Why Institutions Offer Online Courses and Programs
What are the important reasons for embarking on online delivery of courses and programs at your institution?
My organization needs to be competitive. We began online learning reluctantly.
Joseph,
When your institution determined it would offer online courses, was it part of a strategic planning effort or was it an executive decision made to Pattern the competition? How in depth was the planning cycle and was it reflected in the "strategic drivers" for the institution?
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Same here. At first my organization wasn't keen on online programs and was even dismissive of them. Now the rise of massive open online courses (MOOCs)has begun intruding on the domain of traditional higher ed learning, and it seems that everyone is talking about it. Our closest competitors have already taken the plunge and reaped the benefits as early adaptors. We're trying to catch up and not be perceived as out of step with today's education trends. My biggest concern is that we don't compromise our brand and be imitators rather than innovators.
Veronica,
Your concern is very realistic. In order to address your concerns of not compromising your brand or being considered an imitator you should have a well thought out plan for implementing online delivery, Too often schools make the decision to launch online courses without considering the implications involved with just trying to "catch up." Do you have such a plan developed?
Dr. Robert Roehrich
We've only gotten to the stage of outlining some minimum requirements for our online programs. I'm hoping to use what I learn from this course to help develop a more detailed strategy. It's really sinking in to the entire team how massive this undertaking is!
Veronica,
I commend you on developing a significant awareness that many within our industry do not develop until they are "knee-deep" in online offerings. If I can be of further assistance, please let me know.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
The important reasons for embarking on online delivery of courses and programs at our institution is mainly to stay competitive in the ever growing market. It is also important because so many people already have full time jobs and can't afford to stop working to do continuing education in order to advance their careers, so offering online education allows them to gain the perspectives and knowledge needed to be successful in an advancement in their careers but also allows them the time and opportunity to learn at their own pace and still work full-time, take care of their families, and fulfill all of their other obligations, be it professional or personal.
Heather,
Thank you for your response. Please review the threads for this course and you will find some agreement with your reasons for offering online courses and some additional support. However, keep in mind that delivering online instruction in much more labor intensive and requires a high degree of oversight to insure the quality and integrity of the coursework and delivery. I find it interesting that one of the main reasons for offering online courses is that "today's students have full time jobs and can't afford to..." How did so many students, prior to the availability of online instruction, complete their degrees while working and physically attending classes after work? I raise this simply to make a the point that online instruction is not a panacea and it doesn't work for everyone. I hope this adds another perspective to your response.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
It is important for institutions to offer online courses and programs to remain competitive in today's ever-changing education landscape.
This landscape in not only changing the way students experience a classroom environment, it is also changing who chooses to pursue an education. The online courses and programs offer flexibility to make attending class more convenient for the adult learner.
Adena Johnston
Adena,
Thank you for your response and while I fundamentally agree with you, please consider the following. Reacting to the competitive environment requires serious introspection on the part of the institution’s leadership. Generally, this starts with reviewing the mission, vision and goals for the institution, followed by a strategic planning process initiated with a S.W.O.T. analysis (i.e. assessing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). The S.W.O.T. analysis guides the identification of positives and negatives inside the institution that will help determine its capabilities and resources for conducting a quality online education program. Without this process, deciding to offer online programs in order to be competitive may result in a costly business decision. It's important for an institution to plan out its distance education programs in a way that is consistent with the mission and its on-ground offerings. After there is agreement that online offerings are consistent with the institution's mission and goals, then a distance education strategy should be developed as part of the organization’s overall strategic plan. Has your institution used this approach in considering offering online courses? Was a market analysis conducted to determine the breadth of the potential market for your offerings? Do you have a Distance Learning Strategy in place that interfaces with the institutional Strategic Plan and guides the online program?
Dr. Roehrich
Dr. Roehrich, I couldn't agree with you more and I apologize for the brevity of my response - I was granted access to the course so that I can visualize the distinct portions while assisting a colleague with preparing curriculum to be facilitated through Maxknowledge.
I have deep background in the online/distance education arena and the institution I was formerly affiliated with (DeVry University) had a robust plan that was embedded in their overall mission.
Your response is something I look for when conducting distance education visits for ACICS. I also help my clients to work through this process if they are new to this modality.
Again, I appreciate your response and am enjoying this forum which is visually different from what I am used to - it is appealing to the learner.
Thank you,
Adena
Adena,
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed reply. I greatly appreciate your expression of how you came to the course and I hope I can add something to your already broad knowledge base of distance education. Ironically, you and I are DeVry Alums, I was VP & Chief Academic Officer for DeVry Inc. for 14 years. During my tenure there, I was pushing for entry into distance education, but my vision and that of some executives didn't match; things are quite different now. I'll look forward to assisting you in any way I can as you move through the course.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Hi Dr. Roehrich. I would like to thank you for this great opportunity. The first reason my institution is launching on delivery online courses is because of the flexibility these courses offer. These courses run 24 hours and the seven days of the week which is a benefit for those who work long and different hours and has to travel long distances. Even though these are flexible and self-paced courses, one of the biggest problems is procrastination. Self-discipline and commitment are necessary to succeed. I think that our students will benefit of these online courses.
Thanks,
Martha
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
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.
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
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 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
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!
