ACCELERATED LEARNING SYSTEM. CIP TEAM # 4-08 MEMBERS: Leslie DeVore, Team Leader Jack Adwell Ellen Colbeck John Daum Sara Richardson

Transcription

1 T CIP TEAM 4-08 ACCELERATED LEARNING SYSTEM CIP TEAM # 4-08 MEMBERS: Leslie DeVore, Team Leader Jack Adwell Ellen Colbeck John Daum Sara Richardson TEAM SPONSOR: Dr. Doug Brauer Presented to Richland Community College Quality Council May 4, 2009

2 1. Introduction Accelerated Learning System Pearson, the global leader in education publishing, technology and services, recently surveyed more than 100 community college presidents and district chancellors: The survey s findings underscore that in today s economy, accelerated investment in new learning solutions is absolutely critical to meet the demand for college readiness and retention, as well as workforce training and development. This committee s research supports these findings and has determined that there is a need for an accelerated learning system at Richland Community College. Many students fail to complete degrees at Richland due to time constraints related to their professional and/or personal commitments. After reviewing information gathered from other community colleges faced with a similar dilemma, this committee has agreed that an accelerated learning system will provide a number of benefits to a variety of stakeholders: The business community will benefit by having a larger resource of highly trained and qualified employees. Students completing the accelerated learning system will be able to make a seamless transition to four-year universities. Richland Community College will experience an increase in the number of students completing degrees. For purposes of this proposal, an Accelerated Learning System accelerates the delivery of course content in concentrated modules reducing the amount of completion time normally required in a traditionally delivered program. Based on our proposal, these modules would be offered to cohorts of qualified students who will be able to complete an associate degree in two years while attending classes only one or two nights a week. A qualified student will be an individual who meets specific criterion such as a minimum age requirement and a minimum number of years of work experience. The specific criterion was not determined by this CIP Team. It is the desire of this committee that the proposed system would be expanded to provide both a program for AAS degrees and a totally online degree. Our project statement is as follows: To create an accelerated course offering system that leads to a degree as measured by the reduction of the overall completion time. 2

3 2. Project Scope and Constraints The National Center for Education Statistics (2005) reports that 44% of students enrolled in degreegranting higher education institutions in the fall of 2005 were adults. Of those 6.5 million students 70% were full-time employees in professional or managerial occupations. Our project scope focuses on this select group of prospective students. In recent years accelerated learning programs have become a key factor in the transformation of higher education. As of 2003, The Center for the Study of Accelerated Learning had identified 250 college and universities with programs specifically identified as accelerated (Wlodkowski, 2003). With the downturn in economy and the increase in employee layoffs, high school students and adults have turned to community colleges to provide a more affordable education and training for new jobs in a flexible timeframe. It is our goal to develop a program for Richland Community College that will target these professional adults and provide the following: Project Scope Provide a structured, accelerated program that will allow adults to complete an AS degree in two years as an evening student. Provide an avenue for students to complete an accelerated program and transfer seamlessly into a traditional or accelerated bachelor s degree programs at several 4-year colleges. Provide students with the opportunity to increase their education and skills thus increasing their marketability in the workforce. Provide employers with a higher level of competent, responsible employees who have proven themselves in a demanding accelerated learning program. Increase student enrollment and graduation rates by providing a program that meets the demanding needs of these adults. Develop strong cohorts of students that will provide support and encouragement to each other improving their chances of success and ultimately increasing Richland s graduation rate. One possible constraint when evaluating accelerated learning is the quality of education that the student receives in a condensed, accelerated format. While critics have expressed concern about the quality of the learning experience and the ability of an accelerated course to cover the material with sufficient rigor, there is evidence that adults in accelerated programs learn satisfactorily and on par with students enrolled in conventional course work. (Wlodkowski, 2003). The success of every project can be diminished or defeated by constraints. This committee has identified the following potential constraints that must be considered: Project Constraints The lack of a program coordinator to champion the project will deprive the system of the attention necessary to promote, review, assess, plan, recruit, counsel, and manage it. The misdirection or lack of appropriate marketing. Initially this program will require market saturation to make the public aware of this innovative education solution. The lack of articulation agreements with 4-year colleges. One objective of this program is to encourage students to continue their education by pursuing bachelors and masters degrees at 4-year colleges. 3

