Examination of Online Education Beyond UIUC
From WikEd
Summary of Findings from Examination of Online Education Beyond UIUC Committee
Members of the committee included Bonnie Armbruster (overseer), Cheryl Bullock, Adam Fein, Brenda Lindsey, Ricki Loar, Patrice-Andre Prud-Homme, Carolina Rocha, Marianne Steadley, and Tonya Manselle. Tom Anderson and Faye Lesht also provided considerable assistance. This summary was prepared by Bonnie Armbruster.
The committee gathered information in response to 8 questions about online education from four cyber-universities (The University of Phoenix, Capella University, Walden University, Nova Southeastern), two universities that have cyber-campuses [Penn State World Campus (PSWC), University of Maryland-University College (UMUC)], and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The following is a brief summary of the responses, organized by question. Not all institutional contacts answered all questions, and answers varied considerably in detail. Full responses from each institution are found on the committee’s WikEd site: http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php?Examination_of_Online_Education_Beyond_UIUC.
1) What type of online education do you have at your institution? Do you have information about specific programs and courses? Of course, the cyber-universities and cyber-campuses are completely online. They tend to offer a large array of options, including Associate, Bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees and certificate programs, as well as professional development, continuing education, community education, and online training. UIC offers three graduate degree programs, a number of non-credit programs and certification, and many courses in various departments. Information about specific programs and courses for each institution can be obtained through their individual websites.
2) How was online education initiated at your institution? Was it top-down from administration or bottom-up from faculty, or a combination? The cyber-universities began as online education initiatives, so the question is not really relevant to them. PSWC and UMUC were initiated and continue to be supported primarily top-down. At PSWC, there were senior faculty "champions” at each college who helped push the effort forward. For UIC, online education was initiated by a combination of top-down and bottom-up forces.
3) To what extent is the university administration supportive of the planning, development, and maintenance of online education? Is there monetary support (e.g., stipends for development, percent of income returned to the department)? What kinds of support are offered to faculty (e.g., course buy-outs, graduate assistants, etc.)? For all seven institutions, support was provided for planning, development, and maintenance of online education. All online education efforts appear to be revenue-generating, sometimes at astounding rates. PSWC had received a $7 million grant from Sloan to help start their cyber-campus. At PSWC, 80% of revenue goes back to the sponsoring college/department after academic and administrative expenses are paid. PSWC, which operates under Outreach, also provides "lots of infrastructure support.” Outreach buys faculty time for course development--a course release for one semester or two, depending on the course to be developed. For courses enrollment of greater than 30, faculty might receive TA support (enrollments are capped at 30 students, so a second section would need to be opened if enrollment is above 30). UIC created an etuition rate ($535/credit hour), of which 85% returns to the department. UIC faculty are encouraged to use existing resources, as no additional financial incentives are provided.
4) What type of assistance with technology do faculty receive who are involved with online education? (I will amend this to include assistance with online pedagogy.) The institutions provide varying levels of support for online technology and pedagogy, with UMUC perhaps offering the most sophisticated support (or at least they provided the most information). At UMUC, faculty must be certified to teach online by completing a 5-week (compensated) training program. There are mentors for new faculty as well as a coaching program. Full time (24/7) technical support is available for both faculty and students. In addition, there is a week-long summer institute for developing leadership in online education, as well as other incentives for emerging leaders. At Capella, all faculty are required to receive initial training in both pedagogy and technology. After this (compensated) training, they are then required to shadow a seasoned instruction. It is typically six months before a new faculty will be given their own course at Capella. In addition, an instructional design person is paired with a faculty member to develop and revise all courses. Walden faculty who teach an established course are required to take a 3-week training course and then to shadow an experienced instructor before teaching their own online course. Faculty who are creating a course are required to take an additional three-week course on course development. The University of Phoenix provides an "extensive testing, training, and mentoring program” for faculty that involves ongoing professional development. The UIC Office of External Education provides teaching, curriculum, and technology resources to interested faculty.
5) Approximately what percent of faculty are involved in online education? Are these primarily senior faculty, or are junior faculty also involved? At the cyber-universities and UMUC, all faculty are involved in online education. At PSWC, approximately 15% of PSU faculty at all levels (but mostly tenured faculty) have had experience in the World Campus; this totals approximately 5,000 faculty. No information was available from UIC.
