1. Strategies for Success: Scaling Online Programs Presenters: Jacquie Moloney, University of Massachusetts-Lowell and Umass Online Carol Scarafiotti, Rio Salado College, Maricopa Community College District

2. Growth in Online Enrollment The most recent estimate, for Fall 2006, places this number at 3.48 million online students, an increase of 9.7 percent over the previous year The number of online students has more than doubled in the four years since the first Slone survey on online learning Sloan Survey, 2007 Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning

3. Workshop Objectives Provide proven scaling strategies Facilitate the sharing of participants’ scaling experiences Discuss barriers to scaling and possible solutions Recommend resources

4. Workshop Definition of Online Scalability The ability to simultaneously: increase access and enrollment capacity, control costs, maintain and/or improve the online learning experience and learning outcomes.

5. Motivations for Scaling Overall enrollment is declining while online enrollments are increasing Tuition has become an important revenue source The institution must reach out to new communities The institution must provide students with access to crucial programs What is driving your institution’s desire to scale?

6. Barriers to Widespread Adoption Academic leaders cite the need for more discipline on the part of online students as the most critical barrier. Faculty acceptance of online instruction remains a key issue. Those institutions most engaged in online do not believe it is a concern for their own campus, but do see it as a barrier to more wide-spread adoption of online education. Higher costs for online development and delivery are seen as barriers among those who are planning online offerings, but not among those who have online offerings. Academic leaders did not believe that there was a lack of acceptance of online degrees by potential employers. Sloan Survey, 2007 Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning

7. Small Group Discussions Barriers to scaling

8. Rio Salado College Online 27,000+ online enrollments 84% average course completion rate 50 enrollment periods per year 450 unique courses 12 degree, 21 certificate and 2 post baccalaureate programs 24/7 online student services

9. UMass: Quality Education UMass Online 30,000 enrollments in 5 years UMass Lowell 9,500, largest in system

10. Strategies for Scaling Online Programs How many students are learning online? Online enrollment growth continues unabated, tops…

11. Determining Realistic Growth Goals Work with Institutional Culture Public, private or for-profit Workload considerations Areas of excellence Find your passion Engage faculty in planning 1

12. Type of Institution for Students Taking at Least One Online Course – Fall 2006 Specialized Associates Doctoral / Research Masters Baccalaureate Sloan Survey, 2007 Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning

13. Understanding the Competition Can online programs expand at 18% annually? Sloan Survey, 2007 Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning Online Education is Critical to the Long-term Strategy of My Institution

14. Positioning Your Institution in the Online Marketplace Identify the growth opportunities Track peer institutions Where does your institution have excess capacity Eduventures advice: differentiate yourself What is your brand? Everyone is flexible How do you characterize the experience? What is the value? Know who and where to market programs 2

15. Effectiveness of Lead Generation Channels % of Average Responses Eduventures’ survey about Lead Generation in Higher Education (September 2006), n=111 Question: How would you rate the effectiveness (i.e. in terms of your ROI) of the following lead generation channels in acquiring students?

16. Developing Programs Based on Scalability Marketable Programs - not just courses Scalable Design User Friendly/Accessible Synchronous/Asynchronous Instructor led vs. self-paced Text based vs. rich media Interaction Introduce New Models Blended Learning 3

17. Developing Engaging Online Courses- Important and Expensive Developing and delivering online courses that will engage the “Digital Natives” requires numerous and varied skills - skills that are unlikely to be found in a single individual. From the Myth about Online Course Development by Diana Oblinger and Brian Hawkins Educause Review, January/February 2006

18. Ways to Decrease Course Development Costs “Raise the bar” rather than “reinvent the wheel.” Purchase or lease learning objects when possible. Consider Open Source options. Create a reusable course or course materials. Institute a formal development process. Engage in collaborative course development.

