Distance Education

And

Technology Incentive Grant Program

Prepared by Nancy Szofran

April 10, 2003

The Idaho Electronic Campus (IEC), was created in August 2000. This website is an aggregation of the distance education courses offered by the seven public postsecondary schools in Idaho. The IEC website is but one element that provides a benchmark against which progress and effectiveness is measured. Beginning with Fall 2000 course offerings, a long-term data strategy was identified. The data to be collected included website statistics, Technology Incentive Grants’ summative reports, and online student surveys. A body of evidence dating from Fall 2000 through Fall 2002 has been collected and illustrates the success of the strategies used by higher education in Idaho.

During Fall 2002 (Aug-Oct) more than 7,000 people visited the IEC website to search for courses, to get admissions information and to use the online resources (dictionaries, thesauruses). The site averaged 84 visitors (prospective students) every day and on average, the most active hour of usage was 12 a.m. while the least active was 6 a.m. Usage trends of this site support the popular belief that people use web resources at their convenience or preferred time of activity.

The number of online students enrolled in Idaho classes from outside the U.S. provides evidence of the truly World Wide nature of distance education. Anecdotally, two faculty reported their outreach: Spring 2002 Dr. Thorsen (BSU) had 130 distance students from the Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the Marshal Islands, Italy, Republic of Dominica, Canada, and Quatar. That semester, Dr. Cillay (UI), had 52 students representing Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Taiwan, Thailand, and Hong Kong. According to October 2002 statistical report, the ten countries visiting the website most frequently are: US, Canada, Japan, UK, Australia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Russian Federation, Brazil and Greece.

DISTANCE EDUCATION

From Fall 2000 through Spring 2002, 42,280 students enrolled in 3,810 classes at Idaho’s seven postsecondary institutions. Student enrollment in Idaho’s seven colleges’ and universities’ Internet classes increased by 115% between Fall 2000 and Spring 2002. The growth of student enrollment increased in most content areas, e.g.:

· Business 71%

· Education 69%

· Health 52%

· Math 14%

· Science 175%

The course offerings in Math include Calculus 1.2.and 3, Linear Algebra, Finite Math, Geometry, Trigonometry, Differential Equations, Algebra, College Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, and more. The Science curriculum includes General Zoology, Environmental Biotechnology, Descriptive Anatomy, Basic Immunology, College Chemistry, Medical Microbiology, Cell Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and more.

The overall completion rate (students who completed a course; i.e. did not withdraw or drop out) averaged 80% (national average of 40%). Completion rates for various content areas on average are:

· Business 81%

· Education 83%

· Engineering 74%

· English/Lang. Arts 73%

· Fine Arts 82%

· Health 90%

· History 79%

· Law 95%

· Math 73%

· Psychology 80%

· Science 79%

More than 2.25 million students enrolled in Distance Education in 2002. In Idaho alone, 12,172 students enrolled in 1,037 distance education classes. Seventy one percent of the courses, 736, were visual or video-based. Student enrollment was 7,848. Twenty nine percent of the courses, 301, were Internet-based and 4,324 students enrolled in these courses. Seven hundred seventy seven undergraduate courses had 10,284 students enrolled while the 260 graduate courses enrolled 1,888 students. The highest student enrollments were recorded in History, Health and Education. The content areas which produced the highest number of credits were History, Health and Science. Student enrollment in Internet classes increased by 46% while student enrollment in video-based classes decreased by 24%. This trend in the growth of distance education in general and with Internet-based course delivery specifically is representative of most U.S. colleges and universities. Forecasted growth is amazing. It is anticipated that there will be 25 million people registered for postsecondary learning experiences by 2007, and most of them will be online.

STUDENT SATISFACATION SURVEY

All programs and courses of the seven publicly funded institutions of higher education in Idaho meet the rigorous standards of WICHE's "Principles of Good Practice for Electronically Offered Academic Degree and Certificate Programs". In addition to monitoring the quality of distance education courses and programs, the State Board of Education surveys Student Satisfaction of the online programs. A number of studies link student success to student satisfaction. Students enrolled in courses taught by faculty who have received Technology Incentive Grant funding for their courses complete the online student survey at the end of each semester. The survey, developed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, measures satisfaction in the following areas: academic and intellectual content of the course, course structure and mechanics, instructor role and performance, and peer interaction. The survey responses are measured on the Likert scale, 1-5 (1=strongly disagree; 5=strongly agree). The average for each category is consistently in the 3+ and 4 ranges with the exception of peer interaction. The survey has three questions in this category:

· Reading and responding to other students’ postings was helpful in understanding course material.

· I believe that I helped my class peers in the learning process.

· Peer critiques are a useful way to reinforce learning.

Students typically record the lowest scores in the second question above: the value of their contribution to their classmate’s experience.

IDAHO TECHNOLOGY INCENTIVE GRANT PROGRAM

Many of the courses represented in the IEC were developed through the Idaho Technology Incentive Grant program. Investments in distance education courses began in earnest at the four-year college and universities in 1997 with the SBOE sponsored Technology Incentive Grant program. The goal of this grant program is to promote the creation and use of innovative methods of instruction. Each funded project addresses this goal through a variety of means:

· Focusing on integrating technology into the curriculum

· Enhancing the rate and quality of student learning

· Enhancing faculty productivity; and

· Increasing access to educational programs

Since 1997, the state has invested more than $10 million in 70 projects. These projects have impacted more than 5,500 faculty and 78,000 students, resulted in 107 publications and 334 presentations at professional conferences, and either developed or enhanced 1,086 courses. The 15 projects for FY03 represented an interesting and welcome trend to the Board of Education who envisions a seamless k-20 system. Clearly 11 of the 15 projects represented learning opportunities for high school juniors and seniors or public school teachers in areas which included pre-calculus, biology (with an online lab) and the core curriculum.

Strengths of the Idaho approach to distance education include our focus on student services, as well as:

1. We offer choice; multiple modalities; not limited to one transmission type.

2. The colleges and universities develop courses and programs unique to the needs of their students and strategically plan according to the campus’s role, mission, and goals.

3. Even with limited funding, all 7 postsecondary schools participate and contribute.

4. At a time when the .coms are bombs, and widely touted programs like NYU Online cease to exists, we are thriving. Courses and programs continue to grow and enrollment is increasing.

The combined effects of new developments in technology and distance learning are revolutionizing the way postsecondary education is organized and delivered. Many of the assumptions and foundations upon which higher education has developed its regulatory and organizational policies are being challenged. An unexpected or perhaps unintended consequence of the Technology Incentive Grant program on one four-year campus has been the rapid acceptance and embracing of the technologies, resulting in policy changes. The university has not altered its tenure policy, but has changed its hiring practices with some departments requiring new faculty to have online teaching experience while other departments strongly urge candidates to come with these skills and abilities. One university is contemplating using technology to manage the capacity issue – increasing the number of students served. A large-population course, meeting three days in a classroom, can be changed to one day on campus with the equivalent of two days online instruction. This would allow the university to extend that course (physical classroom space) to two additional cohorts of students. Faculty productivity continues to be a topic of much discussion, discourse and composition. Early results from one of the Technology Incentive Grant projects illustrate the leveraging of resources in a technology-rich mathematics lab that projects a salary savings of $100,000 (8 faculty, 1500 students, 3 courses developed/enhanced: Math 108, Math 143, and Pre-Calculus).

A number of totally online degree programs have been developed: AA and AAS degrees, Environmental Science (undergraduate and graduate), Natural Resources (undergraduate), GIS (certificate), Educational Technology (graduate), Instructional and Performance Technology (graduate), Educational leadership (graduate), and Curriculum and Instruction (graduate).

The first of a series of bi-annual symposia was held May 22, 2002 at Boise State University. The purpose of the symposium was to provide a forum for faculty to share their experiences and to network with their peers from other institutions. The day included opening remarks from Dr. Ruud, Governor’s Office, as well as a noon-time presentation from Dr. Judith Ramaley, Associate Director for the National Science Foundation. The faculty participated in focus groups and discussion groups throughout the day.

The Symposium for 2003 has been cancelled due to funding issues. The event will likely become a biennial event.

In conclusion …

The literature is confusing. For every article supporting the value of distance education, there is another article purporting the demise of quality education as we know it. We face vexing questions as we try to define the meaning and purpose of undergraduate education, the nature and goals of graduate education, and the nature of faculty work. It has been suggested that by 2007 there will be 25 million people registered for postsecondary learning experiences in the United States (NLII-SHEEO, 1997). The vast majority will not be pursuing a degree program; they will be pursuing skills and a knowledge base largely in response to changes in the economy. The implications for this new learning environment are wide-ranging: broadband capabilities, multi-media presentations and new pedagogical models.

The most important gift of learning is the nurturing of a prepared mind – and a deep sense of social responsibility and a commitment to the importance of citizenship in a community of others (Ramaley, 2002 Symposium). As we continue to develop and explore, we are being shaped by the effects of an electronic age as well as contributing by how we learn, what we learn, when we learn and how we make sense out of what we know. We are on the route to discovery!