6) How is the issue of intellectual property addressed for faculty lecture material, assignments, etc.? At Walden and Capella, faculty sign a contract regarding intellectual property. AT PSWC, the faculty contracts also cover online education. However, faculty have the right to repackage some of the material for personal use as long as it is not used as a full course or in material that would compete with PSWC. At UMUC, faculty sign a contract for regular course development, but any post-course development enhancements belong to the faculty. UIC is in the process of developing a policy in this area and is considering joint ownership between individual faculty and the university.
7) What is the typical class size for online courses? Are there limits imposed? The mode seems to be around 20 students, with the range from 15-30 students. Capella caps enrollment at 20 students; Walden caps enrollment at 15 for foundations and special skills courses. UIC and PSWC cap enrollments at 30 students. UMUC has a minimum enrollment of 15, and a typical enrollment of 20-25 students, but they are beginning to experiment with larger class sizes and new models of delivering instruction.
8) How is tuition assessed for out-of-state students? For most institutions, there is no differential for out-of-state students; rather, it is a one-tuition fits all model. UMUC, however, does have a different tuition schedule for in-state and out-of-state students. UIC created a special etuition rate of $535/credit hour.
END OF SUMMARY
- Group Members: Bonnie Armbruster (overseer), Cheryl Bullock, Adam Fein, Brenda Lindsey, Ricki Loar, Patrice-Andre Prud’Homme, Carolina Rocha, Marianne Steadley, Tonya Manselle.
- Inspect and contribute to the other working groups: State of Online Education at U of I, Big Picture and Wish List, and Research on Online Education.
- Here in the list of institutions with online education that Faye has suggested: The University of Phoenix, Capella University, Walden University, Penn State's World Campus, UIS & UIC. Are there any others you would like to explore for the purposes of this subgroup?
- Seems like Mich State U. has some interesting, thriving programs. Nick B. was reporting thusly in a meeting recently.--Thand 07:48, 30 Nov 2005 (CST)
- Our charge is: What we can learn from these others models in terms of what might work and what might not work at UIUC? In order to address this charge, What basic questions or issues should we be inquiring about regarding these models?
Here are the questions that were on our final list:
1) What type of online education do you have at your institution? Do you have information about specific programs and courses?
2) How was online education initiated at your institution? Was it top-down from the administration or bottom-up from faculty, or a combination?
3) To what extent is the university administration supportive of the planning, development, and maintenance of online education? Is there monetary support (e.g., stipends for development, percent of income returned to the department)? What kinds of support are offered to faculty (e.g., course buy-outs, graduate assistants, etc.)?
4) Approximately what percent of faculty are involved in online education? Are these primarily senior faculty, or are junior faculty also involved?
5) What type of assistance with technology do faculty receive who are involved with online education?
6) How is the issue of intellectual property addressed for faculty lecture material, assignments, etc.?
7) What is the typical class size for online courses? Are there limits imposed?
8) How is tuition assessed for out-of-state students?
As responses come in from various institutions, I will add them in under the appropriate institution below, which can then be used to produce the final summary.
- How did these institutions resolve the "supposed" academic conflict between being consistent with a research mission, and an instructional mission (including onlineness). It appears to me that UIUC has a major problem here, to the point that many departments don't want to admit that they even have a masters program, for example. The masters degree appears to be the default condition for unsuccessful PhD candidates. Thus, the needed support and encouragement from administrators and colleagues are replaced with barriers, disinterest and non-participation. This situation makes it very difficult for a faculty to expand the mission, number and types of students, venues, etc. in a masters program, plus other possible Professional Development activities.--Thand 08:09, 30 Nov 2005 (CST)
- How much of the success of these programs can be attributed to the top down influence, and how much to the grass roots?. For example, I'm rather sure that many of UIS's successes can be attributed to a top-down approach that was primed by Sloan-C grants. Is that a trend? Can a brave administrator affect significant change without large grant monies? Are grass roots efforts, like CTER and HRE, doomed to become interesting relics unless the brave administor steps forth?--Thand 09:07, 30 Nov 2005 (CST)
- I want to know more practical things such as: 1) what type of computer equipment do colleges and universities require students to have in order to participate in online education courses? 2) how is tuition assessed if someone lives out of state? 3) how do universities cooperate so that students can take courses through other universities without having to formally enroll i.e. similar to arrangment that library & info science grad program created for their students 3) what type of assistance with technology does faculty receive that teach online courses? 4) how is the issue of intellectual property addressed for faculty lecture material, assignments, etc? 5) do other universities offer teaching, counseling, clinical methods courses online? if so, how do they require students to demonstrate mastery? with limited face-to-face contact, how do they ensure that students have the appropriate disposition to be a teacher, counselor, psychologist, social worker, etc? 6) what class size limits are typically used for online courses?