4 The lack of financial support. Initially this program will require the necessary budget to subsidize course development, teacher professional development, and marketing. Failure to offer courses when they are scheduled in the program sequence. Students committing themselves to the program must be assured that the college will offer the courses as scheduled in the program sequence. The lack of maturity of the students that enroll in this program. Because of the demands of an accelerated learning program, enrolled students must be disciplined and committed. For that reason Program Coordinator will need to carefully screen prospective students. The lack of Financial Aid/Scholarships. Because of the financial hardships imposed by the economy and job lay-offs, financial aid and scholarships will be critical to make this possibility a reality in the lives of many prospective students. 3. Research Analysis Needs Analysis: Is this program really needed? Our needs analysis can be summarized by the question, Why not? Many colleges are advertizing programs that offer a fast paced degree path. The cost to offer such a program is minimal. If you can fill up a class, then it works. Starting with a small pilot program and then adjusting to demand will allow Richland to meet the changing needs of its students. Student demand will grow as successful students spread the word. Estimated Demand: The interest by potential students is inferred by the large number of colleges currently offering this type of program. Colleges which accept a large number of Richland transfer students are offering accelerated programming, and it can be assumed that the same type of student they are targeting would also be a good target for Richland. There was no survey of current or potential students as it would be costly and difficult to do in a short time frame. Colleges offering accelerated programs were researched. The following is a summary of those colleges utilizing their own descriptions when possible: Millikin Pace program: ( An accelerated, focused degree program geared for busy adults. Classes generally meet one evening per week for five, eight, or ten weeks depending on the program of study. Because of the accelerated nature of the program, students should expect a significant amount of time to be spent on homework assignments outside of the classroom. Franklin University: ( Through a unique educational alliance with Richland Community College, you have the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science degree online from Franklin University. The CCA Program's online format provides the flexibility to attend class and complete your coursework without leaving your community The Franklin University academic calendar year is divided into three, fifteen-week trimesters: Fall, Winter, and Summer. 4

5 Benedictine University of Springfield: ( Meets one night a week on the RICHLAND campus. The Adult Accelerated Bachelor Degree Completion Programs are taught in a cohort format. Cohorts are a natural fit to adult education - a group of students enroll at the same time and progress through required courses together in the same sequence, adding self-selected electives when necessary. Classes continue year round, without interruption, until the degree requirements are completed. Accelerated five- and tenweek modules conveniently scheduled on the same night throughout the length of the cohort program. Classes meet one time per week for four hours with nine 5-week modules per year. Southern Illinois University Carbondale: ( SIUC Industrial Technology outreach program. SIUC's Industrial Technology weekend program is now offered at military installations and industrial sites from coast to coast, and locally at Parkland Community College. A typical three credit-hour course meets every other weekend (both Saturdays and Sundays) for three weekends. A sample of community colleges researched which promoted accelerated learning programs include the following: Lincoln Land Community College Parkland Community College Elgin Community College Harper College Waubonsee Community College Florida Community College of Jacksonville (Florida) Lakeland Community College (Ohio) St. Louis Community College St. Claire Community College (Michigan) Rochester Community and Technical College (Minnesota) Faculty Survey: A survey was developed to determine the opinions of the Richland faculty on accelerated courses in the areas of their discipline. The survey gave faculty a chance to share innovative ideas, express their own opinion of the need for an accelerated program, and participate in the process. A copy of the faculty survey can be found in the Appendix. Approximately 82 paper surveys were distributed to full time faculty utilizing their mailboxes in the staff lounge. In addition, an electronic version was sent by . We received 15 responses. A summary of the responses are also in the Appendix. A review of the surveys indicated that there was no clear consensus among faculty. There was a wide range of opinions on the subject based upon the relatively small response rate. It can be assumed that the majority of the faculty does not have a strong opinion either way. Most faculty indicated that using the eight week summer class schedule would be a good starting point. The responses fell into two general categories: 5

