Chapter 7 Request for Institutional Change
St. Clair County Community is requesting a change of status in educational offerings for degree programs offered through distance delivery methods. Per guidelines published in The Handbook of Accreditation[1], a narrative is provided below to document a comprehensive analysis of the proposed change.
Proposed Change
The change requested is explained in more detail through presentation of the proposed change; the outcomes expected from the proposed change; the projected impact of the change on the College’s mission, students and educational offerings; and relevancy of this change in Commission policy.
The Proposed Change
In 2002, the College participated with 21 other Michigan community colleges in submitting a request for institutional change through the Michigan Community College Virtual Learning Collaborative (MCCVLC). The change request to offer degree programs through the MCCVLC via distance learning technologies was approved, with a stipulation to submit two subsequent reports. Each of the reports was submitted and accepted. At the time, the MCCVLC provided access to online courses that were not yet available for students at the College.
As a member of the MCCVLC, the College has been able to participate in statewide activities and projects to further online course delivery. Two statewide grant awards, described in more detail below, have improved support services and provided an online course for instructors. In 2002-2003, the College participated in a statewide request for proposals from learning management systems vendors. The MCCVLC also provides professional development events and ongoing communications with colleagues across Michigan.
The projects and tools established collaboratively with the MCCVLC have created the capacity to administer the College’s online delivery more efficiently. The report below will explain the institutional planning, faculty involvement and support services that the College has in place to support online learning.
With this evolution, the College has gradually expanded its offerings in online courses to a point that options are available for students to meet degree requirements via online delivery. To clearly market this option to students, the College is requesting an institutional change of status to extend accreditation to include the delivery of four degree programs through distance education delivery, specifically online. The four programs are:
- Associate of Arts (AA)
- Associate of General Education (AGE)
- Associate of Business Transfer (ABT)
- Health Care Provider to RN–Associate Degree (HCPRN)
The ABT degree plan varies by institution to which the student will transfer. It is included here for those degree plans where all courses are available as online courses.
While labeled as pursuing an online degree option, the HCPRN requires face-to-face components to complete the degree. There are face-to-face clinical experiences with patient interaction. At certain intervals in the program, the students are required to participate in “return demonstration of skills” activities.
It is possible for students to complete the AA, AGE, and ABT through the MCCVLC relationship. With the change requested here, students could complete these degrees, as well as HCPRN, through online delivery from the College, independent of the MCCVLC relationship. The College has developed gradually to the point where the online courses that lead to the degree programs are already being administered. For the HCPRN, the courses have been made available as online delivery and state approval from the Board of Nursing has been obtained in preparation of obtaining approval from the Higher Learning Commission.
Outcomes Expected from the Proposed Change
The primary outcome expected to result from the change in status is to enhance services by providing an alternative method for pursuing an educational goal. Online degrees provide the potential to broaden the service area of the College. This could provide a learning opportunity to students who may not have obtained it otherwise.
Projected Impact on the College’s Mission, Students, and Educational Offerings
In 2005, the mission was approved as, “The mission of St. Clair County Community College is to provide quality learning opportunities.”[2] The addition of online degrees will further support the existing mission of the College by providing quality learning opportunities to students who may otherwise have difficulty attending college because of personal or professional commitments, as well as transportation or child care issues.
Through the vision to be the “preferred choice for post-secondary education,” the College aspires to be learner-centered, to proactively adapt to the changing environment, and to nurture innovation in the delivery of instruction. It is believed that offering online degrees supports progress towards that vision.
The College has offered online courses since fall 1999, providing the student with the ability to take an additional course that scheduling or other commitments may have otherwise prevented. It has also allowed students with a considerable commute from surrounding rural areas to reduce travel needs. The flexibility of participating in these degree programs may provide an opportunity to students who otherwise may not have been able to attend the College. Many students or potential students struggle with work, children and personal scheduling issues. The students participating in these programs will also be affected by the need to adapt to this learning environment. Research documents that online learning requires more self-motivation and self-discipline to succeed. As existing programs, these degrees will not affect the breadth of educational offerings.
Commission Policy Relevant to the Requested Change
The proposed change relates to: Change in Education Offering–Commission Policy 1.C.2.b. The College proposes to offer the above stated degree programs through distance delivery methods, specifically online.
