Distance Learning Update

1. Distance Learning Update John Opper Executive Director May 31, 2012

2. Data Points • During the 2010-11 academic year: • The Florida College System offered 24,605 e-learning courses. • Those courses represented 619,588 enrollments involving 268,374 unique students. • That instructional activity represented 33% of the students in the system. • Over the last five years: • E-learning course offerings in the college system have increased by 74% • Students taking advantage of those offerings have increased by over 89%. • Currently, web-based or Internet delivered instruction accounts for 98% of all e-learning courses offered by Florida’s colleges. • Florida College System lists 159 (certificate to bachelors level) degrees that can be completed through e-learning in the Florida Higher Education Distance Learning Catalog.

3. Distance Learning Data Elements • What is ‘distance learning’, hybrid instruction’ and face to face anyway? • Revisions to the data elements under discussion • Should all use the same data scheme to be consistent. • What is an online degree program?

4. DL Program Approval/Authorization • Reciprocal agreement discussions are underway involving WCET, SREB, SHEEO and other players. • There have been no alterations to the current need to obtain approval when offering courses or programs in another state.

5. Rapid Market Consolidation • Learning management systems • Tutoring • Plagarism detection • Publishing • More to come.

6. Online Registration Initiative • May 14, 2012 - Master Consortium Financial Aid Agreement distributed to colleges and universities for completion. • May 15, 17, 22, 24, 2012 – Transient Student Application/Financial Aid Training Webinars. • May, 2012 – FASTER and Inter-institutional data transfer testing continues. • June 1 – July 1, 2012 – Course loading for Fall semester begins. Implementation and testing of system available to FASTER colleges and universities that have completed the MCA and met the technical requirements. • June 8, 2012 – SPEEDE data system components completed and implemented for testing. • July 1, 2012 – Implementation of system available to all colleges and universities that have completed the MCA and met the technical requirements. • October 1 – November 1, 2012 – Course loading for Spring 2013. • December 31, 2012 - Institution interface w/Pass through to be completed.

7. Florida Virtual Campus

8. Florida Virtual Campus

9. Some Recurring Themes • Four years of consistent Legislative attention • Desire to utilize technology and the system of postsecondary institutions to enhance ability of students to obtain degrees • Automate and improve services to students consistent with marketplace activity and capabilities • Focus on eliminating barriers and identifying policy issues • Begin to achieve the benefits of a virtual institution program without the costly and unnecessary duplication of effort by capitalizing on the existing strengths of our colleges and universities. • New fees. • New services and ideas about streamlining processes. (rolling enrollment, embedded librarians, anytime mobile)

10. Adult Degree Completion Initiative • Six SUS institutions and two colleges – Cooperative Program Agreement • Support services for adult learners – “Concierge Approach”, Acceleration! • Competency-based programs? • Statewide Web portal • Access to FDLC online course catalog, FACTS advising resources, automated services • 2.5 Million proposed allocation – VETOED!

11. Riddles, Mysteries and Enigmas • Can we further enhance student use of our services? • How can we further enhance access to our services? • What is the next level for student services? • Are there some things we should try? • Can institutions truly work together to deliver courses and programs? • Barriers? • Opportunities? • Is distance learning really more expensive? • Can we move students through the system faster and more efficiently? • What about competency-based courses and programs? • What about credit for prior learning? • How can we produce more degrees given our current realities?

12. Open Educational Resources and Textbooks – Annual Survey • 22,129 students responded • 2,619 faculty responded • Responses and implications are still under analysis • But….. A few trends to think about.

13. Open Educational Resources and Textbooks – Faculty • Faculty and staff are increasingly familiar with open textbooks • Quality of open textbooks continues to be a concern. • Intentions for the future use of open educational resources is high. • Interest in authorship of open educational resources was positive. • Promotion and tenure for authorship is a barrier to development.

14. Open Educational Resources and Textbooks – Students • Students are not very familiar with open textbooks. • The expenditures for textbooks for the Spring 2012 term were high. • Students are willing to pay a fee in support of open textbooks. • The high cost of textbooks are impacting student selection of courses, retention and success, and decisions to purchase required textbooks. • 63.6% Not purchase the required textbook • 49.2% Take fewer courses • 45.1% Not register for a specific course • 26.7% Drop a course • 20.7% Withdraw from a course

15. Open Educational Resources and Textbooks – Students • Key reasons for lack of interest in digital textbooks still involve: • Inconvenient to read • Desire for print version to write in and highlight • Difficulty in moving through to different pages/sections – hard to use.

16. E-Textbook Symposium • Feedback has been good so far. • There are some pilots and discussions underway • The ‘digital materials’ fee? • Orange Grove – Continued contributions! • Next steps up to YOU? • We could….. • Determine participation/interest • Select a range of courses • Target specific competencies and libraries of content • Collect quotes • Negotiate terms