000
$40k to $49K
$30k to $39K
$20k to $29K
$10k to $19K
< $10k
0
0
0
0
2
20
0%
0%
0%
0%
9%
91%
Comment: There is some support that the process of development of distance learning classes
is a group effort with about a third saying that curriculum developers, graphic media specialists
and system administrators play a part in the development of courses. Two thirds indicate it takes
from 9 weeks to a semester to put together an online course while 20% are taking from 6 months
to a year. The most surprising information was that 91% estimated that the cost was less than
$10.000. From this survey it is not clear how that estimate was made and what variables went
into the estimate.
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Delivery
The following questions relate to the delivery of the course.
Question 29: What course management system are you using?
Course Management
Other (please specify),
7, 26%
WebCT out sourced, 0,
0%
Blackboard in-house,
14, 51%
eCollege, 4, 15%
WebCT in-house, 1,
4%
Blackboard out
sourced, 1, 4%
Question 30: The faculty who teach online courses are:
Regular full time faculty
Regular adjunct faculty
Specially hired full time faculty
Specially hired adjunct faculty
Other (please specify)
4
3
0
3
15
16%
12%
0%
12%
60%
Other (please specify) comments indicated that the 60% in this category were made up of
combinations of the other responses. The vast majorities are using full and part time but
are not hiring full time faculty to teach online. The comments were as follows:
 Both regular full time faculty and specially hired adjunct faculty.
 Both full and part time faculty
 Regular Full time Faculty and Regular Adjunct Faculty
 Mostly full time; Full-time faculty are the leads on any multi-section courses
 Regular full time Regular Adjunct Specially hired Adjunct
 All of above.
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Question 31: Do students pay an additional fee for online courses?
The majority, 58%, of responders indicate that students do not pay an additional fee for
online courses.
Yes
No
10
14
42%
58%
Question 32: Is the cost for delivery of online courses
Greater than as face to face
The same as face to face
Less than as face to face
9
8
4
43%
38%
19%
Comment: In terms of the impact to the institution, the courses are taught by a combination of
regular and adjunct faculty. This should significantly impact the teaching load of the faculty or
indicate that the university is increasing the number of faculty. To the student, the balance is
leaning slightly on the side of not having to pay an additional fee for an online course. The
estimates are split on whether the cost is greater or less to the institution for offering the course.
The method of calculating these estimates would constitute as study on its own.
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Training
The following questions relate to training of faculty.
Question 33: How are faculty trained to teach online?
Group workshops
Team collaboration
Individual coaching
Other (please specify)
6
1
8
10
24%
4%
32%
40%
The Other (please specify) category consisted of either all of the above or Group
Workshops, Indv. Coaching. The combination of Group workshops and Individual
coaching is the most common method.
Question 34: How do faculty receive training in the use of the Course
Management system?
Group workshops
Team collaboration
Individual coaching
Other (please specify)
7
1
8
10
27%
4%
31%
38%
The Other (please specify) category consisted of either all of the above or Group
Workshops, Indv. Coaching. The combination of Group workshops and Individual
coaching is the most common method. The most commonality of this and the following
two questions is that multiple methods are used in the training of faculty. These methods
are generally a combination of group workshops, tutorials and individual coaching.
Question 35: How are faculty given experience and training in functioning
in an online environment?
The following were given as descriptions of traing for faculty.
 As noted above, we begin with special workshops
 Attend 3-week online training course, then shadow an existing online course, then
facilitate with a mentor (if not previously experienced online).
 Excellence in Teaching Seminars
 None
 online orientation courses; demo prof browsing of existing courses
 Online workshops, individual tutoring
 Personal introduction to CMS and access to sample online courses.
 simulations and mentor experiencce
 They are placed into an online training course and have bi-weekly meetings while
developing their course materials.
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They are trained individually and then team teach with an experienced faculty.
Training provided by provider
Training videos and collaboration web site for hands-on learning
Question 36: How are faculty given training in how to conduct
asynchronous online discussions?
The following were statements given as descriptions of training for faculty asynchronous
discussions.
Online Training
 Collaborative tool,
 eCollege training tool,
 online orientation courses
 Online workshops
 Part of 3-week online training course before they facilitate
 placed into an online training course
 Continuing & Adult Education
 training manual.
Coaching

