DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS: BEST PRACTICES FOR RURAL COMMUNITY COLLEGES

PRESENTERS Yasminda Choate Assistant Professor of English Kendall Rogers Assistant Professor of Psychology/ Coordinator of Student Success

SEMINOLE STATE COLLEGE

Seminole State College, established in 1931 as Seminole Junior College, is located in the central portion of the state in Seminole, Oklahoma, population approximately 7,500.

THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT TYPICAL CC STUDENT 25 and older (43%) Employed Parents with Children at Home Low Income Minority SSC STUDENT 25 and older (33%) Employed Parents with Children at Home Low Income (93% receiving financial aid) Minority (35%)

SSC DISTANCE EDUCATION STUDENT Full-time Students 1,046 Enrolled in online courses only 38 Part-time Students 807 Enrolled in online courses only 161

106 Students enrolled in online classes live in SSC Housing

DISTANCE EDUCATION

DISTANCE EDUCATION PROBLEMS Academic rigor Academic dishonesty Lower rate of student success Increase in attrition Increase in cost Faculty confidence Technology

DETAILS THAT PROMPTED A HARD LOOK AT BEST PRACTICES FOR SSC A Review of Other Colleges Yielded: Short Online Courses High Enrollment from Out-of-State Students High Net Profits Probation for another college

SHOULD WE PANIC?! SOME COLLEGES IMMEDIATELY RECONSIDERED THEIR DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE OFFERINGS.

DON’T PANIC. PLAN!

THE BENEFITS AND DETRIMENTS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

A BETTER PLAN: BEST PRACTICES FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION IN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Members of the Distance Education Committee should include faculty from every department, administrators, staff including IT specialists, and staff from Student Success Services. STEP 1: FORM A COMMITTEE

The Committee must align the goals and activities of the Distance Education Committee with the Institution’s Strategic Plan. STEP 2: STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT

STEP 3: OBTAIN CAMPUS BUY-IN ADMINISTRATION Create Policies and Procedures Manual that corresponds with existing campus documents. FACULTY Devise system to ensure academic rigor and quality assurance. Provide professional development for faculty.

STEP 4: CONTROL FOR STUDENT SUCCESS Minimize attrition due to foreseeable problems. Create assessment for student ability to complete online course. Counsel students before they enroll in online course. Publish requirements and rigor of online courses.

STEP 5: SUPPORT STUDENT SUCCESS Minimize attrition due to foreseeable problems. Provide training modules to train students to use online course platform. Increase student counseling/tutoring opportunities to provide aid to online students.

httphttp://

STEP 6: MONITOR FOR QUALITY Request student feedback surveys for every online course every semester. Review student success rates for every online course every semester. Compare online data with data from same courses in other formats. Continue on-going faculty professional development and assessment of teaching methods.

QUALITY MATTERS Quality Matters is.... A set of standards (rubric) for the design of online and blended courses A peer review process (faculty to faculty) for reviewing and improving online and hybrid courses A faculty support tool used by instructional development staff A professional development opportunity

ON-GOING CONSIDERATIONS Growing Pains with the Distance Education Test Proctoring Center Proctoring Center Staffing Communicating with Students Communicating and Organizing Faculty Growing Pains with Quality Matters Perceived Loss of Academic Freedom for Instructors