Record info, insert links, display conference notes, about these online programs. Also add programs if you discover more. The headings are hotlinks to the respective Universities/Programs.
Contents |
Capella University
1) What type of online education do you have at your institution? Do you have information about specific programs and courses?
This institution is completely online. There are three required residencies; however, for those seeking a Ph.D. These residencies are 4 - 5 days in length and operate much like a National Meeting (AERA). Students are called learners - learners are required to attend at least three residencies and must sign in and sign out. These residencies are held at various places around the country. A typical year will have Capella hosting 6 residencies in Phoenix, Dulles, Dallas, Orlando, Minneapolis, and Chicago.
Capella has a master's and Ph.D. program in Education. There are several specialties within these two programs. They include: instructional technology, professional studies, online instruction, and instructional design. Educational psychology is NOT in the COE but rather in the Harold Abel School of Psychology (through Capella).
2) How was online education initiated at your institution? Was it top-down from the administration or bottom-up from faculty, or a combination?
Capella began as the Graduate School of America. Around 1999 they changed their name to Capella and in 2000 they were accredited by the then NorthCentral (now Higher Learning). That began an incredible process of growth, particularly in the College of Education. This question isn’t really relevant – it has always been a distance education institution.
3) To what extent is the university administration supportive of the planning, development, and maintenance of online education? Is there monetary support (e.g., stipends for development, percent of income returned to the department)? What kinds of support are offered to faculty (e.g., course buy-outs, graduate assistants, etc.)?
Courses are developed in collaboration with faculty. There is a specific course developer assigned (this is an instructional design person) and a specific content expert (faculty member) assigned to the development, and the revision, of all courses. Adjunct faculty members are compensated on a per course basis for both development and for revision. There are no graduate assistants within the Capella framework (to my knowledge). I do not know if Full time faculty members are given course buy out time, rather than compensation, for course development.
4) Approximately what percent of faculty are involved in online education? Are these primarily senior faculty, or are junior faculty also involved?
To my knowledge, there are no "non-teaching” faculty (either full time or adjunct) at Capella. All are involved in teaching online. There is a system established at Capella with the following titles: Senior Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, Adjunct. There are also Deans and Department Heads as well as top level administration.
5) What type of assistance with technology do faculty receive who are involved with online education?
All faculty are required to receive initial training in both the pedagogy of online teaching as well as the particular technology being used in their courses. After this training, they are then required to "shadow” a seasoned instructor. It is typically six months before a new faculty will be given their own course at Capella. Adjunct faculty are compensated for every aspect of the training.
Seasoned faculty are also required to take various training. Some examples include HEPA, and any new technologies introduced into the courses at Capella.
6) How is the issue of intellectual property addressed for faculty lecture material, assignments, etc.?
When you write a course for Capella, you sign a contract stating that the material belongs to Capella.
7) What is the typical class size for online courses? Are there limits imposed?
The typical course is between 15 – 20 learners. There is a cap of 20, however, with special permission a course can go over – up to 23. A course must have at least five learners enrolled or it will be cancelled.
8) How is tuition assessed for out-of-state students?
There is no concept of in-state or out-of-state tuition at Capella.
