1. Understanding Distance Education Getting Beneath the Surface
Steven G. Sachs
Dean of Information Technology
Northern Virginia Community College
Southern Assn. Of Colleges and Schools 1999 Annual Meeting

2. Factors in Early Program Success
Discrete distance learning program
Support from the top
Focus on high enrollment courses
Faculty involvement in course design
Critical mass of courses
Use of full-time faculty

3. Issues Bringing Change
DL faculty have changed
DL students are not all the same
Growing interest in asynch courses (everyone wants to get in on the act)
Rapid technology changes
More DL players

4. . . . More Issues Bringing Change
Students need tech support
Institutions lack plans for DL
Definitions of DL fuzzy
Courses must be more than links
Assessment poses new challenges
‘Workforce development’ is the new ‘darling’

5. . . . More Issues Bringing Change
Distant Learners
need
more than courses

6. Services Students Need
Course Registration
Tuition Payment
Class Schedule
Catalog
Student Handbook
Degree Audit
Orientation
Library Materials
Librarian Help
Tutoring
Academic Advising
Textbook Ordering
Study Skills Help
Writing Center Support
Financial Aid Counseling
Placement Testing
Technical Support
Career Counseling

7. Too Few Senior-level Distance Learning Leaders
More Issues Bringing Change
Too Few
Senior-level
Distance Learning Leaders
. . . Lots of
distance learning managers

8. Distance Learning Leader vs. Manager
Vision wide vs. narrow
Perspective global vs. local
Motivates vs. protects
Understands Details & Implications vs. ‘Big Picture’ dreamer

9. . . . More Leaders vs. Managers
Proactive vs. reactive
Problem Solver vs. problem reporter
Politically Astute vs. naïve
Communicates vs. ‘knows’
Energy vs. potential

10. Smaller institutions will opt out
Future Directions
More virtual campuses
Mix of technologies
New partnerships
Smaller institutions will opt out

12. An Instructional Development Model

13. . . . More Future Directions
Textbook related sites will become more important
Distance learning will become a meaningless term

14. Business @the Speed of Thought
“I am against paper forms, but even
I still print out long documents I
want to read and annotate
books and magazines still can’t be
beat for readability and portability.”
Bill Gates
Speed of Thought
1999

16. To view this presentation online: Northern Virginia Community College
For more information:
Dr. Steven Sachs
(703)
Northern Virginia Community College
4001 Wakefield Chapel Rd.
Annandale, VA 22003