Why Institutions Offer Online Courses and Programs
What are the important reasons for embarking on online delivery of courses and programs at your institution?
Christopher,
Providing structure is a crucial element, especially for the population typically targeted with online programs. In addition, to follow your thread, setting clear expectations is an essential element that must tie into a comprehensive orientation program, which is necessary for developing a clear understanding of the expectations as well as the commitment for success in an online program.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Christopher,
Beginning to offer quality online programs is a major undertaking that should always start with an "online learning strategy" that interfaces with the mission and goals of the institution. As part of that strategy student-to-content, student-to-faculty and student-to-student engagements are necessary and should be carefully thought out, planned and measured to ensure the online course is achieving the stated learning objectives. Unfortunately, many schools start off by thinking they will offer online learning to increase revenue and "keep-up" with the competition and course design is only one aspect of providing a quality and sustainable online program. It sounds like your institution is in the early stages of offering online instruction.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Hi Martha
At our school, we ran into the problem of student procrastination. We were able to tighten up assignment due date requirements, creating a better structure, and it helped quite a bit. I think that communicating clearly the expectations between the student and the school is helpful. Some students need more structure in order to succeed. I trust you have been able to mitigate this issue at your institution.
Our institution started as an online school in order to provide educational programs for those who are working and/or cannot travel to a physical campus. We studied course design in light of facilitating student interaction with the content, other students, and with the instructors. Our study and subsequent evaluations show that this is a necessary and effective means of delivering education for many (not all) students.
Betsy,
Good response. How would you integrate your current academic strategy with an online strategy to achieve comparatively, similar retention and completion rates as your on ground programs?
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Be competitive, more schools now offer distance learning programs. Other reason could be accessibility for all. Online programs open the doors for all people that have not chance to attend an onsite class for different reasons (diversity). I believe that online programs is an option for those who want to achieve their professional goals in their own pace.
Mileidys,
Could you elaborate on how you would position your online learning strategy to address the needs of a diverse student population? Secondly, how would you assess the effectiveness of "...leading [sic] the students adequately for them to be disciplined [sic] in acquiring a conscious learning"?
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Mileidys,
Thank you for your response. Granted many institutions see themselves in a "no alternative" state in order to remain competitive; however, doing so without a formal "online learning strategy" could lead to spending a lot of resources just trying to maintain a place in the distance education market. How would you propose assessing the value of entering into the distance learning space and matching it to a return on investment?
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Hi Marta. I definitely coincide with you in the aspect that offering online courses the students have another possibility to continue their studies. It is an opportunity they can get advantage to. The most important aspect is to lead the students adequately for them to be discipline in acquiring a conscious learning.
It is a reality that all the schools want to compete in the industry of technology because it is part of our current challenge. Nevertheless, it is true that online courses and school websites offer another possibility to the students to practice and acquire expertise in a content area as well as the knowledge and abilities required to continue their studies. I consider online programs are really good and necessary not only for the students, but also for the teachers that need to be prepared to face the NEW HIGH TECH ERA. That is why I consider that institutions offer online courses and programs for their benefit and for the benefit of others that have the desire to learn or the obligation to continuously increase their career potential.
Although online schooling does not work for every individual, it certainly seems to be taking the educational world by storm. Online coursework has infiltrated the educational arena so much that high schoolers can now obtain their HSDs 100% remotely if they choose; and elementary school teachers are implementing some online activities in their classrooms. Who would have thought??? However, in regards to my own institution, I believe the important reasons for embarking on online delivery of courses would have to include convenience for our students and competitiveness for the institution.
Our institution is planning on opening a BSN program and we want to be able to deliver the pre-reqs necessary for our students to start their major courses without requiring a lot of additional space or labs.
Phillip,
I'm not sure what you mean by stating "...instant online education is guaranteed" with reference to the Forum question. You certainly did not answer the question of "why institutions offer online courses." I suggest you reflect on the question and try again.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Well, I would have to say that online courses and programs has become extremely popular today mainly because it is the best way in which instant online education is guaranteed. There are plenty of different ways in which it is possible for you to access some of the best types of online universities where you can get the best kind of work opportunities. This also allows students to have a flexible schedule!
Ed,
Thanks for the elaboration. Given your enrollments, it might be time to look into the options provided by learning platforms designed for serving education institutions. Although more costly than your current approach, their support is highly capable of handling large numbers of students on a 24/7 basis.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Basically we observed what others in our industry was doing with online offerings and because i had previous experience with webex and gotoseminar we did free courses using blackboard as a pilot for awhile. Once we felt comfortable with the tools and the implementation of how we wanted our content to be delivered we began offering students the choice between virtual classes and physical classes. Most of the staff feel comfortable with the delivery using this platform, but technical issues can be overwhelming especially because our classes are real time and sometimes the instructors are unaware students are having technical issues.We can have at times hundreds of students logged into several running courses at a given time so its impossible to staff enough support guys/gals to respond quickly to all possible onliners.
Ed,
Thanks for your post. As a veteran of online offerings, how did your institution initially determine offering online courses were going to be viable? Was there a concentrated effort to conduct a SWOT and competitive analysis and was a specific strategy developed for online offerings that interfaced with your institutional strategic plan? How involved were your faculty in the decision making process? Finally, how are you assuring your students don't get frustrated with the "technical issues" and that they don't negatively impact your brand?
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Our institution has now run online courses for four years, staying in step with our competitors.Much of the planning has worked seamlessly and online enrollment has increased significantly each year. The biggest nightmare we have encountered is on the support side. When technical issues arise having the manpower to swiftly communicate with online students is an impossible task.
Hi Martha,
Thank you for your post to the Forum. I trust this course will be valuable,provide additional insight, and perhaps, ways to enhance your distance delivery programs. As you may have noted in earlier postings, acknowledging the characteristics of your student population and their unique learning needs is the first step. To offer effective quality online courses, multiple factors need to be considered and monitored. But most importantly, a distance education strategy must be developed that aligns with the mission and vision of the institution that has the fiscal support to insure its integrity and continuation. I'm looking forward to our future Forum interactions.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