University of Illinois - Chicago
Online education working group
University of Illinois at Chicago
Source:
Mary Niemiec Executive Director, External Education University of Illinois at Chicago (312) 355-0306 mniemiec@uic.edu
1. Online education offered at UIC Retrieved from: http://www.uic.edu/depts/uionline/
UIC offers three graduate degree programs as well as a number of non-credit programs and certifications. In addition, there are a number of courses offered online through various departments. The following is a detailed list of online instruction opportunities available at this institution:
DEGREE PROGRAMS OFFERED ONLINE
- Masters of Engineering
- Masters of Health Professions Education
- Masters in Public Health Informatics
NON-DEGREE PROGRAMS AND CERTIFICATIONS OFFERED ONLINE
Certificate in Public Health Informatics
Environmental Public Health Informatics
Electromagnetics Certificate
Engineering Law and Management Certificate
IBHE Post Master's Certificate in Health Informatics
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Health Informatics
Specialist in Bloodbank Technology Certificate
Teaching and Learning Certificate in Nursing Education
ONLINE COURSES BY DEPARTMENT
Business Administration
• Business English Online
• Culture of U.S. Business Online
• E-Business Strategy
• Finance & Accounting for the Non-Financial Professional
• Marketing Strategy in the Digital Age Online
• Master of Business Administration (Blended Program)
• Project Management Online
College Of Engineering
• Electromagnetics Technology Certificate
• Engineering Law and Management Certificate
• Master of Engineering Degree Program
• Wireless Communication Technology Certificate
College Of Medicine At Chicago
• CME Online - Specialty Needs for Primary Care Physicians
• Graduate Medical Education (GME) - Core Curriculum
• Master of Health Professions Education
College Of Nursing
• School Nurse Certificate Program
• Teaching & Learning Certificate in Nursing Education
College Of Pharmacy
• Antithrombosis Therapy Management Certificate Program
College Of Urban Planning And Public Affairs
• Certificate in Nonprofit Management
External Education
• Chicago, Culture, and Communication Program
• UIC Writers Series
School Of Public Health
• Addressing Psychosocial Issues in the Workplace
• Advances in Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Air Pollution Distance Learning Network
• APTI 427: Combustion Evaluation
• APTI 435: Atmospheric Sampling
• APTI 452: Principles and Practice of Air Pollution
• Brownfield Redevelopment: Nuts and Bolts for Local Government
• Building Operator Certification - Central Illinois
• Building Operator Certification - Northern Illinois
• Children's Environmental Health Case Study
• Confined Space for Agriculture
• Energy Performance Contracting for PHA's
• Environmental Assessment Speaker Series, Site Contamination
• Environmental Health Informatics
• EnviroRisk
• Fighting Stress at Work
• Hazardous Waste Course Offering
• Health in the Arts (HARTS) Conference
• Healthy School, Healthy You Conference
• Home Health Care Health and Safety Train-the-Trainer Program
• Medical Director's Club of Chicago
• MPH in Public Health Informatics
• Museum / Gallery Collections: Preventing Health Hazards
• Occupational Health Train-the-Trainer Course
• Passive to Active Radon Mitigation Systems Course
• Performance and Interpretation of Office Spirometry
• Public Health Informatics Certificate
• Public Health Preparedness
• Radon Best Practices CE Series: Best Practices: Radon Measurement
• Radon Best Practices CE Series: Defeating Murphy's Law
• Radon Best Practices CE Series: Measurement & Mitigation Working Together
• Radon Science CE Series: Epidimiology of Radon
• Radon Science CE Series: The Basics of Radon
• Respiratory and Lung Health for Musicians
• Sustainability Monthly Speaker Series
• The Prevention of Hearing Loss from Music Occupations
• UIC Radon CE Course on Mitigation
• UIC Radon Course on Measurement (Online)
• UIC Radon Course on Mitigation (Online)
• Using Past and Present to Map Future Actions
Vice Chancellor For Research
• Responsible Conduct in Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences
2. How was online education initiated at your institution? Was it top-down from the administration or bottom-up from the faculty, or a combination? It was a combination of both.
3. Is the university administration supportive of planning, development and maintenance of online education? Yes.
- Is there monetary support?
- The most significant development in this area is the creation of the etuition rate. This is a single tuition rate of $535/credit hour of which 85% goes to the department while 15% is retained by the campus. This rate includes all tuition and fees and is only applicable for students that are engaged solely in online education. Students that enroll in a combination of online and classroom courses are charged traditional tuition and fee rates. Departments keep 85% of etuition while the campus retains 15%.
- What kinds of support are offered to faculty?
- Departments and/or faculty interested in offering online education are encouraged to use existing resources as no additional financial incentives are provided. The UIC Office of External Education acts as a central clearinghouse for the campus in matters related to creating and enrolling in online courses. Faculty members that express interest in developing an online course are encouraged to contact this office for assistance. In turn, they are connected with essential teaching, curriculum, and technology resources. The office has adopted a "one stop shopping" approach for anyone interested in creating, maintaining, enhancing, and enrolling in online education courses at UIC.
4. How is the issue of intellectural property addressed for faculty lecture materials, assignments?
- UIC is in the process of developing a policy in this area and is considering joint ownership between individual faculty and the university.
5. What is the typical class size for online courses?
- Although there are no strict class size limits, 25 students per class is optimal with 30 students maximum.
University of Illinois - Springfield
Michigan State University
Nova Southeastern
According to Forbes, Nova Southeastern is one of the top 20 cyber-universities in the United States. The university offers more than 300 online classes per annum; an online education initiative that started in 1983.
Initially, one may navigate through WebSTAR, to search the course catalog, curriculum offered, financial aid for online curricula, etc. For instance, the Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences offers flexible online and campus-based formats for its five MS and four PhD programs; programs that would allow professionals not to interrupt their careers. Online master's degree programs are available to anyone anywhere, requiring no attendance on campus. In addition, one may enroll in an undergraduate curriculum online as well.
Nova Southeastern offers its online education curricula via WebCT course management system. As one many know, WebCT enables students to access course materials that may include multimedia formats, announcements, assignments and professors' reviews, and other information necessary for online instruction. Furthermore, distance library services via electronic library are available as well.
In addition, NSU also has a Center fo Continuing & Professional Studies, a new online training where one may be able to access hundreds of non-credit online training programs. This program comprises 23 community education courses, four online training, and four professional development courses.
An executive summary, though dated October 1996, sums up very well why Nova Southeastern is a leader in distance education today, nonetheless greatly helped by "student acceptance of the practice of distance education".
Penn State University
UIUC Online Education Working Group
Phone Interview with Jim Ryan Former VP of Outreach Former CEO of World Campus (Role: Strategy, Policy Development) Penn St University Friday January 6, 2006
Worked closely with COO Gary Miller (Role: Implementation and Operations)
1) What type of online education do you have at your institution? Do you have information about specific programs and courses?
• Penn St. World Campus • Marketing statement, Positioning statement, World Campus Strategic Report More: http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/wc/AboutUs_DETeaching.shtml
• More than 50 Pre-Bach Cert, Post-Bach Cert, Prof Dev, Masters Programs • 500+ Courses
2) How was online education initiated at your institution? Was it top-down from the administration or bottom-up from faculty, or a combination?
• PSU has a history of: Ind Study, Correspondence courses with telephone, tv, and then video More: http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/wc/AboutUs_History.shtml • Mostly faculty experiments
• Jim Ryan VP of Continuing Ed, pressing the University to get involved with Online Education o Through 1 ½ presidents nothing happens • New president makes big commitment, 1993-4, stood behind it o Climate was right, Top-Down was a huge deal. o Trustees level & University-wide commitment very important
3) To what extent is the university administration supportive of the planning, development, and maintenance of online education? Is there monetary support (e.g., stipends for development, percent of income returned to the department)? What kinds of support are offered to faculty (e.g., course buy-outs, graduate assistants, etc.)?
1. Created with the under the Outreach umbrella to be a self-supporting entity
2. Intended to be a source of new revenue for Penn St, 80% back to sponsoring college or dept after academic and admin (delivery, marketing) expenses are paid • The President appointed a committee (3 Deans, 3 Top level Outreach people) to look at the financial models, but no one was willing to step forward. The President then told the committee they were not going on Christmas Break until they submitted something to him that made sense, they hashed it out on Dec 23. • Shared 150,000 - $1 mil back to college/dept… • Sometimes Deans disperse equally within the college, but in most situations World Campus has a contract with the department that did the work. 3. Priced the marketplace…trustees delegating pricing to head of Outreach, price product to marketplace (no state support), lots of market research here.