Factors Leading to Proposed Change
Online courses have been an opportunity for students since fall 1999 when the first online course was offered and 8 students participated. Since that time, investment has been made to provide the online platform, support development of curriculum and establish the Office of Online Learning for administration of these courses. Data clearly exemplify the change that has been occurring in the number of courses and sections available to students and the resulting enrollments:
|
Winter 2001 |
Fall 2006 |
Courses |
8 |
43 |
Sections |
8 |
54 |
Enrollment |
234 |
1,003 |
The request for change is predicated on several factors. Specifically, the recent strategic planning activities and resulting initiatives provide a foundation that included a needs analysis and the involvement of various constituencies.
Relationship of Change to Planning
In 2005, the Ship’s Logbook was created to communicate the strategic planning activities that had recently occurred within the College community and been approved by the Board of Trustees. Relative to the proposed change, two goals provide guidance:
- Goal II: Increase the Quality and Accessibility of Education–the College will provide quality education for students by means of traditional and non-traditional approaches. To meet the changing needs of a diverse population, the College will expand its educational opportunities and services to be continuously available without compromising quality and integrity.
- Goal V: Ensure the Innovative and Effective Use of Technology–the College will implement technology responsibly and appropriately in order to promote learning, enhance teaching, increase the effectiveness and efficiency of administrative functions, and support the College mission.
Additionally, 2005-2006 Near Term Initiatives were established as a result of these goals:[3]
- Develop additional degree and non-degree credit certificates, programs, and/or courses online, partnering with other providers whenever possible.
- Provide alternative learning, service, delivery, and scheduling options based on student data and market need.
These goals and initiatives highlight the importance placed on offering alternative delivery methods to students, as well as the use of technology to promote learning. They have provided the input into planning of academic opportunities, as discipline-specific strategic plans are established and new programs are pursued.
From this strategic plan information, operational plans are created at the departmental level for the Office of Online Learning. The 2007 Operational Plan for the department includes the following goals:[4]
- Expand the scope of the department to support strategic initiatives related to the use of technology to support instruction and learning
- Improve online student support services
The integration of alternative delivery methods, specifically online, is represented at various levels through the College strategic plan, discipline plans, and operational plans. It is clear that the College considers this opportunity an important service to constituencies.
Needs Analysis
Online learning has become a considerable component of most higher education institutions as a considerable part of long-term strategies. According to the Sloan Consortium, 72% of Associate degree institutions in 2005 agree that online education is part of the institution’s long-term strategy, up from 58% in 2003.[5] From the same report, an overall enrollment growth rate of 18.2% is occurring in online learning.
Similarly, the College has seen an increase each year. While it may be slightly lower, the demand for online courses has continued longer than had been originally predicted. The online learning option first thought to be a passing trend has become more institutionalized. Advancing to the level of degree programs will integrate this further.
The proposed change will align the learning opportunity with the planning goals that have been established at various levels of the College. These goals have incorporated the desire to increase access to higher education and to continually develop the technological capabilities of faculty, staff and students. By being able to market the College as the provider of the online degrees, community awareness of this option will increase, thus potentially expediting the student’s path to degree completion.
Online learning has developed primarily due to the response of students by enrolling in these sections at increasing levels and the willingness of the faculty to extend teaching into the online classroom. This increased capacity of the faculty and the institutional as a whole represents the College’s commitment to meeting the needs of students and preparing the students to work and live in a more technologically advanced society.
Involvement of Constituencies
This proposed change has evolved through the participation of two key groups – faculty and administration. The first courses developed for online delivery were pioneered by faculty interested in pursuing this technological innovation. From the start, administration supported this development with financial resources. In 1999, the faculty contract was amended to clearly define the development compensation available for online course development and delivery. In winter 2000, the College invested in its first learning management system to host the online courses.
Initially, the administration of the online system was established through the Academic Services department. In 2003, this function was shifted to the Student and Instructional Support Services (SISS) department and evolved as the Office of Online Learning. Information and requests for input regarding the administration of the online delivery is routinely communicated through this office via an email distribution list of all faculty using the online classroom for delivery.
In the 2005/06 academic year, an Online Committee was formed. Membership was initiated with two administrators and two online faculty members. The role of the committee is to discuss issues related to procedures for online course delivery. For the 2006/07 academic year, the Online Committee is planned to be expanded to include at least one faculty representative from each academic department. Recommendations of this committee are then carried forward through the Associate Vice President of SISS and the Provost’s Council.
Approvals Obtained to Implement the Change
To implement the proposed change, consideration of necessary approvals was given to both internal and external entities.
Internal Approvals
Because the degrees proposed for online delivery are existing degree programs, an internal approval is not required.