Individual coaching (for supporting face to face course outside class uses

Individual coaching).

individual training,

individual tutoring

Personal coaching

then are coached by the director of online instruction

one-on-one support; peer support
Live class experience
 and participation in ongoing online classes.
 demo prof browsing of existing courses
 they work through a course.
 allowed to observe or team teach a course before being asked to teach on
their own.
 By experimentation
 Personal experience
Workshops
 Individual and Group Training
 Workshops Group training and one-one training
 once a year in group training sessions
 The faculty begin in a group workshop
 They are and have bi-weekly meetings while developing their course
materials
 Through a Workshop and a few online discussions.
 Workshops;
None
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Question 37: How are faculty are given training in how to conduct
synchronous learning (chat)?
Tutorial
 Collaborative tool
 online orientation courses
Workshops
 Continuing & Adult Education
 Workshops Group training
 Group Training
 Online workshops
 Training provided by provider
 Workshop
Coaching
 one-one training
 individual training
 Individual
 Individual coaching
 Individual coaching
 individual tutoring
 professor browsing of existing courses
 Personal experience
None
 No specific training. Synchronous is used very seldom and only at the
discretion of the facilitator if they are comfortable with it. It is NEVER a
requirement.
 none
 None given.
 On campus training - but we rarely use synchronous chatting
 We do not utilized this feature at this time.
 We have not adopted a synchronous learning system.
Comment: Training faculty for a new method of teaching is a significant cultural shift for an
institution. This is particularly true for a change that is a major shift in the way individuals
interact. It is not surprising that a variety of formats are being used to accommodate a variety of
professors and skills to be learned. The combination of Group workshops and Individual
Coaching is the most common method. A large variety of methods are being adapted to meet the
training needs of faculty in a culture shift.
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Faith & Learning
The following questions relate to integration of faith and learning in distance learning.
38. How do you integrate Faith and Learning into the academic course content in the online
environment?
Category
Faith and Learning is included in the conceptual design of the course.
Faith and Learning is not in the course design but is weaved into
threaded discussions and chats.
Faith and Learning is included in the instructional objectives
Includes opportunities to study biblical references to content or topics
covered by the course
Specific theological perspectives are related to the content of the
course.
Judeo-Christian ethical issues are related to the content of the course
Student is encouraged to develop a Christian perspective of the
subject matter and/or profession represented by the content of this
course
This course includes one or more in-class exercises or course
assignments that encourage students to actively engage their faith
and the content covered by the course
Faith and Learning is blended into the prompts of the threaded
discussions and or chats
There are assignments or assigned readings that address a Christian
perspective of the discipline.
The course includes devotionals that are linked to the content of the
course
Other (please specify)
Responses
19
Out of 45
responders
42%
3
20
7%
44%
14
31%
11
12
24%
27%
15
33%
12
27%
11
24%
16
36%
8
6
18%
13%
The two highest responses indicate that Faith and Learning is included in the instructional objectives,
42%, and that Faith and Learning is included in the conceptual design of the course, 44%.
Additional comments:



