The Life of a Distance Learner (part 1)
Distance learning has gained a considerable following among busy professionals and resident college students, as well as parents who wish to further their education without sacrificing time spent with their families. Even students who attend class at a traditional campus are more often choosing to register in additional classes online.
With so much buzz centering on the growing popularity of online education, it’s important to understand the differences between completing courses within an online setting as opposed to within a traditional, on-campus setting. While there are obvious similarities between the academic structure followed by distance learning students and those who pursue a traditional on-campus education, certain unique characteristics definitely set online learning a part.
Challenges faced by traditional schools entering into the online (part4)
5. Support offices
Speed and efficiency are everything
The same fast pace seen in the sales cycle of the online education environment must filter down to support offices also servicing the residential student body. These crucial offices comprised of the Registrar’s office, financial aid, and student accounts all have to be ready to turn student enrollment very around quickly. Schools can have a great marketing plan, highly skilled sales agents, and a comprehensive post-lead strategy, but if financial aid or the other support offices are bottlenecked producing a slow turnaround time, student frustration and attrition will ensue. While streamlining each of these areas for efficiency is often easier said than done, it is crucial that schools address this issue as the rate of growth can be stymied.
Challenges faced by traditional schools entering into the online (part 3)
3. Transition from tradition
Achieving success by breaking through academic bureaucracy
The same principle that deems the necessity of a separate admission or sales team when cultivating online leads (as opposed to residential leads) equally applies in the academic realm. Many resident programs are driven and controlled by academic committees and deans that often embrace an “elitist” type attitude. While not negating the great importance in offering a quality, student experience and assessing student learning outcomes, oftentimes a school can be governed by the mindset that believes that unless a student is sitting in front of a live faculty member, he or she is not learning. It takes a concentrated effort on the behalf of the school’s leadership to be pioneers in education and break from the traditional mold of teaching. Hiring forward thinking faculty who will embrace the opportunities of online learning as an effective and modern education tool is crucial. Forward thinking can include incorporating the newest technology in the course format, introducing new programs that will have high market demand, and updating and revising current courses on a continuous basis.
Utilizing a separate adjunct faculty model for the instruction of online courses is also preferable and more effective than using resident faculty to teach both formats. Many adjunct faculty teach online courses for a living and their career, and are often more in tune with the online environment, their students’ needs, and the unique challenges that can be faced when teaching from a distance. Constructing a separate academic structure for online programs can be the best way to accomplish and promote the highest level of quality instruction.
Some Advice for the University of Illinois virtual campus
In recent news, there was an article on how the University of Illinois is struggling with their online enrollment growth. I posted a recent article and talked on this exact subject matter in Las Vegas in September. With the latest news article on the University of Illinois challenges, I believe it also proves the point of my article that going online has it’s challenges for most schools. I can certainly feel for some of the pain that this university is feeling… having experienced to some degree similar pain. In fact, those challenges and pain are exactly what inspired me to write my article. In the article on the University of Illinois, President Joseph White said:
“I’m not mad at anybody about that. I think we’ve come to realize that we have a university faculty that is at capacity.”
With all due respect to President White’s observations, I would venture to say that, although his faculty might have some ‘capacity’ constraints, the more plausible reason for the lack of online enrollment at the University of Illinois is what I call “transitioning from tradition”. Many resident programs are driven and controlled by academic committees and deans that often embrace a “ground campus” type attitude. While not negating the great importance in offering a quality, student experience and assessing student learning outcomes, oftentimes a school can be governed by the mindset that believes that unless a student is sitting in front of a live faculty member, he or she is not learning.
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