6 The positive replies indicated a willingness to try a new format. They indicated that web based instruction would be their preference. Most of these responses were from faculty who were heavily involved with on-line classes. These responses tended to be from the liberal arts areas. The negative responses were primarily based upon concerns for student success and the quality reputation of Richland Community College. These responses were generally from faculty teaching science and math classes. The typical statement was I can teach it that fast, but the students cannot learn it that fast. The survey indicated that an accelerated program would require faculty to be adequately trained and capable of utilizing online teaching tools. 4. Feasibility Studies A careful analysis of four key areas has been done to establish the feasibility of this project s success. a. Operational Feasibility i. Administrative support In recent years Richland Community College has adopted a new college vision: to be the premier source for education, workforce training, partnerships, and economic development. This vision statement has become the driving force behind its mission statement that Richland will offer educational programs that enable students to achieve their potential through higher education by obtaining the abilities, attitudes, and skills needed for personal and professional growth. It is this administrative commitment to education and the community that supports innovative programs in accelerated learning like the Dual Credit program and the proposed Accelerated Learning System. ii. Trained Faculty & Staff Richland s academic program continues to experience growth largely due to the commitment of its faculty and their willingness to develop innovative means of course delivery. Each year more courses are developed in hybrid and online formats enabling students to take advantage of the flexible scheduling these formats present. It is these trained professionals that insure the success of an Accelerated Learning System. Accelerated programs required a special type of commitment and faculty that can adjust to the fast-paced delivery of course content. We believe that with training our faculty can transition to this style of delivery. It should also be noted that in light of the current migration to our new online management software, Angel, our faculty are already being better trained in methods of online and hybrid delivery. 6

7 b. Technical Feasibility i. Infrastructure Since the majority of the courses offered in this accelerated AS program will be hybrid in format, the strength of our network infrastructure is critical to its success. In the last year we have seen major improvements made in three critical areas that has greatly strengthened our network infrastructure. First, with the increasing growth in online course delivery and student management, it became imperative to switch to a scalable, online course management software that would meet these growing demands. The decision was made to switch to Angel Learning Management Software and in the Spring of 2009 Angel was piloted in several online courses with great results. Teachers found that Angel provides more flexibility in designing courses and better assessment features. Students have commented that it is more user-friendly. All courses offered online for the Summer 2009 session will be converted and delivered in Angel. Secondly, the change to a new learning management software has also necessitated the implementation of new network servers to provide increased access to the online courses and improved backup capabilities. These hardware improvements will reduce down-time, increase the efficiency of course delivery, and provide the scalability for the growth of such programs as the Accelerated Learning System. Finally, Richland has recently upgraded its student software to Zimbra Collaboration Suite, a productivity software providing students with special resources for organizational and communication needs. These resources make it possible for students to be better organized in the management of their courses and efficiently communicate with faculty and students. ii. Technical expertise Under the leadership of Joe Feinstein, Richland s Information Technology staff provides a high level of technical expertise to the college campus. Not only do they provide hardware and software support to the college network but also to those online students experiencing problems with their home computers. Online students can bring their computers in to the college for analysis by the IT staff. It is this level of support that makes it possible for many online students to be successful and will be a great benefit to students enrolled in the Accelerated Learning System. We also believe that Kona Davis, Director of Online Learning, and her Online Learning team will provide an essential part of this Accelerated Learning System. Kona brings to Richland a strong knowledge of online learning and is currently pursuing her doctorate in online course development at the University of Illinois. Ms. Davis knows both theoretically and practically the elements needed to make this program successful. Besides support and counsel, her team will 7

