1. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non- commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author. Copyright, Ralph Alberico and Jim Mazoue, 2004

2. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Summer Online Courses: A Novel Approach to Expanding Distance Learning Enrollments A Multi-Year Summary of Results

3. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Ralph Alberico Dean Libraries and Educational Technologies James Madison University Jim Mazoué Distributed and Distance Learning Coordinator Center for Instructional Technology James Madison University

4. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University James Madison University Institutional Profile  Carnegie Classification: Masters  Fall 2004 Enrollment: 15,809  Rural campus  Most students reside on, or near, campus  93%: Degree seeking Undergraduate  94%: Full-time  2%: 25 or older  Summer: students leave campus & work

5. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University National and State Enrollment Trends Higher Education enrollment will grow 16% during 2001- 2010 (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics) Higher Education enrollment in Virginia will increase by at least 38,000 students (SCHEV, “Strategic Plan for Virginia Higher Education,” 2004) E-Learning may provide a solution to capacity constraints and resulting delays in graduation that growing enrollments place on the current higher education infrastructure.

6. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Barriers To Timely Graduation State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) 2004 Student Survey Causes of graduation delay: Reasons given by students who said they will graduate delayed: –Required course sections not offered: 54% –Study abroad, travel, internships: 5%

7. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University What is the Summer Institute?  Faculty professional development program  Week-long series of workshops  Creation of summer online courses A program funded and coordinated by the James Madison University, Center for Instructional Technology to evaluate the feasibility of developing and offering online courses.

8. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Goals of the Summer Institute 1)Meet the curricular needs of students by offering them the opportunity to work toward the completion of their degrees while living off- campus. 2)Provide professional development opportunities for faculty interested in online teaching. 3)Identify and address strategic institutional needs by providing alternative distance learning opportunities during the summer.

9. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Teaching Research Scholarship Mentoring Faculty Professional Development Student Curricular need Institutional Strategic Goals

10. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University How the Summer Institute Works  RFP Submission and Authorization  Proposal Review and Selection  Four-day Series of Workshops  Course Development  Course Delivery  Course and Institute Assessments  Faculty Presentations  Course Review and Revisions

11. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Faculty Commitment Summer Institute Faculty receive a $2,000 stipend, production support, software Faculty agree to: – Attend a weeklong Summer Institute – Develop a course – Teach for 2 successive summers – Present their work and mentor colleagues – Write a final report on their experience

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13. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Summer Online Student Profile  An upper-level Undergraduate  Degree-seeking  Virginia resident  Living at home outside Harrisonburg  Working

14. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Student Enrollment by Academic Level 2003 Total enrollment: 225 Freshmen: 17 (7%) Sophomore: 52 (23%) Junior: 71 (32%) Senior: 78 (35%) Graduate/ Cont. Ed: 7 (3%) 2004 Total enrollment: 456 Freshmen: 20 (4%) Sophomore: 86 (19%) Junior: 132 (29%) Senior: 175 (38%) Graduate/ Cont. Ed: 43 (10%)

15. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Student Survey Data  Reasons for enrolling  Satisfaction  Residence  Retention  Attitudes toward online courses

16. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Reasons Why Students Take Summer Online Courses  Curricular Need –GenEd, degree, or graduation requirement –Shorten time to degree –Reduce course load in the fall –Lack of availability of required courses  Convenience –Scheduling flexibility (home/travel) –Fits work schedule –For some, the only practical alternative

17. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University JMU Fall/SpringLocal Community CollegeOn Campus, JMU Summer Session JMU Fall/SpringCommunity CollegeJMU Summer Session On Campus

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21. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Course Enrollment Caps and Student Retention 2003-2004  Overall retention rate: 93%  All courses met or exceeded the minimum enrollment set by their departments  24 courses met or exceeded the maximum enrollment set by their departments  Enrollment for all courses exceeded the combined caps set by departments (681/665)

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24. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Findings  The Summer Institute serves a substantial student interest in (and need for) online courses.  Faculty view the Summer Institute as an enhancement to their professional development.  Online courses developed through the Summer Institute are financially viable.

25. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Wrenching Change The early decades of this second millennium may bring more changes to universities than their first thousand years. Some of those changes will be wrenching. Gerhard Casper Come the Millennium, Where the University? April 18, 1995

26. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University The Times They Are A-Changin’ Then you better start swimmin‘ Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'. Bob Dylan The Times They Are A-Changin’ February 10, 1964

27. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Administrative Challenges The paradox of higher education: modern ideas and medieval structures When it comes to online courses the same rules do not apply Inflated expectations combined with resistance to change

28. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Administrative Advantages Ability to take advantage of unused capacity Increased collaboration across academic departments and between Ed Tech and the Library Possibility for increased efficiency and reduced costs (We try not to oversell this point.) Stress relief on the system by load leveling of demand for General Education courses Rapid diffusion of new approaches to teaching and learning with technology, an incubator for learning technologies Happy students & faculty

29. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Growing Pains Each of the 3 summer institutes presented its own set of challenges Growth of summer enrollments and issues associated with each phase of growth was paralleled by similar growth and challenges in the broader campus learning environment Three short steps from pilot project to mission critical service

30. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Formative Phase: Year One Concerns that online summer enrollments would cannibalize on-campus summer enrollments Uncertainty about costs and benefits Issues related to class size and minimum and maximum enrollments Logistical issues related to enrollment management and registration Issues related to tuition for online courses Academic inertia

31. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Developmental Phase: Year Two Need for more formalized course review and approval processes Issues related to tracking and reporting online enrollments Concerns about instructional quality in online courses Need for assessment of learning outcomes Issues related to incentives and compensation for faculty

32. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Maturity: Year Three Scaling issues associated with rising student expectations Issues related to resource allocation and distribution of course revenue Need to reconcile grassroots approach with programmatic priorities Desire to foster Communities of Practice Fitting the Summer Initiative into the big picture

33. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Evolution of Instructional Technology at James Madison University 1999 – Web, WebBoard, Centra, VTEL 2000 – Blackboard CourseInfo introduced 2003 – Blackboard 6 Enterprise version: move to mission critical, centrally supported utility service 2004 – Blackboard primary learning system framework; weaving together many content technologies including Web, Library systems, Centra, Respondus,Tegrity, Streaming Media, and Digital Images

34. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Environmental Impact Greatest impact arises from rapid growth and rapid diffusion Faculty participants become carriers of memes Emergence of similar models to jumpstart academic programs with an online learning component Rising expectations and rising demand extend to the long semesters Distance courses are a very small piece of the overall online learning environment

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36. EDUCAUSE October 20, 2004 James Madison University Strategic Recommendations Adopt a sustainable resource allocation model Establish a process for setting online course and program development priorities Refine guidelines for faculty development incentives and compensation Create mechanisms for assessing online teaching and learning quality Expand support for research and scholarship related to online learning