External Approvals
Through this request for institutional change, the College is seeking approval from the Higher Learning Commission to offer the above stated degree programs through distance education, specifically online.
For the HCPRN degree, the Board of Nursing for the state of Michigan has granted full approval of delivering this online degree.
Impact of Change
The most recent comprehensive visit by the Higher Learning Commission occurred in September, 1996. At that time, online course delivery was not yet implemented. In reviewing the concerns sited by the 1996 visitation team, three concerns are relevant to implementing the proposed change. While the concerns are thoroughly addressed as part of the preceding self-study report, they are cited here for application to the proposed change.
- Challenge: St. Clair County Community College has experienced a delay in implementing its plan for assessing student academic achievement.
- Addressing the Challenge: The College has progressed in the area of assessment. While the College has not conquered the assessment process and obtained institution-wide participation, steps are being taken to improve performance in this vital area. Assessment is implemented as discipline-specific plans, regardless of delivery method. Therefore, the online courses are assessed in the same manner as face-to-face sections. When a faculty member has taught both face-to-face and online sections, the assessment results have been compared as part of the overall consideration for assessment in the course.
- Challenge: While the Learning Resource Center’s staffing and collection budget have improved since St. Clair County Community College’s last accreditation visit, space problems remain unaddressed.
- Addressing the Challenge: Over the past ten years, the library has extended access to many resources through the Internet. This is of particular importance to support online students. Access to online databases is coordinated through the library website and available from both on and off campus.[6]
In 2002-2005, the College participated with the MCCVLC in a Fund for Improvement in Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) grant developing support services for online services. The library was one of the designated services and resulted in the implementation of an online “Research Help Now” service. This provides access to a virtual librarian at any time of day. The College has participated in this since 2005.
- Challenge: Managers and staff express concern about the lack of institutionally planned and supported professional development activities on campus.
- Addressing the Challenge: Instruction using online technologies has been the focus of many events planned by the Professional Development Committee, as well as conferences sponsored by institutional funding. The College recognizes that the use of technology requires ongoing professional development for new instructors to embrace the technology and existing online instructors to further skills.
Plans to Implement and Sustain the Change
The plans to implement and sustain the change include consideration of faculty with appropriate credentials, administrative structure to support the change, services to support students, financial resources, and a timeline for implementation. Because the College has taken steps to support these areas as the online courses have evolved, the proposed change simply requires that these be continued and enhanced as needed.
Faculty Involvement
The faculty teaching online courses must meet the same criteria required by the College for all instructors. To date, online faculty have previously taught for the College, thereby meeting the required qualifications and credentials. There are procedures in place that will maintain this level of qualified faculty, should the need arise to hire from outside the College. Anyone expressing an interest in teaching online who has not previously taught for the College is required to submit application materials through Human Resources. These materials are routed through the department in which the instruction occurs. In the requirements for new hires, experience with teaching using technology, particularly online, has been included in the job description.
To ensure that faculty have the skills and abilities needed to provide instruction in the online classroom, the faculty contract specifies that online faculty must attend, as needed, professional development that is provided in a variety of ways. In 2004, a grant was awarded by the MCCVLC to develop an online course teaching the basics of using Educator, the learning management system, to teach online (WEB 199). A total of 17 faculty have completed the requirements of this course. Additionally, one-on-one assistance is readily available through the Office of Online Learning.
College faculty and administrators have kept abreast of this innovation through a variety of resources:
- Organizations: League for Innovation in the Community College, Michigan Community College Virtual Learning Collaborative, Sloan-C Consortium, Educational Consortium of Michigan (ETOM), and Alliance for Excellence in Online Education (A4EOE)
- Publications: “Statement of Commitment by the Regional Accrediting Commissions for the Evaluation of Electronically, Offered Degree and Certificate Programs;” “Best Practices for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate Programs”; and various documents/conferences provided by the above organizations
Faculty involvement on the Online Committee provides a communication link in implementing and sustaining the change. As technology changes, for example, the committee would be the vehicle by which the appropriateness of the technology is judged. For the most part, the online courses are regulated by the same procedures as face-to-face courses for issues such as instructional evaluation, copyright, and assessment. When the alternative delivery method necessitates a modification of the procedure, the Online Committee is the consulting entity.
Administrative Structure
Initially, the unit responsible for the administration of online delivery began in the Academic Services department. In 2003, it moved to Student and Instructional Support Services. The current structure is displayed below.