cohort groups
Faith and learning integration in online uses in our face to face courses would
reflect the integration in the face to face portions of the course.
Some of these are course specific, but the one's I have selected are generally
true for all online courses.
Comment: The most encouraging indication in the area of faith and learning is that the top two
methods indicated that faith and learning are being included in the conceptual design of the
course and included in the instructional objectives. The assurances that distance learning courses
will maintain the Christian distinctive of the university maybe easier to do in this type of
environment. While the courses are a cooperative project and the content can be built into the
course rather that being left to the discretion of the instructor, gives rise to a better probability
that it will take place.
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Assessment
Question 39: How are student learning out comes assessed for online
courses?
The following were statements given as descriptions of assessment of student learning
out come broken down into four categories.
Student Survey
 A course assessment evaluation survey is administered to each student at the end
of each online course.
 Course evaluations Post-program evaluations Employer evaluations Course
evaluations at end of course
 Course Evaluations, employer surveys
 Online course evaluations (administered online)
 Through a special instrument developed for the courses
 Surveys, Focus groups
Outcome Objectives
 appropriate assessment of student learning is linked to objectives as in a face-toface course - actual strategies vary according to course content
Objective Exams
 Associate & Bachelors levels may use tests/quizzes.
 Some pre- and post-testing also done on cohorts to measure assessment of the
entire program.
 Examinations, papers, etc.
 Grades, Portfolios, Testing
Assignments
 Assignments, exams, discussion
 Bachelors & Masters level typically use case studies, simulations, written papers
- occasionally a test. Based upon portfolio assessment, still use many of the same
methods used in traditional classroom based.
 Some are using E-Portfolios
 Essay assignments, online quizzes, proctored final exams, online forums
 Online and at home assessments - written, participatory, group, & discussion
board Online Professor & Course evaluations
 Proctored tests, research papers, writing samples
 Through assignments
Question 40: Student satisfaction is assessed for online courses
The two most common form of student satisfaction was an online version developed for
assessment of online courses at 36% and an online version of the assessment as used for face
to face classes, 32%. However, the other methods were almost as frequent and equally
distributed.
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The same hard copy assessment as used for face to face classes
A modified hard copy assessment from the one used for face to
face classes
An online version of the assessment as used for face to face
classes
An online version developed for assessment of online courses.
Other (please specify)
L E A R N I N G
3 12%
2
8%
8 32%
9 36%
3 12%
Question 41: What process is in place for the assessment of faculty
satisfaction?
There were three categories of responses; use of surveys, informal discussions and no
evaluations.
Surveys
 A faculty course assessment evaluation survey is administered to each faculty
member at the end of each online course.
 Bi-Annual survey of faculty support satisfaction
 Communication with Department Chair and an annual survey
 Online Professor & Course evaluations
Informal communication
 anecdotal feedback; feedback gathered in faculty review process
 faculty have opportunities to evaluate courses each time they are taught communication with the Director of Curriculum Services
 Faculty provide feedback to the director. Their future use also provides a sense of
satisfaction.
 informal
 Interviews
 Peer review, curriculum assessment, student satisfaction surveys, and teaching
assessment rubrics
 Personal feedback to Curriculum director
 No official assessment process in place. Generally this occurs through email or
phone conversations
No evaluation
 No formal process
 None
 None
 None at this time.
 None other than direct feedback
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Question 42: How have assessments been done to compare online and
face to face classes?
There has been significant research which has shown no significant difference comparing
online to face to face. The results of the survey show some of the institutions have
pursued research on this area, some collect relevant data as a part of normal practice and
the remaining have done no research in this area.
Intentional research
 Head of Assessment has gathered pre- and post-test results and compared them in
several degree programs. Also, IWU has participated in several national or
statewide surveys that help compare satisfaction.
 The Director of the Center for Distance Education and Learning Technologies
prepares an Institutional evaluation report annually comparing online and face to
face classes.
 Through common assessment instruments and interviews with faculty. Required
by SACS to do such comparisons.
 Two research projects were done by the director in conjunction with his doctoral
degree in 2003 and 2004. Both indicated no significant difference between the
online course and its on campus counterpart.
Routine data collection
 Online Professor & Course evaluations
 Same end-of-course form used for both delivery methods
 Student and faculty feedback (formal and informal)
 Currently in planning stages.

