Community

Effective practice: Learning Effectiveness

Learning community

• Actively Learning Online Human Anatomy
  Rio Salado College utilizes active learning methods to improve learning effectiveness, and faculty and student satisfaction. -- more
  
• Tutorial Instructional Model
  The tutorial instructional model approach, developed by Northern Virginia Community College, builds learner-instructor interaction into the learning process, enabling satisfying levels of interaction between faculty and students. -- more
  
• Student-Led Discussion Build Complex Understandings of Psychology Concepts
  A grading system developed by Herkimer County Community College that rewards thoughtful questions and thorough answers leads to a better understanding of course concepts. -- more
  
• Assuring Connection and Connectivity to Entry Level Students through an Extended, Instructor-Led Orientation Class
  Saint Leo University requires students to take a mandatory eight-week, instructor-led orientation class which assists students with transitional issues, and provides an overview of different support services. -- more
  
• The Mock Trial Project
  University of Massachusetts Lowell offers the Mock Trial Project as a part of an ethics course to get students to think critically about ethical issues. -- more
  
• Using Cohorts to Build an Online Learning Community
  The cohort structure of The Masters of Science in Organizational Behavior (MSOL) ONLINE at Mercy College creates an extensive learning community for the students in this non-resident, 12-month interdisciplinary graduate program by providing opportunities for consistent supportive interactions between students, between online students and the larger Mercy community, between students and instructors, between students and their mentors, and between the instructors themselves. -- more
  

Effective practices:Cost Efectiveness

Consortia and partnerships

Effective practices: Access

Academic and administrative services to enable community

• Rapid Transfer Credit Reporting
  Saint Leo University found ways to produce rapid responses to applicants, and to create program outlines for degree completion that include thousands of sources of equivalent transfer credit. -- more
  
• A Systems Approach to Online Learning
  Rio Salado College works as a system to support its distance/online program. -- more
  
• Access to Online Support Services
  Pace University supports students with providing technical assistance, pertinent information and tutoring services. -- more
  
• Electronic Document Delivery
  University of Maryland University College's Electronic Delivery service allows UMUC students and faculty to access journal articles and book chapters. -- more
  
• Common Application Form
  Kentucky Virtual University (KYVU) enables students from participating institutions to register for KYVU courses using a common online registration form. -- more
  
• Course Wizards: Successful Students as Tutors, Facilitators, and Role Models
  Mercy College uses "course wizards" to make its students more comfortable about asking for assistance. -- more
  
• Test Proctoring for Online Students
  Florida State University has revamped the proctoring process to provide a secure testing environment for FSU students. -- more
  
• Online Services: Getting the Word Out In Person
  Associate Registrar Bob Baer conducts in-person workshops regularly to inform others on how to utilize Community College of Baltimore County, Essex Campus's web-based services. -- more
  
• Web-Based Student Services for Online Learners -- Resources
  The Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET) provides students with time- and location-independent support services. -- more
  
• Anywhere, Anytime Tutoring in Real Time
  SMARTHINKING provides various one-on-one online tutoring services to students. -- more
  
• The Power of Community: Increasing Access through Online Activities and Involvement Opportunities
  Saint Leo University has developed an online platform to facilitate student involvement, community, activity, and other opportunities. -- more
  
• One-Click Access to Student Services and Resources from Online Courses
  Online learning makes integrating student services and resources into courses much easier than with traditional place-based methods. The University of Phoenix's Student Resource Page allows one-click access to many student services and resources from online courses, providing one example of how these can be seamlessly meshed in an online learning environment. -- more
  
• Online Mentor Performance Reporting
  Florida State University's online mentor performance reporting system enables FSU to effectively evaluate the services provided. Online students rate their mentors via webforms for rapid feedback during the semester. The feedback influences management and training of mentors, yielding high satifaction, retention, and success rates at FSU. -- more
  
• Making Distance Courses Accessible to Students with Disabilities
  The University of Washington's DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center promotes the accessible design of online courses nationwide. DO-IT, the UW Access Technology Lab, and the UW Distance Learning program have demonstrated an effective practice in this area. -- more
  
• Live Online Interactive Library Services -- Statewide
  Maryland residents and students can access 24/7 live online interactive library services through AskUsNow, a service which uses the expertise of librarians to provide answers to questions, research guidance, and help navigating the Internet. -- more
  
• Live Online Interactive Library Services -- Nationwide
  24/7 Reference enables patrons of participating libraries to access 24/7 live online interactive library services. Library patrons can ask questions and get answers, in real time, on the Internet, from live expert librarians and reference staff. -- more
  
• Providing anytime, anywhere online access to higher education for a highly mobile learner population.
  eArmyU allows U.S. Army Soldiers unprecedented access to all the resources needed to pursue higher education while simultaneously serving in a demanding work environment. -- more
  

Effective practices: Faculty Satisfaction

Faculty participation with new populations of students and interactive learning communities

• Online Teaching Tips Website - www.onlineteachingtips.org
  We have developed a website of tips and tricks for developing online courses and teaching online for any instructor to use, not just those at our institution. We want this website to be a rich resource for those looking for a good assignment idea, strategy for increasing online discussion, or good articles or books on the subject. -- more
  

• Best Practices in e-Learning Online Conference
  The University of Calgary's annual Best Practices in e-Learning Online Conference is an excellent opportunity for practitioners in e-learning to meet, share and showcase their best practices with each other. -- more
  
• Promoting Faculty Collaboration through an Online Faculty Book Club
  An online faculty book club at the University of Massachusetts Lowell provides opportunities for online faculty to learn from each other, collaborate and share their experiences around a specific online teaching topic. -- more
  
• Building Faculty Skills and Confidence: The Faculty Fellows Program
  The Faculty Fellows Program at George Mason University was created to increase faculty skills and interest in on-line education. The program provided a forum for faculty to learn new skills and share their experiences with each other. The program provided both technical and social support for our faculty embarking in distance education. -- more
  

Effective practices: Student Satisfaction

Online channels for lifelong affiliation with community

• Tutorial Instructional Model
  Northern Virginia Community College's tutorial instructional model approach builds learner-instructor interaction into the learning process, enabling satisfying levels of interaction between faculty and students. -- more
  
• Large Enrollment Courses -- Managing Effectively
  The New Jersey Institute of Technology identifies six key principles that enable large upper division and graduate courses to be delivered successfully online using commercial discussion management software. -- more
  

• Personalized, Student-Centered Life-Long Learning for Adult Learners
  University of Phoenix's online courses are designed for adults to learn efficiently through interactive discussions. -- more
  

• Student Satisfaction and Reported Learning: Interaction, Learning Community Formation, and Beyond
  State University of New York Learning Network's courses emphasize the importance of required interactions between student and faculty. -- more
  
• Student Satisfaction is Rooted in A Learning Community
  Pennsylvania State University World Campus's Community Directory website connects online students to the university and builds a learning community. -- more