Barry A. Russell PhD Academic Affairs Division California Community Colleges Chancellor s Office

Transcription

1 Barry A. Russell PhD Academic Affairs Division California Community Colleges Chancellor s Office

2 BOG Standing Order 409 (b) Requires the Chancellor to submit a report on distance education every two years that evaluates the effectiveness of distance education and education technology system wide and provides analysis of data demographically (by age, disability, ethnicity, and gender) of student accessibility to instruction, and enrollment and completion rates. This the seventh report to the BOG since 2002

3 Distance Education Defined Title 5, section 55200, defines distance education as instruction in which the instructor and student are separated by distance and interact through the assistance of communication technology.

4 Not a Report on the CCC Online Initiative for This report does not address any aspects of the Governor of California s recent proposal to allocate $16.9 million in the 2013/14 fiscal year budget for the planning, coordination, support and increased use of distance education in the CCC System.

5 One in four California community college students is expected to take at least one online course this year.

6 Distance Education Courses Fiscal Year Distance Education Traditional Education Total Percent of Total Headcount ,372 2,630,207 2,958, % ,355 2,694,149 3,086, % ,884 2,810,572 3,294, % ,689 2,923,137 3,534, % ,518 2,758,831 3,408, % ,760 2,570,688 3,246, % ,255 2,388,913 3,032, %

7 Distance Education Enrollments 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% Axis Title 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% -5.00% % Distance Education 16.31% 18.83% 20.98% 5.82% 3.88% -5.05% Traditional FTF 2.37% 4.14% 3.85% -5.96% -7.32% -7.61%

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9 Almost half of the 112 California community colleges offer degrees and certificates that can be obtained without going on campus.

10 Distance Education Programs, Colleges Offering Degrees and Certificates via Distance Education in Total Associate in Arts Degrees Offered Total Associate in Science Degrees Offered Total Certificates of Achievements Offered Total Degrees and Certificate s Offered

11 Student Satisfaction The level of satisfaction with a course is a strong predictor of retention and success. CCC distance education students are very satisfied with their distance education course. Overall a total of 83.3% of the students were either very satisfied (54.5%) or satisfied (28.8%) with the distance education course they completed. There were only 8.2% of the students who were either Strongly Dissatisfied (3.9%) or Dissatisfied

12 Critical Thinking in Distance Education Courses Critical thinking skills in a course are elements of the rigor of a course. Almost 8 out of 10 students believe their distance education course provided them with the opportunity for critical thinking with other students 78.1% of the students either Strongly Agreed (45.1%) or Agreed (33.0%) with the statement the online discussion board provided opportunity for critical thinking with other students. There were only 7.4% of the students who either Strongly Disagreed (2.6%) or Disagreed (4.8%) with the statement about the opportunity to do critical thinking with other students.

13 Meeting the Learning Needs of Students through Distance Education Courses Agreement on whether the distance education course met those learning needs is an indication of course satisfaction Nearly eight out of ten students either Strongly Agreed or Agreed that it did Less than 6% of the students either Strongly Disagreed (2.5%) or Disagreed (3.4%)

14 Student Retention There are three factors that contribute to the student retention problem: student, instructional, and institutional. There is a seven percent gap between distance education and face to face retention.

15 Student Retention Retention Method Percent of Colleges Using this Method Faculty contacting students when pre-determined parameters of participation are not reached. 86.6% Early alert notification to student and/or faculty via 76.8% Instructional redesign of the curriculum to assure more learner centered engagement of students. Counselors contacting students when pre-determined parameters of participation are not reached. Predictive analytics using data collected from the Learning Management System (LMS). Peer advisors contacting students when pre-determined parameters of participation are not reached. 64.3% 20.5% 17.0% 7.1%

16 Student Success DE Success Rate Traditional FTF Success Rate 64% 65% 65% 67% 67% 68% 69% 53% 53% 54% 55% 57% 59% 60%

17 Distance Education Echo Gap Retention in a course is defined as completing the course and receiving an evaluative symbol or a grade. When a student drops a course before a grade is issued they receive a withdrawal designation of a W which is a non-evaluative symbol. When a student withdraws from a course with a W or receives a non-passing grade of D or F they are entitled to retake the course again up to a maximum of three times without a petition. When a student receives a W or non-passing grade the college is compensated by the State as if they received a passing grade or as if they completed the course.

18 Distance Education Echo Gap When those students who exist in the gap between the difference of retention and success rates of traditional face to face and distance education courses re-enroll in the course they constitute a re-enrollment echo. This echo gap when aggregated within one year for multiple prior years of previous withdrawals and unsuccessful completions can represent up to 3% of the annual FTES generated by distance education in the CCC System.

19 State Authorization Based on state laws colleges are required to seek state authorization before serving a student in another state. State authorization has been on the State laws in almost every state for decades but was largely ignored. Compliance with state laws is a requirement of accreditation and consequently regional accrediting commissions will be exercising authority in this area. The accrediting commission as a part of their standards process and the adoption of new policies related to distance education will include demonstration of state authorization compliance as a part of their review.

20 Distance Education and Accreditation Substantive Program Changes There are seven changes the ACCJC considers substantive, of which one is Change in Courses or Programs or their Mode of Delivery that Represents a Significant Departure from Current Practice. Specific changes to this policy are located at the following URL: content/uploads/2010/09/policy-on-substantive- Change.pdf

21 Substantive Program Changes The need to submit a substantive change proposal is triggered by the addition of courses that constitute 50% or more of a program offered through a mode of distance or electronic delivery. Example: When an institution offers courses that make up 50% or more of the credits required for a program through an instructional delivery that is new for the college such as on-line instruction it is required to submit a substantive change request to the Commission. Federal law mandates that accrediting agencies require institutions to obtain accreditor approval of a substantive change before the degree is granted at the institution.

22 Distance Education Accessibility Distance Education Accessibility Guidelines for Students with Disabilities High Tech Center Training Unit Distance Education Captioning and Transcription (DECT) Grant.

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