8 also provide the necessary training in Angel that the faculty will need in the development of their hybrid and online courses. iii. Software environment It has already been mentioned that a new online learning management software has been purchased providing a more dependable means of course delivery. Angel also provides the teachers with more resources, greater flexibility in course development, and tighter assessment controls. Students are finding the software to be more user-friendly, requiring less training on how to use the software. Besides Angel, those teachers involved in the Accelerated Learning System will need training and access to course development software. One of the leading software programs used by Richland s online faculty is Camtasia and Snag-It. These software programs are relatively inexpensive and could feasibly be purchased by departments for their faculty involved in this program. c. Economic Feasibility i. TCO Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Total Cost of Ownership is a number used in assessing the cost of a project, which goes beyond the typical acquisition and implementation costs to include ongoing support, training, maintenance, and marketing. Overall, the TCO for the Accelerated Learning System will be minimal due to the fact that most of the components are already in place. There will be no additional cost of software licensing fees for the Angel Learning software since we are using a campus license. There will be no additional costs for hardware since this project will be using the same web servers used by our other online courses. Support and maintenance will be handled by the Online Learning support staff and our IT staff. As in any project there will be variable startup costs that will be relatively heavy at the planning and implementation stages but will decrease as we move into the operation/maintenance stage. These costs will be in the areas of: Program Coordinator Faculty Professional Development Course Development Marketing Guaranteed Course Offerings Faculty involved in the Accelerated Learning System will required some professional development in the lesson preparation and delivery of content in an accelerated format. We feel this training can be done in-house utilizing the expertise of the Online Learning team. There will also be the departmental cost of course development as each faculty will need to develop their courses for 8

9 accelerated online delivery. As faculty are trained and courses are developed, these variable costs will decrease. Marketing will play a critical part in the Accelerated Learning Program. Success will depend largely on public awareness of the program and its benefits. Initially these variable costs will be high at the introduction of the program but gradually decrease once it has progressed beyond its infancy and becomes established in the community. As this happens marketing costs will level out to a basic maintenance expense. Another variable cost will be reflected in Richland s commitment to support the Accelerated Learning System by offering courses in its sequence even if enrollment is low. Failure to offer a course will force those students in the cohort to either wait for another two-year cycle of the program to come around, which would defeat the entire purpose of the accelerated program, or force them to go outside the program to take a required course. One fixed cost that will be new, and critical, is the cost of a coordinator to oversee this program. The success of the Accelerated Learning System will depend heavily on one person managing the planning, recruiting, training, and managing the operations of the program on a day-to-day basis. It is our opinion that this will require a full-time coordinator who will work with the departmental deans, Online Learning, Marketing, faculty and our students. d. Schedule Feasibility i. Accelerated Learning System Template A template has been designed to assist in the development of the course sequence for an AS degree. A copy of the template can be found in the Appendix. The template utilizes the traditional 16-week schedule, 8-week Summer modules and accelerated 5-week modules. Those courses containing a heavy lab or math component were left in the traditional schedule since they will require more contact hours. Courses with average lab or math components were placed in the 8-week summer program. Those courses that were primarily lecture were placed in the accelerated 5-week modules. Courses were carefully chosen according to prerequisites, classification, and content. In the Accelerated Learning System students will NOT have a choice of electives since it was necessary to define these courses in the sequence to guarantee the course being offered. We feel this template presents a sequence of courses that can feasibly be accomplished in a 25-month program. It is also believed that this template can be used to develop an accelerated program for other degree programs. It should also be noted that the majority of the courses used in this Accelerated Learning System are currently offered online and represents a strong step toward an totally online degree program. 9

