Health Occupation Certificate Online Glen Oaks Community College Karen Ganger, Assistant Dean of Nursing and Allied Health Amanda Mead, Director of Distance Learning (Morning and afternoon sessions) Glen Oaks Community College has been offering two health occupation certificates programs, medical transcript and health insurance coder/biller, online for the past few years to in-house students and to others through the Michigan Community College Virtual Learning Collaborative, MCCVLC. The programs started in 1999 because of a community need for healthcare workers. In 2000, more allied health programs were developed, some with face-to-face classes and some with online classes Both programs contribute to health information management aspects for a variety of health care settings in the community. The online delivery system provides distance students with the ability to access these educational programs. Part time students can shorten the completion of such programs by having the option to blend both traditional and online courses each semester. Win/win for college more student credits, opportunity for more Win/win for students they get done more quickly and are able to enter the job market faster Win/win for community have more educated people sooner The two online health occupation certificate programs: 1. Medical transcription 2. Health insurance coder/biller technical certificate Uses the building block philosophy- REQUIRED COURSEWORK: 1. Medical terminology required for both certificates and this is a high demand course for college 2. Pharmacology is required for the medical transcription certificate to provide a general background and understanding 3. Disease conditions is required for both certificates. Allied Health's contribution to the Distance Learning total credit hours have been increasing and in the 2005-06 school year, Allied Health courses represented 31.1% of the total Distance Learning hours, up from 20.8% in 2003-04. Other trends 1. In 2003-04, 10% of all Allied Health Students were enrolled through MCCVLC; in 2005-06, the percentage had increased to 14.3%.
2. In 2003-04, 27.36% of MCCVLC students were selected Allied Health courses; in 2005-06, the percentage had increased to 62.35% 3. Revenues from Allied Health Distance Learning, which include tuition and a distance learning fee, have increased from $102,465 (2003-04) to $148,342 (2005-06) Externships are required for these certificate programs and are not online. These certificates are totally online except for Local externships. Social workers have been working hard to find a central location for the local externships within the area. Glen Oaks gets contract with facility. Externship advisor puts a packet of information together for the students, meets with them, and helps them with everything needed. Distance externships. Those students who are not in the Glen Oaks area but completing the distance learning courses are required to find a location for their externship. Seminar components. In these situations, the advisor works directly and individually with the student Questions 1. Software issue: putting a class online is easy 2. % of students are in a commutable distance Most of them 3. How do students find out? Some students come in not knowing what direction they want to go, so they start with the prereqs and depending on the skills they have, they may take computer classes in the beginning, for example. 4. Students most likely to succeed? Students with good with time management and strong reading skills 5. Students not likely to succeed? Those students used to procrastinating, not good with managing time, and/or not used to the college experience To be successful in online courses, students must have strong reading skills; students with lower reading skills have had a tough time with the online courses. 6. How long is a typical externships? 140-160 hours depending on certificate 7. Tuition: Internet: $75 added to tuition ($68 in-district tuition rate) 8. Are students working toward an AAS? Students are usually adding on to their degree. This certificate is designed to get students out in the workplace sooner and help meet community demand for health related occupations with a shortage of qualified candidates. 9. Can these courses be applied to an Associates in business? Yes, they interlock to apply to an associates in either health or business.
10. Audio/Streaming Issues? GOCC does not do much streaming right now, but they do have the server space to do so. GOCC is having instructors do some audio now to help stress the important issues in the lessons rather than just having the students read. However, they are aware that dial-up users will have a much harder time with audio/streaming experience. Every class listed on the lists is available online. At least one test in every course needs to be proctored; this can be arranged through Glen Oaks advisors. GOCC will accept classes as a transfer. Most students participating in the online courses are part time. Logistics of distance learning Requirements 1. Administrator familiar with distance learning 2. Computer person for software 3. Person for computer hardware a. Server maintenance b. Help desk 4. Trainer for training on software a. Online instruction b. Student training 5. Secretarial support Glen Oaks has 3 people responsible for these functions. The smaller you are the more you lean on networking. Training 1. Students and faculty need to know how software works 2. Faculty needs methodology training: a. books, cheat sheets, handouts, experience from other faculty, 3. Students need to know what their life will be like with online training; needs to be clear to them from the start. Equipment 1. Hardware: dedicated server, database backup and backup tapes 2. ISP: 3. Software: server software, Learning Mgmt software, database software, backup software Policy: 1. Need to be aware of the policies
2. Hiring practices: stipend rates per student rates (0-5 students, so much $$) 3. DL Course Development and approval: process for picking out material to use and have it approved 4. Advisory committee/team: their team has a course development evaluation Best Practices Principles (Glen Oaks BPP) 1. Instructors will provide clear guidelines for student interaction with course expectations clearly explained from the beginning 2. Instructors will provide opportunities for students to move their skills a. to higher levels in Bloom's taxonomy b. to apply learning to real-world situations/discussions 3. Instructors will provide feedback to the student in at least the following two ways: a. information feedback b. acknowledgement feedback 4. Instructors will provide a framework for students to follow so they are able to complete semester according to academic calendar 5. Instructors are required to report all deadlines to students 6. Instructors will provide challenging assignments, projects, and course activities equal to those provided in face-to-face college level classrooms. 7. Instructors will provide learning opportunities for a variety of learning styles using the labs in everyday home lives Processes 1. Needs to go hand in hand with policies 2. Has to be a schedule for classes that students can rely on 3. Plan for the future: schedule the classes a year in advance for students and instructors MCCLVC Relationship 1. Enrollment through MCCLVC happens through their website, but it is a very easy enrollment process 2. General tuition systems If the student is in district with MCC, they get the in district tuition for the school General Finance Issues 1. Expenditures a. Hardware ($6000 for server and back-up system) b. Software ($9500 annually; Angel Learning Management System, which offers quick and responsive technical support. This is especially good for small colleges that don't have strong technical support of their own.) c. Faculty Payroll d. Distance Learning Staff Payroll e. General office supplies 2. Income a. Home Students
i. Tuition = $68/$101/$133 per contact hour ii. Distance Learning Fee = $75 per class b. MCCVLC students i. Tuition = $120/$175/$230 per credit hour How to find information about the courses: 1. Website--they send in requests for information from the website Phone calls asking for more information Pamphlets Accreditation is through the umbrella of community college through the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities.