Issue Contents

Community Colleges: Opportunities in Online Learning

Kathleen Ives
Events Producer
The Sloan Consortium

Community colleges focus on providing higher education opportunities to both the community and the workforce. The United States boasts more than 1,844 community colleges. Of these, 1,101 are public institutions and 743 are private community colleges [1]. The philosophy that binds these institutions together includes open access and equity, comprehensive program offerings, a community-based philosophy, a commitment to teaching and to lifelong learning [2].

Yet, the nation's community colleges now face unprecedented challenges. In the past three years, student enrollment pressure has escalated, and college principals have struggled with new leadership paradigms, steep state budget cuts, limited facilities, faculty turnover and expenses, quality curriculum, a progressively more diverse student body, increasing numbers of students who need remedial work before they can take college-level classes, and competition by for-profit institutions, and rising technology costs.

Seeking out innovative approaches to developing and growing distance-learning programs may increase community colleges' capacity to address some of these issues without massive, new building projects and investments. The following include opportunities community colleges can explore to increase their distance learning presence.

1. Partnerships with Larger Institutions For financially-challenged community colleges, partnering with another institution in the development and hosting of a distance education program not only assists in the reduction of technological expenditures, but also enables the community college to take advantage of other skill sets such as instructional programming, multimedia expertise, and the like. For example, Quinsigamond Community College in Massachusetts has just finalized an agreement with UMass Online; whereby UMass Online will host and provide 24/7 customer support for that institution's distance education programming.

2. Partnerships with High Schools and Businesses Community colleges can expand their reach by partnering with K-12 systems, employers, and other community colleges. For example, Massachusetts Colleges Online (MCO) is a consortium of the 15 community colleges and 9 state colleges of Massachusetts. The institutions have joined to share their convenient and flexible online courses and programs with both high school and college students throughout the state and beyond [3]. Another example is Project SAIL (Specialty Asynchronous Industry Learning), a program in which community colleges collaborate to promote access, exchange, and dissemination of industry-driven programs for community college students. After completing an 18 month proof-of-concept pilot, the project has received funding for an additional two years from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to expand the project and help it become self-sustaining [4].

3. Outsourcing Curriculum Development Building an inventory of distance learning curriculum quickly and cost effectively can prove daunting for many community colleges. Updating the curriculum can also be a formidable task. One-stop shops with no setup costs, no space or equipment commitments, and minimal implementation constraints provide a solution. For example, the eLearning Center [5] for colleges and universities contains content from major course developers, and is free of charge. The eLearning Center can be customized and branded for each school and utilized in partnership with local organizations, corporations, and community college partners.

4. Enrollment Booster Many distance-learning initiatives have nothing to do with distance, but have everything to do with convenience. When course material is presented via a learning management system (LMS), students can read through the material, work on assignments, and email their instructors anytime. Students essentially "schedule" the class themselves. The Massachusetts Department of Education is currently funding and piloting an Adult Basic Education (ABE) distance education project for a population interested in obtaining a general education diploma (GED), but who have time-and resource-challenges.

5. One Answer to Occupational Shortages Many community colleges are over-enrolled in programs such as nursing and dental hygiene; yet, significant occupational shortages exist in these and other industries [6]. Walden University, an accredited online university, has begun to explore potential partnerships with community colleges to produce qualified nurse educators, instructors, and training specialists. Walden has introduced an online degree program open to registered nurses with a diploma, an associate's degree, or a bachelor's degree, leading to a Master of Science degree in nursing with a specialization in education [6].

6. Responding to the Needs of a Digital Generation An army sergeant based in Iraq, a woman whose parents have moved to another part of the country, another individual possessing a disability-these are the new populations that community college distance education programs can serve. Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania has launched a virtual campus as an extension of the institution's distance learning program [7]. Harrisburg's virtual campus provides workforce development programs and key support services such as advising, tutoring, registration, a bookstore, and a library. Students who participate in the virtual campus enroll for one of the following reasons: convenience, scheduling conflicts, not living in proximity of one of the college's four campuses, and/or are homebound.

As illustrated by these examples, community colleges can make an impact by exploring distance learning opportunities to meet the educational needs of an often under-served student body.

1. Digest of Education Statistics (2003). Degree-granting institutions, by control and type of institution: 1949-50 to 2002-03 . Retrieved July 7, 2005, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt246.asp
2. American Association of Community Colleges (2004). Community College Fact Sheet. Retrieved July 9, 2005, from http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutCommunityColleges/Fast_Facts1/Fast_Facts.htm
3. Massachusetts Colleges Online (2005). About MCO. Retrieved July 10, 2005, from http://www.mco.mass.edu/about.jsp
4. Perez, S. (2005, April 15). Project SAIL creates market for specialty courses. Distance Education Report, 9(8), 4
5. Gatlin, S. (2005, March 14). A one-stop shop for web-based learning. Community College Week, 17(16), 23.l
6. Graham, M., & Patterson, J. (2005, March 14). Using cyberspace to remedy the nursing shortage. Community College Week, 17(16), 8-13.
7. Adams, L. (2005, March 14). Delivering classes to a digital generation. Community College Week, 17(16), 8-10.

(Join Sloan-C in our online workshop: Community Colleges: Best Practices in Online Curriculum Development, September 20-29. Kathleen Ives of Sloan-C, Stella Perez of the League for Innovation in Community Colleges, & Doug Elam of Kirkwood Community College will host.)

The Sloan Consortium Honored for Post-Hurricane Delivery of Online Courses

Needham, MA - August 8, 2006 - In early September of 2005, within days of Hurricane Katrina striking the Gulf Coast of the U.S. and levies breaking in New Orleans, LA, a group of Sloan-C member institutions came together in an effort to offer free online courses to students displaced by the storm (and later Hurricane Rita). The initiative, dubbed "Sloan Semester," created a fully functional "virtual" institution in 21 days. Supported with a $1.1 million dollar grant from The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Sloan Semester made available more than 1,350 courses from over 150 institutions in 38 states available to over 1,750 students, utilizing over 4,000 "seats" in online courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

For more information about the project, including a complete description of the activities that took place to launch this initiative, click here.

Recently, Sloan-C and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation were recognized by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and given the SREB Exceptional Service Award. At a dinner on June 25, 2006, Frank Mayadas, President of Sloan-C, accepted the award.

In addition, on May 1, 2006, the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) recognized the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Sloan-C, and SREB through a presentation of the Irving-Barrier Buster Award 2006 at the ALL ADEC meeting in Washington, D.C.

These recognitions and awards speak to the heart of what the Sloan Consortium membership represents, and we wish to thank all of the 135 Sloan-C institutions that participated in this effort. To see a complete list of institutions, click here.

The following statistics outline the extent of the Sloan Semester's impact:

• 153 institutions offered a total of 1,345 fully online courses. 800 courses offered by 135 institutions from 36 states wound up enrolling Sloan Semester students.
• 4,114 seats were requested by students.
• 1,736 students applied to the Sloan Semester and 1,587 were admitted.
• More than 9,000 enrollments were processed in Sloan Semester courses.
• Some of the courses enrolled only Sloan Semester students, and other courses enrolled a mix of Sloan Semester students with the institution's native students (students already attending the host institution).
• Participating institutions contributed (forgave) more than $3.1 in tuition and fee dollars.
• 5,245 seats inside the Sloan Semester courses were filled by native students.
• More than 75% of Sloan Semester students were female, and 49.5% were African American.
• 26.3% of Sloan Semester students came from Xavier University, 24.6% came from Delgado Community College, 9.4% came from Loyola University, and 7.9% came from the University of New Orleans. The remaining Sloan Semester students were spread across 26 hurricane-impacted campuses.
• The top five institutions registering Sloan Semester students were Massachusetts Colleges Online, Community College of Denver, Northwestern State University, San Jacinto College, and Tulsa Community College. (For a full list of providing institution, click here.)

We also wish recognize various individuals that were active in the effort:

• The faculty and staff from the 135 Sloan-C institutions that provided free online courses to students displaced by the hurricanes (Katrina and Rita)
• The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which provided generous financial support in the form of a $1.1 million grant to provide stipends to the provider institutions and to pay for our marketing efforts
• Key staff from the two main organizations that supported the Sloan Semester - Janet Moore, Keith Bourne, Margie Quinlan, Martine Dawant, John Sener, and Jeff Seaman from Sloan-C, and Mary Larson and J.J. Kwashnak from the SREB Electronic Campus
• Patti Giglio, Media Relations Specialist
• Kathy Frizzell, Chief Student Advisor
• The over 30 advisors from Sloan-C institutions that volunteered to provide advising to the Sloan Semester students
• Sam Wilson and TG, (the Texas Guaranteed student loan agency) for providing specialized aid counseling to hurricane victims
• Xap Corporation, SREB's Electronic Campus technology partner, who provided the technology infrastructure, did an amazing job adapting their technology for the Sloan Semester

Sincerely,

The Sloan Semester Steering Committee:

Burks Oakley, University of Illinois Online
Bruce Chaloux, SREB Electronic Campus
Frank Mayadas, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Sloan Consortium
John Bourne, Sloan Consortium, Olin College
Ray Schroeder, University of Illinois, Springfield

Learn From the Experts - The Sloan-C 2006 Workshop Series

Community Collges-Best Practices in Online Curriculum Development - September 20 - 29

Community colleges boast a rich history of providing courses mirroring the needs of the local community, as well as promoting both accessibility and affordability for students. With the advent of online learning, supported by high-end learning management systems and other forms of collaborative technology, how do these institutions "walk the talk" by providing accessible and affordable curriculum? Join leading community college educators as they discuss innovative approaches toward creating non-prohibitive online programs of study, such as converting overenrolled programs to Asynchronous Learning Networks, partnering with larger institutions to acquire much-needed resources, knowledge, support, instructional design and developing online workforce programs.

Details and registration.

Getting Started: Online Course Development Basics - September 27 - October 20

Based on research and the Sloan-C effective practices, this workshop provides the foundation for delivering online programs. Faculty gain enhanced pedagogical knowledge and learn effective strategies for creative, online classroom facilitation. The workshop is designed as an 'active' learning experience, enabling faculty to explore actual online courses from several disciplines and institutions, as well as build a syllabus leading to the major outcome of the workshop: building a complete online course module relevant to their own educational interests.

Details and registration.

The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C), sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is composed of institutions and organizations dedicated to continually improving the quality, scale, and breadth of their online programs, according to their own distinctive missions, so that education becomes a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines.

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