Activity+Eleven

media type="custom" key="9927883" align="right" **Background**

Bryan College is a proprietary career college based out of Springfield, Missouri. Currently the college system has four ground campuses, and an online campus. All four ground campuses offering the same or similar programs of study based upon demographic need and existing state laws. Some states will require slightly different general education courses to be offered. The online campus came into being as a support tool for ground campus programs. When the college system achieved accreditation status there were two ground campuses and there was a need to cost effectively offer general education courses to complete the Associate of Occupational Studies degree.

To meet this need, consortium agreements were made with National American University to supply courses and instructors. This was a sort of “back door” approach to offering online classes. Based upon student surveys, pass rates, and declining graduation rates, it was determined that the consortium agreement was not meeting the need of our sector. Students were used to personalized instruction when needed and reported that there was little to no instructor contact. This was not the “Bryan College Way.” A director for online was found and a Learning Management System (LMS) was contracted (WEBCT). Instructors were hired and given training on the LMS. This helped to establish institutional control over the online courses so that students would be better served. The online courses had been brought “in-house” for about a year when the current director resigned. I was sought out to be the new Director of Online Education. Concurrently, applications had been made and approved by our accrediting body to offer an Associate of Applied Science degree. The new curriculum would be adapted from existing programs, and more general education courses would be added to the program. The new plan also called for each campus program to be one-third online. This meant that in each quarter students would have two face-to-face courses and one online course until near the end of the program when their final quarter would be all online while they completed their externships. This was when the campus in Rogers, Arkansas was founded. The campus was started with the A.A.S. degree and the hybrid program (not hybrid classes). Within the next two years, the Springfield, Missouri and the Topeka, Kansas campuses followed suit by converting to the hybrid programs. Shortly after opening the Rogers, Arkansas campus, a change was made from WEBCT to Comcourse for our LMS provider. Comcourse is a customized Moodle based learning management system. In February of 2009, the online only campus programs were launched. These programs have grown, been successful, and hold their own as far as enrollments go. Since the launch, two additional programs have been added. Fulltime staff increased from five (5) at the 2009 launch to 13 at this time. It would seem from this background information that an analysis or proposal as to whether or not the institution is ready for e-learning is a moot point. However, there is one area of technology usage that I see is lacking and that is the area in which this assessment will focus.

As mentioned before, all ground campuses have hybrid programs (two face-to-face) classes and one online class. Computer and Internet access had been a tremendous problem for many of our students causing overload in campus computer labs. This plus the added extra expense of driving in to the campus to use the lab computers was a contributing factor to attrition rates. The decision was made to make netbooks available to students while enrolled with the college. This has resolved the issue of no computer and no Internet access since students can take their netbooks to a library or other public Wi-Fi access point. This has set the stage for the proposal that follows. **Assessment and Proposal** After an assessment of the institution’s readiness for e-Learning, it is proposed that all ground-campus face-to-face courses implement a hybrid component to them. According to a study authorized by the United States Department of Education, when outcomes were compared, success rates were highest when face-to-face classes had a web-enhanced component. Strictly online courses came in a close second. The thought is that the web component allowed or motivated students to be more engaged in the class itself (Means, et al, 2009). **Established Precedent** A precedent of this proposal has been established. Each campus program has the same introduction courses and they are taught in a hybrid manner. The faculty is there to present material in a face-to-face setting, but all assignments, discussions, quizzes, and tests are taken or submitted online. This was implemented so students could learn the technologies and be prepared to work in their program course which had online only delivery. To help build and strengthen online in the culture of our institution, the online department has engaged and trained willing ground campus faculty to be online adjuncts. This has help to bridge the philosophical digital divide for some instructors. There is less fear of being replaced and more openness to how the technology can enhance the classroom experience. Building upon this precedent now seems a logical move for several reasons. Textbook publishers are now making their ancillary products available on companion websites. For students to use these, they must access the web. Failure to use these digital assets is foolish since few institutions have the budget and skilled personnel to create these, not to mention the amount of time faculty would spend creating these. Another reason to make this transition is the ever increasing regulations of the U.S. Department of Education (DoE). It is becoming of greater necessity to document student activity, have the ability to analyze student performance, and for “homework” to be documented. By July 1, 2011, all syllabi had to be updated to include homework assignments and the average amount of time it would take a student to complete.

