Serving Adult Students at a Distance New Ideas, New Approaches Brazil’s 16 th International Distance Learning Congress 31 August to 3 September 2010 Iguazu Falls, Parana, Brazil Serving the Adult Transfer Student

Overview  Why focus on adult learners?  What are their needs? An example case  What is Excelsior College  How does it help adults? Aggregation Assessment Advising Instruction Support  Results

Overview - continued  How does it help adults? Aggregation Assessment Advising Instruction Support  Results

The Adult Learner  Defined  Profile  Needs  Resources (lack of)  Reason for caring National priority Economic Impact

Example  Military student  Much training  Correspondence study  College courses One-at-a-time Degree enrollment Multiple transcripts

Example - continued  Issues Work Family Relocation

Excelsior (history)  Inspired by OU  Created in 1971 by Regents, State of New York  Accredited  Open Enrollment  Philosophy

Philosophy What you know is more important than how or where you learned it?

Excelsior (history)  No instruction  External degrees  Aggregation – assessment  Change of status  Change of name  Entry to instruction

Excelsior (today)  Four schools  30,000+ students  140,000+/- graduates  American’s largest nursing program  Student profile Age Sectors Locations

The Excelsior Process  Aggregation  Assessment  Advising  Instruction  Support services

Aggregation  “Five Transcript” challenge  Instruction sources  Training (military/corporate)  Exams  Portfolio

Assessment  Institutional credits  Individual learning  Credit fit to degree  Capstone  Learning outcomes

Advising  Course “fit”  Concern for cost  Guidance/encouragement

Instruction  Independent study – 1970’s  Online = 2003  Face-to-face = 2009  300 courses  Three levels

Support  Library  Tutorials  Coaching  “Practice” exams

Results  Retention  Persistence  Completion  Learning outcomes Nationally normed instruments Surveys

Questions