10 ii. Kick-Off Summer of 2010 By choosing the Summer of 2010 semester to begin the Accelerated Learning System and its sequence of courses, the college will have one year to initiate the preparatory steps defined in the attached Gant Chart. They are as follows: Selection of a Program Coordinator Departmental Deans recruitment of faculty. This also includes the budgeting for the professional development of faculty and for necessary course development expenses. Professional Development training in-house Course development Marketing designs and launches ad campaign Include program in new college catalogues Build articulation agreements with 4-year universities iii. By providing a year of lead time before officially beginning this program we have reduced many of the risks associated with a program being released prematurely. Initially the first cohort of students may be smaller in number, but this number will grow as the program becomes established. 5. Project Development Time and Cost Benefits Tangible Helps meet Strategic Plan Goal 1Strategy E: Enhance alternative methods of curriculum delivery to meet student needs. course options- Helps meet part of mission - Provides innovative educational environments enrollment revenue A.S. degree completion time faculty development education of workforce students eligible for bachelor s degree programs Intangible student satisfaction Benefits According to a report from Northern Illinois University titled Keeping Illinois Competitive (2006) many organizations require postsecondary education to enter and advance in the workplace. They go on to report that without a commitment to continually developing and updating skills, even those with previous postsecondary education can find themselves unemployable (p.1). Currently at Richland, it is difficult for evening students to earn an A.S. degree within five years. 10

11 By utilizing the template for the Accelerated Learning System, evening students can complete an A.S. or A.A. in 25 months. Offering this accelerated program, helps the College meet Strategic Plan Goal 1 Strategy E: Enhance alternative methods of curriculum delivery to meet student needs. This also helps meet part of the College s mission which is to provide innovative educational environments, opportunities, and experiences that enable individuals, communities, and the region to grow, thrive, and prosper. Increased enrollment of evening students is an anticipated benefit. According to the Fall 2007 enrollment data, the average age of evening students is 32 years and only 12.3% are enrolled fulltime. The average credit hours of enrollment for evening students are 5.6 hours, so the addition of the accelerated format will increase the number of credit hours enrolled per semester. With increased enrollment comes increased revenue. The growth with the pilot program will be small but the team envisions expansion of the Accelerated Learning System to other areas of study which will result in more significant increases. Faculty development is a key to success of accelerated programs and should increase job satisfaction. It is imperative that faculty teaching in the accelerated format use appropriate technology and andragogy. By implementing suitable teaching strategies and selecting appropriate students for the cohorts, student satisfaction will be high. Although the chart lists student satisfaction as intangible, surveys can quantify this. By offering this Accelerated Learning System to students working fulltime, we are facilitating an increase in the educational level of the workforce in our district and promoting economic development in our region. This higher level of education provides more employment opportunities for our graduates who earn an A.S. or A.A. degree and makes them eligible for transferring to bachelor s degree programs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that earnings increase and unemployment rates decrease as workers education increases. Weekly Earnings in Dollars Doctoral degree Professional degree $1,555 1,522 Master's degree 1,228 Bachelor's degree 978 Associate degree Some college, no degree High School diploma Less than HS

12 Unemployment Doctoral degree Professional degree Master's degree Bachelor's degree 2.0% 1.7% 2.4% 2.8% Associate degree 3.7% Some college, no degree High School diploma 5.1% 5.7% Less than HS 9.0% Data from Direct Program coordinator Faculty Development Course development Camtasia software Angel training Program marketing Costs Indirect Dean/Division buy in Faculty buy in Costs The team consulted Human Resources to determine the impact on faculty workload and pay on the various alternative schedules being considered. By choosing the combination of five, eight, and sixteen week courses for the Accelerated Learning System, the current semesters will work as outlined on the template so faculty compensation is not affected. As this is adapted for other areas of concentration, deans will need to make sure that sections are offered according to the template and budgeted accordingly. It is essential to have a program coordinator to develop and implement this Accelerated Programming project. The team proposes a champion be chosen from current faculty or staff. This person must be allowed time to develop this project so that it leads to institutionalization 12

13 including expansion. The coordinator will advise and select students, collect data, work with deans to assure courses are offered as shown in the template, and evaluate the program. Since instruction for many of the courses requires compressing from eight or sixteen weeks into five weeks, it is imperative that faculty development includes andragogy and appropriate technology for hybrid courses. Facilitating learning in an accelerated format requires some courses that rely heavily on lecture to be completely restructured to incorporate strategies of androgogy such as case studies, role plays, simulation, and self-evaluation. Faculty must be prepared for the accelerated format as well since lack of faculty feedback and response to questions are common complaints from students. Maintaining academic rigor and not creating a diploma mill is extremely important to Richland faculty members. The committee recommends that faculty who develop the five-week courses be paid course development based on overload pay times the number of credit hours. In this pilot accelerated program, eleven courses require a five-week format, and they are within multiple divisions, so support from the various deans is imperative. Faculty may require additional software in order to develop the hybrid courses. Once the instructors are chosen, specific needs will be identified. Since training for our new learning management system is currently available, no additional costs are anticipated in this area. Marketing the Accelerated Learning System is essential to establishing a cohort. We consulted Steve Vandiver for general costs of marketing the program to adults within the district. His recommendations include television, radio, newspaper, billboards, and direct mail. The numbers provided in the following budget are very general estimates. Another CIP Team worked on a marketing plan for new programs and their recommendations will need to be taken into consideration for this Accelerated Programming project. Accelerated Learning System Budget Program coordinator-existing faculty or staff Release time for faculty or staff Faculty Development Create program using current faculty 10,000 and Online Learning Department Course development (11 courses for pilot) 23,100 Camtasia software (10 licenses-$150 each) 1,500 Angel training-already exists- no additional costs 0 Program marketing* 12,100 Total for first year pilot project $46,700 *Marketing cost estimates Television $5,000 (WAND/CW-FOX/CABLE) Radio $3,000 (WSOY-AM/Y-103/WEJT/WDKR) Newspaper $2,500 (Want Ads section (weekends only) for job seekers) 13

14 Billboards - (average of $400/location) Direct Mail dependent upon number of households being sent to, income levels, options are essentially unlimited the more parameters, the more expensive the list however, the more targeted also!) o This cost isn t included in the budget 6. Program Evaluation The success of this program will be determined by enrollment and graduation rates over a 4-year period. This would give us data on three cohorts. We would suggest that student profiles of enrolled students be studied to determine how accurately marketing is reaching our target group and response by that group. This data would be collected and accessed through student records and managed by the project coordinator. It is also suggested that this program be given a special designation in the CARS database for easier tracking of students enrolled in the program. 7. Final Recommendation In this documentation we have identified a need within the adult community for an alternative educational program that will provide these prospective students with accelerated learning in order to achieve a two-year degree. We have defined the benefits a degree presents to these individuals in higher wages, greater marketability, the possibility of continuing education in the pursuit of a bachelor s degree and increased self-worth. To these ends we have developed the Accelerated Learning System. It is the consensus of this CIP Team that the Accelerated Learning System meets the College s mission, vision, and strategic goals by providing an innovative, alternative educational delivery system. This program will allow Richland to assist in serving the adult student through guaranteed evening course programming that will allow them to complete a degree in 25 months, based on the template this team designed. This new course delivery system will require both curriculum and professional development for the conversion to the new accelerated format; however, by implementing suitable teaching strategies and selecting qualified students will enable the program to provide the course work in an alternative delivery method. The initial growth in the pilot program may be small, but the team envisions expansion with other degrees to follow the same accelerated programming format. It is our recommendation that Richland Community College proceeds with the implementation of the Accelerated Learning System by adopting the schedule defined in the attached Gant Chart and begin proceedings for Phase 1 in the Fall 2009 semester as follows: Appointment of Program Coordinator College Leadership Recruitment of faculty Division Deans Development of faculty training program Kona Davis/Online Learning Dept. Development of curriculum development program Program Coord./Division Deans Development of marketing plan Marketing department 14

15 It is also the recommendation of this committee that the Accelerated Learning System template be evaluated by those CIP teams that may consider adding additional accelerated degree programs to the College, and to those developing a totally online degree program. Accelerated Learning System Gant Chart 15

16 APPENDIX Accelerated Learning System Template Accelerated Learning System Gant Chart Faculty Surveys and Responses Research 16