Issue Contents

Access, Affordability, Quality, and Accountability

Those four watchwords of the Spellings Commission report [1] signal changes in higher education. Because it fosters innovation, online education is poised to lead these changes.

In 2002, the Sloan-C listerv debated the value of thinking of students as customers [2]. Whether we like it or not, students are increasingly likely to have certain expectations. The Long Tail summarizes the expectations of customers who have abundant choices:

Make everything available;
Cut the price in half; now lower it;
Help me find it. [3]

Indeed, prospective online students have so many choices that they need help in finding suitable programs. Although it is not likely that tuition costs will decline (by one estimate, costs rose 7.1% in 2006-7 [4]), it is likely that we will see more open consumer reviews about institutional performance.

Colleges and universities are innovating to attract and retain online students. From user-friendly websites to courses designed for maximum engagement, institutions are implementing and sharing data-driven effective practices. For savvy consumers, the most progressive online programs publicize the goals and the results that distinguish them.

Many institutions provide face to face or fully online orientations-from full credit courses to self-paced exercises or checklists-to help students become accustomed to online forums and to help students get a realistic view before they begin online studies. Some institutions offer a full array of online and mobile student services (see WCET's Beyond the Administrative Core: Creating Web-based Student Services for Online Learners), enabling students to get help 24/7. Some services align with those we expect from dotcoms, offering on-demand text chat or phone call. Databases of frequently asked questions include user ratings so that information becomes more intuitive and more tailored to individuals. The University of California has put its database of admissions information online so that prospective students and others can get the facts with "data about enrolled students' performance, including retention and graduation rates, average time to degree, grade-point averages, and majors" [5]. Others have built virtual world islands and social networking sites so that prospective students can virtually tour the environment and meet advisors, faculty and classmates. Student blogs open introductions to prospective students and their parents, giving a welcoming sense of personality to newcomers.

Peer mentoring helps students who feel more comfortable seeking advice from knowledgeable peers. Sophisticated customer relationship management systems can monitor every student transaction from initial inquiry to degree completion, reaching out proactively at regular intervals and always seeking to speed responsiveness. In fact, Purdue University uses info technology to intervene and help struggling students at the first signs of trouble [6].

Meaningful relationships with faculty keep students engaged, thus:

Faculty members must lead the way in devising more coherent programs of general education, more effective and efficient teaching techniques, and useful, authentic assessments of student learning. And institutional reward systems must provide more incentives and recognition for faculty contributions that increase student learning, retention, and success [7].

From the perspective of consumers with many choices-- access, affordability, quality, and accountability reflect enterprise-wide commitment.

References

1. A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education. September 2006:
http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/hiedfuture/reports/final-report.pdf.
2. Customers of Alma Mater? The Sloan-C View. Volume 1 No. 2- October 2002.
http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/view/v1n2/coverv1n2.htm.
3. P Anderson, C. The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More. New York, Hyperion: 2006.
4. The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac, 2007-8.
http://chronicle.com/weekly/almanac/2007/nation/nation.htm.
5. U. of California Puts Extensive Database of Admissions Data Online. Monday, October 29, 2007.
http://chronicle.com/news/index.php?id=3329.
6. Purdue Uses Data to Identify and Help Struggling Students. Monday, October 29, 2007
http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/10/530n.htm.
7. Accountability for Better Results-A National Imperative for Higher Education. A project of the State Higher Education Executive Officers with support from the Ford Foundation. March 10, 2005.
http://www.sheeo.org/account/accountability.pdf.

(Join Naj Shaik, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Joseph McFadden, Inside Track; Lori McNabb, University of Texas System TeleCampus; Janet Moore, The Sloan Consortium; Karen Vignare, Michigan State University in the Sloan-C online workshop, Students as Customers: Retention in Online Education through Quality Services, November 7th - 16th.)

