Future of Online Education
in Higher Education
Schoolcraft College
December 8, 2006
Michael Wahl, MCCVLC
In the future...
“If we’re really successful, we’ll
work ourselves right out of a job.”
Michael Wahl, MCCVLC
SHEEO White Paper on Online Learning
Online Learning
• Just another modality for course delivery
– Nature of content or learning activity
– Preferred learning style of student
• NCA – Best Practices Section 1-f:
"In its articulation and transfer policies the
institution judges courses and programs on the
learning outcomes, and the resources brought
to bear for their achievement, not on their
mode of delivery."
In the meantime...
• Both students and faculty need specific skills to be
successful online
• Faculty need assistance to prepare quality online
courses and deliver them effectively
• Technology and infrastructure issues are often
unique to online instruction
• Policies and practices specific to online are
desirable or required
Online Enrollments
• Fall 1999
– Provider colleges -- 17
– Courses available -- 133
– Total enrollments > 1800
• Fall 2006
– Provider colleges -- 23
– Courses available -- 1068
– Total enrollments > 39,000
Online Enrollment Trends
• Rates of increase must begin to moderate
• Student demand for online courses will
continue to exceed supply
• Limiting factors in enrollment growth
– Faculty to teach online sections
– Support services for online learners
– Programs of study available in online format
Where will it end?
• If completely free to choose, how many
students would select online?
• Experiments found over 50% choose
online, with the remainder split
between traditional courses and hybrid
• Should we begin to consider online
education a “core competency” of
community colleges?
But, What about
Persistence Rates?
• Nationally, persistence rates reported as
low as 25% for online
• VLC study for NCA: Rates 5 – 10% below
those in traditional courses
• Students who had taken 2 or more online
courses – no significant difference
• Yesterday – online persistence rates both
above & below traditional courses
Persistence Rates
Pre-course Preparation
• Advising
– Caution with younger / traditional-age
students
– More appropriate for mature, self-directed
learners
– Inappropriate for developmental students
• Analysis of Learning Styles
• Orientation
Persistence Rates
Course-related issues
• Course quality - rubric
• Learner Support Services
• Course Management System
improvements
– Features provided by vendors
– Configuration by CMS administrators
• Help Desk
Survey of Online Learners
• Statistically valid survey for state of Michigan
– sample size = 400
– 95% sampling confidence
– Accurate to +/- 5%
• Online learners from 21 Michigan
community colleges
• Telephone survey
– Attitudes
– Opinions
– Satisfaction
Student
Survey
Educational Objectives
• 79% - to Satisfy requirements of degree
or certificate program
• 15% - personal enrichment
• 13% - improve job skills
Student
Survey
Why Online?
• 34% - Online fit schedule – flexibility
• 17% - work full time – too
busy for classes
• 14% - personal or
Student
health-related reasons
Survey
• 11% - could set own pace
• 11% - college too far away
If not Online?
• 74% - would have taken the
course anyway in a traditional
classroom
• 23% would not have
enrolled in this course
had it not been available
online
Student
Survey
Completion Rates
• 85% - completed most recent online course
• 5% - are currently completing
most recent online course
• 10% - failed to complete
Student
most recent online course
• 70% - self-report learning
as much as traditional course
Survey
Critiquing Online Courses
Advantages
• 45% - Flexibility of schedule
• 41% - work at own pace &
study at convenient times
• 12% - Avoid travel to college
Student
Survey
Critiquing Online Courses
Disadvantages
• 14% - Not enough interaction and
one-on-one with instructor
• 12% - Hard to reach the
Student
instructor with questions
- either it took too long
Survey
or questions weren’t
answered at all
Critiquing Online Courses
Interaction
• 91% - Adequate opportunity to
interact online with the
instructor
Student
• 9% - Very unhappy
• 88% - Adequate level
of interaction with other
students
Survey
Online Enrollment Plans
• 79% - will enroll in another
online course in the future
• 3% - already enrolled
• 8% - will NOT enroll
in another online course
• 11% - undecided
Student
Survey
Online Enrollment Plans –
Why not enroll again?
• Bad experience with instructor
• Need more interaction with
instructor
• Classes needed are not
available online
• Not self-disciplined or
self-motivated enough
• Learn better in classroom
Student
Survey
Online Enrollment Plans Subjects of Interest
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Business
Computer Science
English / writing
Math
Science / allied health
Psychology
Accounting
Student
Survey
Online Enrollment Plans –
Considerations
•
•
•
•
87%
61%
58%
52%
-
transferability of credits
accreditation
reputation of college
cost of tuition
Student
Survey
Looking to the Future
• Ubiquitous Broadband connectivity
• Increased usage of video and audio
• Out-sourced services
– networks
– course management system
– media servers
• Out-sourced content / courses?
“Next-generation” Online
Courses
• More interactive learning activities
– Animation
– Video – streamed or from DVD’s
– Simulations
• Experiential learning – participate & reflect
– give a speech
– visit a local museum or landmark
– participate in an off-campus activity
(service learning?)
“Next-generation” Online
Courses
• Learning activities based on individual student
preferred learning style
– Audio for bad readers
– Simulations for experiential learners
– Video for visual learners
• Learning activities based on gaming
– Sim city
– Success in ‘game’ equates to meeting course
objectives
– Think “telecourse” distributed on game cartridge
“Next-generation” Online
Courses
• Courses may utilize alternative devices:
– Cell phone – text messaging
– Ipod – podcast of content
– Gaming devices – course activities on Nintendo?