19. Collaborative Course Development Process The Team Content Specialist/s Writer/Editor Multimedia/Technical Assistance Copyright Specialist Programmer Graphic Artist The Collaborating Tool The Process Phases Instructional Design Production Test The Resources Open Source Commercial Products Consortiums

20. Tool for Collaborating

21. Maximizing Faculty Capacity Use expensive faculty resources wisely. Provide faculty with appropriate level of support and training. Well supported faculty members can effectively teach 30 or more online students. 4

22. Adjunct Faculty can Successfully Contribute to Online Scalability when… The institution provides adjunct with a developed online course. The institution provides the opportunity for adjunct faculty to participate in decisions regarding course revision. Adjunct faculty are supported with training, mentoring and adequate technology infrastructure. Institution explicitly informs adjunct faculty about online teaching expectations. Institution evaluates adjunct faculty and recognizes their successes and contributions.

23. Scaling Training & Support for Faculty Training and support organization Cycle course development Model Online Teaching/Train online Convenience, experience and community In-source/out source 5 trainingmigrationteachcourse redesign

24. Emphasize Pedagogy & Technical Skills Create Faculty Experts and Mentors Intro to Online Teaching Conversion to the medium Using the Learning Management System How to upload content Empower faculty with technical skills R. Siegel, Psychology Specialist in building teams online.

25. Fair Incentives, Quality Training & Support Contract/policy defines explicit conditions Training requirements, how much, when, for what Extrinsic/Monetary Incentives Development stipends, laptops Workload implications Promotion and tenure Intellectual Property Institutional Recognition

26. Intellectual Property Guidelines Mutually beneficial in spirit Joint investment in course development Stipulate faculty ownership of course materials, content, etc Stipulate who owns the online course Parties stipulate conditions under which the course can be taught by another instructor Agree to conditions for royalties upfront

27. Small Group Discussions Realistic Growth Goals Position in the Market Strategic Program Development Maximized Faculty Capacity Incentives, Training and Support

28. Break

29. Providing Student Services Online Service Expectations Self Service Personalized Just in Time Push and Pull Live Online Chat 24/7 Coordination of Services Services Admissions & Records Financial Aid Advising/Counseling Tutoring Library Technical Helpdesk Instructional Helpdesk Bookstore Testing Orientations 6

31. Example – “Just-in-Time” and Push Technology

32. Operating as a System “The performance of a system depends upon the performance of its parts and how each part interacts with the other parts to affect the performance of the whole.” 7 From: The Demographic Corporation, Russell Ackoff

33. Eliminating Silos Online Students and Faculty Adjunct Faculty Services Marketing Student Enrollment Services Instructional Design\ Course Production Instructional Support Helpdesk Technology Helpdesk Support Institutional Research Online Library

34. Next Generation Characteristics of an Online System for Service Aligned service hours Service standards Consistent and current information Integrated processes, systems and feedback loops One source of electronic date

35. The Financial Model Create a cost model and know the true costs for the online program. WCET Technology Costing methodology www.wcet.info/services/tcm Clarify your institution’s financial motivator for scaling Increase revenues? Keep tuition and student cost low? 8 Helpful Resource: Cost-Efficiencies in Online Learning by Katrina A. Meyer ISBN 0-7879-8855-3

36. Utilizing Partnerships Reduce or share costs UMOL hosting solution Extent access Customized programs Institutional partners Building community Sloan C Sloan Semester 9

37. Rio’s Partner

38. Continuous Improvement Assessment Strategies 10

39. Strategies 6.Student Services 7.System 8.Financial Models 9.Partnerships 10.Assessment

40. Other Issues?

41. Online Resources Sloan C http://www.sloan-c.org/ Educause http://www.educause.edu/ Educause Learning Initiative (ELI) http://www.educause.edu/eli Western Interstate Commission for Higher Edu http://www.wcet.info/home.asp National Center for Academic Transformation http://www.thencat.org/ Alliance for Redesign National University Telecommunications Network http://www.nutn.org/ Educational Pathways, George Lorenzo

42. Examples of Online Institutions which have Scaled Rio Salado College UMassOnline University of Maryland University College Suny Learning Networks St. Petersburg College eCampus University of Phoenix Online Coming! The University of Illinois Global Campus