The position of Associate Dean of eLearning and Instructional Technology is currently filled by an individual that has been primarily responsible for the daily administration of the online course delivery since fall 2000. Starting 2004/05, the departmental budget has included a small allocation for a part-time, contracted support person.
The minimal level of support for the online administration is a concern. The 2007 Operational Plan for the Office of Online Learning presents a proposal to convert the part-time, contracted position to a full-time, career plan position. This request will be part of budget submissions for the 2007/08 fiscal year.
While the administrative structure is within the Student and Instructional Support Services department, procedures are in place that integrate decisions with Academic Services. Specifically, the procedures for new course development for online delivery require cross-functional approvals. An instructor may request to develop and online course or a course identified for online delivery may be requested of the department. When the course and its developer are determined, the department chair acknowledges the development through a memo to the Office of Online Learning.
Once acknowledged, an Agreement for Online Course Development requires the faculty member to estimate the course structure and development timing. The agreement requires the signatures of both the Associate Dean of eLearning and Instructional Technology and the Dean of Instruction before development commences. When development is complete, the instructor performs a self-assessment using the MCCVLC Online Course Guidelines and Rubric, which is submitted to the Office of Online Learning. [7] The responses of the self-assessment are monitored collectively for possible process improvements.
Student Support Services
As courses were developed for online delivery, the support services needed for those students have also been developed. Because priority has been given to supporting instruction, however, some of these services are just beginning to be implemented and are planned for continuous improvement. While the online students are able to obtain these services face-to-face if preferred, distance delivery of these services exist as follows:
- Advising: The Student Success Center will provide assistance via email communication.
- Registration, Grades, Transcripts: The online student information system, the WAVE, is available to all students on the web.
- Financial Aid: Status information regarding financial aid applications and awards is available online via the WAVE.
- Bookstore: Textbooks can be purchased online through the College Store.
- Library: Databases and other resources are accessible through the website. A chat with a virtual librarian can occur online.
- Tutoring: The Academic Achievement Center will provide assistance via email communication.
- Technology Help: A centralized help desk is available 24/7 to students through a toll-free phone number. There are frequently-asked questions and demonstrations available on the College website. If either does not answer the question, the student is referred to the Office of Online Learning through an online form, email, or phone.
While these services are standard provisions, the College has undertaken one unique service. Before students can register for a first online course, they are required to complete WEB099, which is estimated to take 3-5 hours. This is an online tutorial that helps students to understand how well online learning fits their learning style. The intention is that WEB099 acclimates the students to the new learning environment, so that when the credit course begins, they are ready to learn the course curriculum. While some instructors have not fully endorsed the requirement, the response of students completing the course has been overwhelmingly positive.
Financial Resources
To implement the delivery of online courses, the College has invested in administrative personnel to administer the program, faculty compensation to support development and delivery, and the learning management system to host the course activity. While the cost of the software has been covered through the annual technology enhancement funds, the personnel and development compensation has been supported through the general fund. In winter 2006, a course fee for online sections was implemented to account for the additional resources needed to support this delivery method. The fee did not impact the enrollment trend for online sections.
Timeline to Implement the Proposed Change
This request for institutional change is being included in the comprehensive self-study and onsite visit planned for April 2-4, 2007. If the College is successful in obtaining approval of this request from the Higher Learning Commission, the College will be able to market the stated programs via online learning fall 2007.
Strategies for Evaluating the Change
Once the change is implemented, the College will measure its achievement of the expected outcomes and continue to integrate the assessment of student learning into its assessment program.
Institutional Evaluation
The College will evaluate its effectiveness to achieve the expected outcomes primarily by monitoring the achievement of goals and initiatives in the College strategic plan and operational plans.
Additionally, a Semester End Survey is posted in each online course section towards the end of both fall and winter semesters. For fall 2006, the response rate was 74%. It solicits feedback from students regarding the use of technology in the online learning experience. It includes the question, “Will you take another online course at SC4?” For fall 2006, 86% of the students responded, “Yes.” This indicates a high level of satisfaction with the online course in meeting the needs of the students.
Assessment of Student Learning
As stated above, the assessment of student learning in online courses occurs consistent with the methods the department has identified for the course, regardless of delivery method. Shortcomings identified with the overall assessment procedures of the College would be parallel to those courses delivered as online sections.
Request for Institutional Change: Conclusion
The information above has been provided in support of the request for institutional change to deliver selected degree programs via distance education technologies, specifically online.