No evaluations of this type
 Relying on literature from other universities
 No
 None
 None done.
 None have been done to date.
 None so far
 Not applicable.
Comment: Assessment for distance learning appears to be quite traditional and not unlike face
to face programs. Student learning outcome assessment fell into three categories, Student
Survey, Outcome Objectives Assessment, Objective Exams, and Assignments. The two most
common form of student satisfaction was an online version developed for assessment of online
courses and an online version of the assessment as used for face to face classes. Faculty
satisfaction in some cases is looked at but is not looked at in many cases.
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Successes and Challenges
Question 43: What major successes have you had in developing or
delivering online programs?
The following comments could be grouped into three categories; Positive feedback,
Increase in enrollment, Financial and General.
Positive Feedback
 Courses offered by the GST and summer online courses have received rave
reviews. Those directly involved could provide details.
 Positive student feedback Positive faculty feedback
 Our Masters in Religion -- Spiritual Formation was the first, and they have had
great success. They have not had one student drop out after the first full class.
They have done a great job of building online community. Our other programs
are having similar success and have based their community development on this
first program.
Increase in Enrollment
 Growth of the program, both numerically and in rate of adoption by faculty.
 Incredible success. We fill a need for Christian-based online programs. We are
growing at about 70% per year with adult students who do not attend our campus.
ASB, BSM & MEd are high points. MEd is NCATE accredited online. Faculty
are flooding our gates to be able to teach online and express their faith.
 More than a 100% increase in numbers of online classes and students enrolled in
online classes has been experienced over the past academic year.
 New students brought to campus
General
 The creation of an Online Mentor
 The launch of our first online degree program
 Increased use of our course management system for Web-enhanced courses
 We have developed some significant multimedia presentations which exhibit far
better quality than we had hoped for.
 Only just begun with a blended MBA program. Too early to tell
 We maintain a 92% student completion rate. We have trained more than 150
instructors and have developed more than 250 online and hybrid courses.
Financial
 Comparatively low cost to institution
 Received grant to develop MEd for online delivery
 We do not pay for course development! You don't pay an adjunct to develop a
course in the classroom and we adhere to this principle. We pay per student
enrollment. This methodology has saved a lot of money and kept our tuition rate
low.
 Contracting with ANGEL to eliminate tech fee per enrollment. Making ANGEL
available campus-wide. Introduction of hybrid courses that far exceeded our
expectations.
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Comment: The comments indicate not only a good feeling about the mission being
accomplished but this is also backed up with some concrete evidence in increased enrollment
and financial benefits to the institution.
Question 40: What major challenges have you had to over come while
developing or delivering online programs?
The challenges were focused in four areas; Faculty, Administration, Students and
Technology.
Faculty
 Attrition among faculty
 Faculty comfort with on line.
 Faculty resistance to new methods
 Resistance from traditional-minded faculty who do not believe online courses can
offer the educational equivalent of F2F.
 Time to develop courses. Availability of online instructors. Sufficient staff to
properly train and support the program.
Administration
 Administrators who don't believe in integrity of non-face to face education
 Mindset that online teaching/course delivery is no different from face to face;
attitude that development of online courses is not difficult, anyone can do it;
subject matter expertise but ignorance of instructional design
 Not enough funds to fully market the programs nationwide. Branding issues with
a name like '###### #########' - a corn field and a religious affiliation that
people do not know about (plus refers to other schools that are no longer distinctly
Christian).
 Resistance on the part of senior administration
 We have a very low budget.
Students
 Encouraging across miles
 Educating students in online procedures
 Making off campus online students feel part of the campus community (we've
developed a complete package to do this)
Technology
 Mostly the challenges come from inadequate bandwidth to do the more fantastic
productions.
 Sometimes technology.
 The learning curve for WebCT is intensive but rewarding.
 Time and investment of human resources is substantial if courses are truly
engaging (not online correspondence courses).
Comment: The challenges are reflective of the cultural shift that is taking place. Not everyone
is on board and there is still some resistance from both faculty changing teaching methods and
administrators who are cautious about changing the nature of the institution. On the student side
the challenges do not seem to be in finding the students but rather in keeping the personal
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connection alive and dynamic. While distance learning is generally a lot of work and sometimes
pushes the bar of what can be done, technology does not appear to be a major hurdle.
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CCCU support
Question 41: In what way could CCCU support distance learning among its
membership?
Technology
 By offering/creating a special course management system for use by CCCU
institutions
Dialogue Venues
 Continued focus at technology conferences; open any avenues to help schools
interact on this subject - such as helping with this survey (long, but worthwhile).
 Disseminate results of this survey to start
 Publishing articles Instituting an 'innovative teaching' award Sponsoring
speakers Providing a weblink to Christian online resources
 Workshops for integrating faith and learning online.
 Workshops, seminars, listserves
 Seeing the results of this survey will be helpful.

