Supporting Faculty to Engage Graduate Students in Distance Education A member of The Texas State University System.

Supporting Faculty to Engage Graduate Students in Distance Education

A member of The Texas State University System

Distance Education at Texas State

Debbie M. Thorne, Ph.D.Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs

Strategic planning and shared values

Programs and resources

Best practices and quality assurance

Strategic Planning and Shared Values

“Without a better-defined product … online learning faces a risk of petering out and being little more than a back-up alternative to on-campus education for (adult) students.”

Recognition of shared values and core competencies

Integration of online learning into new strategic plan (2102-2017) and five goals

Read-across committee to reflect institutional direction and needs

Programs and Resources

Prioritization from institutional leadership to choose programs having the most impact

Involvement of institutional research and enrollment management in program planning

Support resources dedicated to the selected programs and to pedagogy that reflects uniqueness of the program

Incentive structure and electronic course fees

Online teaching award

Best Practices and Quality Assurance

Sloan-C Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Programs – institutional self-assessment; 70 indicators in 9 categories

Quality Matters – course development rubric and peer-to-peer review of courses

Principles of Good Practice – faculty assessment after course is taught

The Graduate Student

Joann (Jo) Kroll, Ed.D.

Why Graduate Education?

“The global competitiveness of the United States and capacity for innovation hinges fundamentally on a strong system of graduate education”

SOURCE: Wendler, C., Bridgeman, B., Cline, F., Millett, C., Rock, J., Bell, N., and McAllister, P. (2010). The path forward: The future of graduate education in the United States. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

Graduate Students

• What They Look Like

• Where They Come From

• Why They Are/Are not Coming

• What They Expect Before They Arrive

• The Pathway to the Graduate Degree

• The Future of the Graduate Student

What They Look LikeFigure 1: Actual and projected postbaccalaureate enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by sex: Fall 1976-2021.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Fall Enrollment in Colleges and Universities" surveys, 1970 through 1985; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Fall Enrollment Survey" (IPEDS-EF:90-99); IPEDS Spring 2001 through Spring 2011, Enrollment component; and Enrollment in Degree-Granting Institutions Model, 1980–2010.

What They Look LikeFigure 2: Percentage distribution for postbaccalaureate enrollment of U.S. residents in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity: Selected years, fall 1980-2010.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Fall Enrollment in Colleges and Universities" surveys, 1970 through 1985; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Fall Enrollment Survey" (IPEDS-EF:90-99); IPEDS Spring 2001 through Spring 2011, Enrollment component; and Enrollment in Degree-Granting Institutions Model, 1980–2010.

Where They Come From

• Graduation (Bachelor’s)

• International migration

• Nontraditional

Graduation (Bachelor’s)

• Bachelor’s Degrees Conferred 2011 (Nationally)

1.7 Million • Bachelor’s Degrees Conferred 2011 (Texas)

104,817 (Goal: 112,500 in 2015)

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). The Condition of Education 2012 (NCES 2012-045), Table A-47-2., Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Closing the Gaps Progress Report 2012.

International MigrationFigure 3: Number of international students enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions, by academic level: Academic years 1969-70 through 2007-08

SOURCE: Open Doors: Report on International Educational Exchange. New York: Institute of International Education, selected years, 1969–70 through 2007–08.

Growth of Hispanic Population in Texas

SOURCE: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Closing the Gaps Progress Report 2012.

Nontraditional

• Normally

24 – 55 years of age

Married (or single parent)

Working fulltime

Financially independent from parents

Delayed enrollment

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2012.

Why They Are/Are not Coming

• Workforce Needs

• Workforce Changes

• International Changes

• Availability of Tenure Track Positions

“Between 2008 and2018 it is expectedthat many jobs – about2.5 million – will requirean advanced degree.”

SOURCE: Wendler, C., Bridgeman, B., Cline, F., Millett, C., Rock, J., Bell, N., and McAllister, P. (2010). The path forward: The future of graduate education in the United States. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

What They Expect

• Specific Course of Study

• Shorter Time to Completion

• Financial Aid/Scholarships

• Career Expectations

Course of StudyOf the 1.7 million bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2009-10, over half were concentrated in five fields: business, management, marketing, and personal and culinary services (22%).

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Fall 2000 and Fall 2010, Completions component.

Course of Study

“Overall, 693,000 master's degrees and 159,000 doctor's degrees were awarded in 2009–10; these numbers represent increases of 50 and 34 percent, respectively, over the numbers awarded in 1999–2000. In 2009–10, females earned 60 percent of master's degrees and 52 percent of doctor's degrees awarded.”

•Of the 693,000 master’s degrees awarded in 2009-10, over 50% were concentrated in two fields: education and business (26 % each).

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Fall 2000 and Fall 2010, Completions component.

Course of Study

• Percentage of master's degrees awarded to females by degree-granting institutions in selected fields of study: Academic year 2009-10.

– Health Professions and Related Fields (81%)

– Library Science (81%)

– Psychology (80%)

– Education (77%)

– Public Administration and Social Services (75%)

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Fall 2010, Completions component.

What They Expect

• Shorter Time to Completion

• Financial Aid/Scholarships

• Career Expectations

The Pathway to the Graduate Degree

• Traditional Education

• Distance/Online EducationFor the past eight years online enrollments have been growing substantially faster than overall higher education enrollments.

•Over 6.1 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2010 term; an increase of 560,000 students over the number reported the previous year.

•In 2011, the ten percent growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the less than one percent growth of the overall higher education student population.

•Thirty-one percent of all higher education students now take at least one course online.

SOURCE: Allen, E.I. & Seaman, J. (Nov, 2011). Going the distance: Online education in the United States, 2011. Babson Survey Research Group. Babson College. Babson Park, MA.

The Future of the

Graduate Student

• Vulnerabilities

• Recommendations

Instructional Technologies Support

Elizabeth (Liz) Strand, Ph.D.

Supervisor, Instructional Design

ITS Distance Education Support

• Online Course Development– Programs (e.g., Graduate certificates or degrees)

– Single Courses (Graduate and Undergraduate courses)

• Workshops

• TRACS (LMS)

• Resource Grants

Online Programs

• Business Background Courses• Secondary Teacher Certification• Developmental Education Certification• Masters in Social Work• Master of Education with a Major in Middle

School Mathematics Teaching• Masters in Occupational, Workforce, and

Leadership Studies

Programmatic Online Course Development Timeline

GGuidance for uidance for OOnline nline LLearning earning DDesignesign

Single Course Support

Planning Matrix

Online Courses

Learning Modules TOC: SOWK

Learning Module Activities: SOWK

Video Vignettes: SOWK

Learning Modules TOC: Math

Learning Modules Activities: Math

Mini Lectures

Forums

Assessments

ITS Workshops

Pedagogy and Technology

• 90-minute workshops– Building Online Community

– Survival Skills for Online Teaching

– Online Management and Communication

– Collaborating Online

– Facilitating Discussion Forums

• 1 to 2-week workshops– Technology Integration

– Creating and Teaching an Online Course

TRACS

Resource Grants

Tutorial: Object-Oriented Programming

Thank you for your time. Are there any questions or comments?

Debbie: dm29@txstate.eduJo: j_k98@txstate.eduLiz: es22@txstate.edu