To fully ascertain the readiness of the organization to make this transition, the following items were reviewed: (1) software/hardware needs, (2) supports systems needed, (3) instructor training, (4) skills needed, (5) overall cost, (6) curriculum development, (7) type of learning, and (8) learner’s readiness. (See appendix for Mindmap). The basic needs have already been met within the system’s network infrastructure. All faculty members have been provided with a networked laptop with Internet access for use in lecturing and delivering web-based content within the classroom using projection equipment. Students also have netbooks that access the Internet through the school’s available Wi-Fi. Items that are needed are really in the online department for creating multimedia projects of our own. Increased RAM and high-end graphics cards along with budget available to purchase new technology for testing effectiveness in content delivery would increase productivity of this department. Finally, a robust learning management system (LMS) has already been in place for four years. It is of extreme importance that there is an LMS manager. This position has been filled for four years. The LMS manager is also the key contact person with the LMS provider should there be any issues. The LMS is provided and hosted by Comcourse. The system has two failover data centers in operation, one on each coast. Technology is not always without a challenge so a help desk technician is also needed. Each campus has its own information technology (IT) staff person. The IT staff have access to the LMS and the student email domain in order troubleshoot issues as they arise. The online campus has two education technologists on staff (they do perform other duties as well). While some campus-based instructors teach online and enjoy it, there are some that resist it. This could be problematic, but since proprietary colleges don’t offer tenure, it could result in dismissal if a faculty member refused to use the technology. That being said, specific training in the use of the LMS, web conferencing tools, and using the You Tube video account would be provided. The department chairs would be trained to provide course shells that instructors could use for their classes. The basic skills that would be needed are the ability to use a computer, being comfortable with using the Internet, a fair understanding of word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software. Since our student body is comprised of mainly working adults, we use a constructivist learning style. This mode is student focused and collaborative. It uses case studies and making it hybrid will also allow it to be more learner-driven. Curriculum will continue to be developed in house or by associated content experts. The curriculum will also follow guidelines established by the academics department. This curriculum is standardized system-wide. Adding the hybrid component will allow for linking to rich multimedia digital ancillaries provided by the publishers. When a student is enrolled in our system, they are told in the beginning of the process that a portion of their program will be online. However, even though a student may be aware they will be taking online and web-enhanced courses is still different from being prepared for taking online classes. A few learner readiness tips found on the Illinois Online Network follow: (1) be able to communicate through writing, (2) be self-motivated and self-disciplined, (3) have excellent time management skills, (4) be willing to communicate when problems arise, (5) be willing to make the time commitment, and (6) believe that online is a viable learning mode (nd). The institution has planned for student weaknesses in some of these areas. We have launched an online writing center with tutorial and staff to assist student to improved writing skills. Additionally, projects in the introductory courses teach students to write in APA format. For students with time management issues, we have a time management workshop they can attend. To assist students in developing self-motivation and self-discipline, one of the first quarter introduction classes is a course on strategies for success. The bottom line is what drives most institutions today, and that is no different for the proprietary college. To adopt the proposal presented here would be of minimal cost to the organization. Costs would be limited to travel and lodging for the online educational technologist to travel to the different campuses for training. It is recommend that initial training be done in a hybrid fashion to help bridge the gap with faculty who a new to technology. The ultimate goal will be to have a campus-based faculty member who will train new faculty in the use of the hybrid technologies. The other cost that would increase in some organizations would be LMS usage. That will not be the case in our circumstance. Our organization has negotiated a deal with our LMS provider for unlimited users and usage. There will be no additional costs to add course shells for hybrid courses, and students already receive a user account for the LMS when they enroll. In summary, my assessment is that the organization is ready to move to a complete hybrid format for its ground campuses. Research indicates that better results were attained when multimedia was added to a text-based online course (Schilling, 2009). It stands to reason that the same multimedia elements added to a predominantly lecture orientated course would have similar results (DoE Press Release, 2009).
 * Software/Hardware Needs**
 * Support Systems Needed**
 * Instructor Training**
 * Skills Needed**
 * Type of Learning**
 * Curriculum Development**
 * Learner’s Readiness**
 * Overall Cost**

Illinois Online Network (nd). Virtual Classroom Online Learner Tips. Retrieved from http://www.cncc.edu/cms/content/virtual-classroom-online-learner-tips Means, B., Toyama,Y., Murphy. R., Bakia, M., and Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online Learning: A meta-analysis and review of online-learning studies. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education. Press Releases: U.S. Department of Education study finds that good teaching can be enhanced with new technology. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/06/06262009.html. Schilling, K. (2009). The Impact of Multimedia Course Enhancements on Student Learning Outcomes. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 50(4), 214-25. Retrieved from OmniFile Full Text Select database
 * References **