4. Start-up money Self-supporting…tuition & grants form Sloan…some small internal support (reallocation of resources with AO)…also within a 6 yr window World Campus could borrow internally within Penn St. to be paid back within 10-15, interest only 3-7yrs
5. Net income sharing with each dept, to get dept interested… • World Campus/Outreach buys faculty time for course dev (course release, sometimes it’s 1 semester, sometimes 2 depending on the breadth of the course). • World Campus pays faculty members fringe benefits and buyout while they’re teaching. • 30-35 students or below no TA • 30-35+ students = 1 TA (negotiable) • Contract with each dept/program, signed by the World Campus and depts/faculty or whomever was responsible for the timetable, budget, etc. • Faculty were hesitant of contracts at first, but once they saw they benefits to their department…no problem
6. Institutionalize this initiative. • Academic Senate gets regular updates • Grad council, ½ dozen deans – form World Campus Internal advisory committee… o Included dean of libraries, and CIO of university • Including the Library was a very good decision • Some online tuition (small, $12 per student) went to library to show the World Campus commitment to them • IT folks also receive a small portion of tuition… o They provide great feedback on policy development (not so much program feedback) • High level alums (IT professionals and potential clients) form World Campus External advisory committee o This committee would meet with the internal advisory committee…great exchanges happened here…very eye opening to internal committee o they’d pay their own lodging/food, but get football tix and a good time for free. They enjoyed being a part of something burgeoning o When you have 1000% annual growth…advice from industry was invaluable
• IT situation o World Campus brought together their CITES & AO – o Hardware/software and Instructional Designers (ISD) o Joint initiative between the two groups contracted internally with CITES, Chief of ISD at Outreach oversaw the hires at CITES. o Traditional IT people liked this because there was some compensation and it was part of their job description. o Not duplicating resources was huge! Institutionalize instead!
• A Key document for the World Campus at startup o A Timeline from where we are now to where we need to go o Provost named a committee to work with Outreach on this – was very important o President said, Here’s what I want: World Campus Strategic Report o The Committee Met Every other Monday 5-9pm for 6 mos!
• World Campus Decides not to go For-Profit o Too much worry about focus on bottom-line over quality o For-Profit was outside of vector that would be able to influence faculty that there were actually new ways of teaching o When the World Campus started having success some No trustees wanted to "buy" a percentage of the "company". Penn St. chose not to go this route.
4) Approximately what percent of faculty are involved in online education? Are these primarily senior faculty, or are junior faculty also involved?
• When the World Campus first started o Only pioneer faculty that were willing o Then success o Online is no longer an anomaly… • Pioneers faculty share their stories with non-believers! • This is how online is improving my teaching • Dept heads looking into new sources of revenue
• Approx 15% of PSU faculty (junior & senior) have had experience in the World Campus…approx 5000 faculty total/
5) What type of assistance with technology do faculty receive who are involved with online education?
• Each faculty received an ISD • On average 1 ISD for every 3-5 courses… o Depended on complexity of course…what do you want to achieve?
6) How is the issue of intellectual property addressed for faculty lecture material, assignments, etc.?
• Faculty work for hire, under contracts and it is seen as part of the institutional responsibility • Faculty have the right to repackage some of the material for personal use as long as its not used as a full course or in material that would compete with the World Campus • Remember: World Campus provides buyout money and support staff so most faculty agreed this was reasonable • Some faculty wanted full-rights for their stuff o These faculty thought the industry would come to them for their material, when that didn’t happen and they saw the success of the World Campus, this issue went away
7) What is the typical class size for online courses? Are there limits imposed?
• MBA: 25 • Online grad course: 30 at most • Beyond 30 or so 2 sections would be used • Similar to on-campus situation, a Intro to Arts Undergrad course might be larger than a ISD Graduate course
8) How is tuition assessed for out-of-state students?
• Same as UIUC o Tuition same for In-State, Out of state, & International
These were some previous notes about Penn State that Adam had for us:
At the "Worldwide Universities Network" conference in Chicago I had the chance to hear some bits and pieces of the Penn St. World Campus model. They had quite a lot of faculty and dean resistance at first, but it appeared to me had, first, top down support (which UIUC now has) and were very organized and quickly shared pedegogical and financial success stories. To date they have around 500 faculty on campus teaching online. Here are my notes...