Nearly Twenty Percent of All U.S. Higher Education Students Taking at Least One Online Course

The most recent Sloan survey of online education, Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning, has just been released and is available as a free download from the Sloan-C web site. This fifth annual study of the state of online learning in U.S. higher education reports that the number of online students have grown to just under 3.5 million.  Other findings in this year's report, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and based on responses from more than 2,500 colleges and universities, include:

• The 9.7 percent growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 1.5 percent growth of the overall higher education student population.
• Two-year associate’s institutions have the highest growth rates and account for over one-half of all online enrollments for the last five years.
• All types of institutions cite improved student access as their top reason for offering online courses and programs.
• Online is not seen as a way to lower costs; reduced or contained costs are among the least-cited objectives for online education.
• A large majority (69 percent) of academic leaders believe that student demand for online learning is still growing.
• Faculty acceptance of online instruction remains a key issue.  Those institutions most engaged in online do not believe it is a concern for their own campus, but do see it as a barrier to more wide-spread adoption of online education.
• Academic leaders do not believe that there is a lack of acceptance of online degrees by potential employers.

Download your free copy of Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning.

Learn From the Experts - The Sloan-C 2007 Workshop Series- Last few workshops of 2007!

The end of the year is fast approaching. Make sure to benefit from your institution's membership and use up remaining discount codes.

Students as Customers: Retention in Online Education through Quality Services* - Nov 7 - 16

Getting a student through a virtual classroom door is only the first step in student relationship management. This workshop takes an enterprise-level approach in exploring best practices in student retention. Issues pertaining to administrative and technical support will be addressed. The role of student as a 'customer' will be analyzed through an understanding of pre-enrollment assessments, individual learning styles, personalized instructor contact, online mentoring, collaborative projects, and online classroom size. Determining performance metrics will also be discussed. The role of the instructor as 'facilitator' will be explored in the retention process. What type of training is required? What additional tools should an instructor utilize to ensure students stay engaged in the online classroom? Subject-matter experts will present real-world case studies.

*This workshop is part of the Select Series and College Pass Members must use their additional 50 seats provided to take advantage of this workshop.

Click here for details and registration.

Copyright Compliance for Online Educators - Nov 28 - Dec 7

As an online educator, you need to know how copyright affects you when using materials to supplement your online courses. You also need to know how your original works can be protected. In this workshop, Linda Enghagen, of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will take you through the key copyright issues that you and your colleagues should be aware of when preparing and delivering your online courses.

Click here for details and registration.

Introduction to Second Life for Educators - Nov 28 - Dec 7

Throughout this workshop participants will learn the basics of Second Life, and integrate learning theories in the use of virtual worlds. Participants will be encouraged to create activities that are student-centered and maximize the real potential of virtual worlds. A primary goal of the workshop is to get educators thinking about their classes and how the tools used in Second Life can be personalized for the learning environments that they create. The workshop will explore examples of good teaching in Second Life and move beyond PowerPoint, lecture, and passive learning. Participants will make use of asynchronous discussions, multimedia materials, reading assignments and live, interactive class sessions to collaborate, learn, and expand the range of instructional possibilities that are available to students.

Click here for 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.

The Sloan-C View is published by Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C™). Responsibility for the contents rests with the authors and not with Sloan-C™. Copyright ©2007 by Sloan-C™.

If you have a question or comment, would like to submit an article for publication, or would like to suggest an event to be listed on the Sloan-C View Calendar, please email sloan-cview@sloan-c.org. Materials in the Sloan-C View, unless otherwise noted, may be distributed freely for educational purposes. However, if any materials are redistributed they must retain the copyright notice and use the proper citation. Kindly send an email to sloan-cview@sloan-c.org indicating how you are using the material for distribution. Your privacy is important to us, you can view our privacy policy at www.sloan-c.org/aboutus/privacy.asp

This issue is being sent to: %%emailaddr%% If you do not wish to receive future issues, please send a blank email to %%email.unsub%% and your email address will be removed from our list.

The Sloan Consortium, Olin Way, Needham, MA 02492-1200