• “Wiki” technology – Wikipedia...
– Generic information resource
– Wiki technology adopted by communities in higher
education – discipline-based?
“Next-generation” Online
Courses
• e-Portfolios
– Student benefit
• document achievement
• prepare for transfer / workplace (resume)
– College benefit
• “authentic” assessment methodology
• document student achievement (assessment)
“Next-generation” Online
Courses
• Learning Objects
– Module of instruction
– Issues
• Context (car crash video – CJ / Law / Physics)
• Assessment
• Technology / browser plug-ins
• Repositories / Referatories
– How will colleges use repositories?
Courseware Repositories
•
•
•
•
Rice connexions - link
Merlot - link
MIT open courseware - link
Monterey Institute for Technology
and Education - link
“Next-generation”
Administrative Issues
• Managing use of acquired/shared content
• New business models
– variable section sizes
– variable tuition / fees
– quality learning experience
• Revised models of curriculum development /
delivery utilizing technology
– curriculum development and integration
– course design / development / delivery
– assessment
Traditional Student
Services
Self-service
(brochures)
Help from generalist
(receptionist)
Help from specialist
(Financial Aid Specialist)
Student-centered Services
Self-service
(Brochures, web site)
Self-service
(brochures)
Help from generalist
(receptionist)
Help from specialist
(Financial Aid Specialist)
Help from generalist
(Cross-trained staff)
Help from
Specialist
Public Policy Issues
Do public policy-makers understand the
unique characteristics of online learning?
• Cherry Commission on Higher Education –
objective: double number of college graduates
– Community college role
– Role of online courses and programs
Public Policy Issues
Do public policy-makers understand the
unique characteristics of online learning?
• Relationship between higher education and
prosperity in the state or region
– Economic Development
– Workforce Development
• High school graduation requirement for “online
learning experience”
Online Learning Requirement
• “Meaningful” online learning experience
– For credit
– Not for credit
• School districts must make online
opportunities available
in 2007-08 year
• Legislation does not
prohibit dual enrollment
High School
– Online courses from your college Graduation
– VLC online courses
Let’s Talk...
• Questions?
• Comments?
• Suggestions...
Future of Online Education
in Higher Education
Schoolcraft College
December 8, 2006
Michael Wahl, MCCVLC
MCCVLC Course Quality
Assurance Project
• modeled after “Quality Matters” – a
FIPSE-funded project in Maryland
• inter-institutional peer review
• utilizes course rubric
• entirely voluntary
• colleges need to provide 3 reviewers for
each course to be reviewed
Public Policy
• Relationship between higher education
and prosperity in the state or region
• Talk is cheap; policy makers need to
adequately fund higher education
• Educators need to inform policy makers
of potential of online learning
MCCVLC - What it’s about
A project which allows students from
anywhere in Michigan to take any one of the
1000+ courses from the on-line catalog;
courses which may be offered by one of the
24 “Provider” community colleges…
with the support of their “Home” college.
“Provider college / “Home College”
• Instruction from provider college
– Online courses
– Telecourses with on-line interactivity
• Students enrolling in online courses
maintain strong association
with the home college
–
–
–
–
–
Student support services
Library resources
Test proctoring
Maintain student transcript
Financial Aid
The
Model
NCA – Best Practices
Section 1-f.
• "In its articulation and transfer policies
the institution judges courses and
programs on the learning outcomes,
and the resources brought to bear for
their achievement, not on their mode of
delivery."
NCA – Best Practices for
Electronically-delivered Degrees
• Recognizes changing environment
• Encourage responsible innovation
• Distance Learning:
– Settled definitions and procedures are
neither possible nor even desirable
– Strike a balance between innovation and
accountability
– Sound departures from traditional formulas
will be validated; those falling short will not
Quality Matters
• Online course guidelines and rubric –
quality workshops - link
– Flat-earth geography curriculum
• Course accessibility guidelines and
workshops
• Program guidelines
and rubric - link
• Professional development
-link
Advantage
Collaboration
VLC advantages for Students
•
•
•
•
Online course catalog - link
Course equivalencies / articulation
Common tuition
Financial Aid Consortium
Advantage
Agreement
• Learner support services Collaboration
- link
VLC advantages for College
• Retain online students
• Provide community w/ specialty
“niche” programs of study
• Tuition revenue sharing
Advantage
• Professional development
• Collaborative Accreditation Collaboration
MCCVLC Initiatives
• Professional development program
– Using Learning Objects
– Building Quality into Online Courses
• FIPSE grant – learner support services
– Developed collaboratively / available to all
Michigan community colleges
• Online programs of study – particularly
occupational programs
Business Models
• VLC tuition – clients will pay premium for
convenient product ($120/credit in-district,
$175/credit out-district)
• Current business model based on obsolete
conditions:
– level of funding by state
– assumption that educated citizens are a
‘pubic good’ vs. current assumption that
education is a ‘private good’
– student options restricted by geography
Business Models
• Alternate business models
• differential tuiton
• differential class sizes – based on Blooms
Taxonomy
–
–
–
–
–
–
knowledge
comprehension
application
analysis
synthesis
evaluation
D/L Admin Workshop
• xxx
A small step forward...
• Second Higher Education Extension Act
of 2006
• “50%” rule eliminated
• hybrid programs
• grant proposal