Penn St. World Campus got $7 Million from Sloan o Thought about for-profit model affiliated w/ PSU o Investors wanted a cut o Decided to stay in-house, non-for-profit
Wanted faculty to rethink their on-campus courses through teaching online ? Found a "Champion" in every college • Had them write internal docs on their research • These were Senior faculty
Didn’t mind starting off the mainstream • First course was "Turf Management" (for Golf Course Superintendents) • 700 students took the course…80% of net income back to the dept • Caught peoples attention
Got Faculty senate approval at the University level (Steering committee with Deans and Dept Heads) ? Grad school had doubts, interested faculty made a presentation to Grad school committee ? Brought 2 successful online faculty to talk to Grad School committee, what about quality? Integrity? Then committee asked…Is this as good as what you do on-campus? Faculty responded and said "best teaching ive ever done"…I now go back to my on-campus course and revise more…
First couple years, only Champions taught…but then shared income helped free up other faculty….now 500 facutly teaching online… ? Research still first at PSU, but "online is good" came from the top down…the President… ? Lots of infrastructure support…buy out time (sometimes two semesters) + DA, mostly fully tenured faculty, except for in specialty areas younger faculty are used...
Adam D. Fein HRE Online Coordinator Department of Human Resource Education University of Illinois http://www.hre.uiuc.edu/online hreonline@uiuc.edu 217-333-0807
- i love these notes, adam, they are really helpful...i heard a similar description from these folks but didn't think to jot them down...i happen to think that this model is one that could be used at UIUC--Thand 11:01, 1 Dec 2005 (CST)
University of Phoenix
1. Associate, Bachelor's,master's and doctoral degree programs, as well as continuing education courses for teachers. Subject areas include business, education, nursing, management, and several other fields. Information about programs and courses is available on the University of Phoenix Online website.
2. Internet programs started in 1989.
3. Depends on which part of U of Phoenix. University of Phoenix online is an online university so all aspects of operating it are supported.
4. Depends on which part of U of Phoenix. University of Phoenix online is an online university so all faculty are involved in online education.
5. From their web site "To ensure that our faculty can facilitate a productive and stimulating online learning environment, they must also complete an extensive testing, training, and mentoring program. All faculty must meet rigorous standards for both content knowledge and facilitation skills to pass our selection process. The training process never stops. Additional development courses, continuing education sessions, and ongoing faculty meetings are designed to enhance instructional skills and keep faculty up to date."
6. 7. 8. There is no in-state/out-of-state differentiation.
Walden University
Response so far: I see that your questions are targeted to hybrid programs (campus based-online combinations) and we are a fully online program that started as distance learning and never had a campus-based component. So, I don't think that our situation is comparable if you are surveying traditional programs about their move to online. For example, "out of state students" does not apply, as our students are from all over the US and in some cases the world. "To what extent was faculty supportive".... this does not apply at all so I believe an answer would be either irrelevant or even misleading for your purposes.
1) What type of online education do you have at your institution? Do you have information about specific programs and courses?
Walden University (http://www.waldenu.edu) is a for-profit university that offers all of its programs at a distance. Detailed information about programs is best obtained on our Web site by clicking on "Schools and Programs." We offer about 500 online courses to support these programs.
2) How was online education initiated at your institution? Was it top-down from the administration or bottom-up from faculty, or a combination? A combination of both but pushed primarily by administrators who in 1996 recognized the advantages of online delivery to our distributed students (50 states and several countries).
3) To what extent is the university administration supportive of the planning, development, and maintenance of online education? Is there monetary support (e.g., stipends for development, percent of income returned to the department)? What kinds of support are offered to faculty (e.g., course buy-outs, graduate assistants, etc.)? Online education is our lifeblood. Therefore, there was appropriate monetary support for all activities related to online delivery (our ONLY means of delivery). Faculty orientation and training to teach online are required. You can't teach if you haven't successfully completed the training.
4) Approximately what percent of faculty are involved in online education? Are these primarily senior faculty, or are junior faculty also involved? 100% of factuly. Our faculty are mostly part-time faculty who teach full-time at other universities. We have a good mix of senior and junior faculty (although no one here uses those terms).
5) What type of assistance with technology do faculty who are involved with online education receive?
Faculty who teach an existing course are required to take a three-week training course and then to shaddow an experienced instructor in the classroom before receiving their own classroom. Faculty who are creating a course are required to take an additional three-week course on course development.
6) How is the issue of intellectual property addressed for faculty lecture material, assignments, etc.?
We have a formal written policy that faculty agree to upfront.
7) What is the typical class size for online courses? Are there limits imposed?
For students first course (a foundations course) and for special skills courses (e.g., graduate writing), the limit is 15 students per instructor. For all other courses, class size is typically 20 but may rise up to 25.
8) How is tuition assessed for out-of-state students?
This is not relevant since vitually all our students are from out-of-state. We have one tuition price for all.