Information Resources
 Develop a library of course content
 More information on programs from CCCU distance learning programs of
individual colleges should be channeled to CCCU personnel. There does not seem
to be a clearing house for either information or help for distance learning although
there is for technical help.
 Provide a database of learning objects and supports for Christian Colleges. These
need to be collected in a central location for use by the schools represented by
CCCU.
 A best practices and experiences data base would be helpful.
 Tuition reports; survey of course development and instruction payments so
schools could compare and learn new ways to pay instructors.
Nothing
 CCCU tried before and little happened even though we invested dollars in it.
Question 42: Is there a need for a CCCU online directory of program offerings?
Yes



Definitely. And it should be kept up to date.
I believe so. It would be another avenue of marketing that schools could use since
we cannot compete with the advertising budgets of U or Phoenix and Trinity
Theological College and Seminary!
It would be helpful for gathering information about courses offered from a
Christian perspective.
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



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It would be helpful to see what others are doing.
That would be great!
That would be nice.
This would be helpful, since we are considering online programs in the future.
yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes! I believe that this would have value for some institutions.
Maybe
 Could be - although I expect that many CCCU schools will balk at having their
students take classes from another CCCU school that isn't quite in line
theologically with them (unfortunately). Also, I really don't want to make one of
my staff type in information about all of the courses we run (even having to list
them in this survey took quite a bit of time). However, a listing plus a pointer to
our website which already has all of our information would be very helpful in a
directory.
 not sure
 Probably.
 That might be OK.
Question 43: Is there a need for CCCU to provide a listing of faculty
openings?
There was overwhelming agreement for a listing of faculty openings which may relate to
the challenges of finding faculty to teach in distance learning.
Yes
No
21
1
95%
5%
Question 44: Are your online courses open to students from other CCCU
schools?
The majority of institutions, 74%, report their classes are open to students from other
CCCU institutions.
Yes
No
14
5
74%
26%
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Question 45: Are there any final comments you would like to add about
your distance learning program?
Thanks
 Thank you.
 Thanks for a good survey tool! I can't wait to receive the results!

Need for collaboration
 There is a need to collaborate and integrate Online ideas and concepts across
CCCU Schools. Thank-you
 Additional information on integrating faith and learning in an online environment
would be helpful.
Miscellaneous
 #47—they {DL Courses} could be open to other CCCU students. We would be
willing to do that.
 This has been a very hard survey to complete. We have almost no online courses
in our traditional undergraduate program. In our College of Adult and
Professional Studies and Gradate School, we have one program that is primarily
online (Ed.D)and another about to launch (MBA). We have some baccalaureate
nursing courses that are online. The seminary has a lot online, but that does not
report to me. In terms of support, we have 3 IT faculty specialists who work with
faculty to develop online courses or to support traditional courses using
Blackboard.
 We believe we have an excellent product at both the academic and total university
experience levels. Distance learning is not a panacea. However, it has much
strength and will continue to grow in importance.
 We expect to have two degree programs completely online by next spring: MA in
Management and Masters of Christian Ministry.
 We have only just begun
 Fun and exciting - the education of the future for adult students and for many
traditional-aged students.
.
Conclusion
Respondents request for support were in the area of providing a venue for dialogue and
communication including workshops and online seminars. They would also like to see
specific resources such as course content objects and best practices and online teaching
awards. There is a significant need for a database of programs offered by CCCU member
institutions.
The area of faith and learning was requested as a specific need for resources especially
related to distance learning. In turn distance learning may provide a useful mechanism for
delivering the training in faith and learning.
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O F
D I S T A N C E
L E A R N I N G
There was overwhelming agreement for a listing of faculty openings which may relate to
the challenges of finding faculty to teach in distance learning. While this would help
locate faculty it is not clear if the institutions were interested in having their faculty
appear on that list. Similarly, 74% would be open to having students from other
institutions take their courses, it is not clear if they would approve their students taking
courses elsewhere.
This survey has provided a brief look at the state of distance learning. It has given some
useful information but has probably raised more questions. An entire survey with more
detailed probing could have been developed for each of the sub areas in this survey.
Hopefully a new venue for communications among institutions proving distance learning
will provide for better communication and sharing of ideas to get at deeper level of
discussion.
A word of thanks to CCCU for supporting this survey and providing leadership and
resources to the institutions that choose to explore the frontiers of distance learning as a
mission driven tool for learning.
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