Substantive Change Proposal New Distance Education Programs Associate Degrees and CTE Certificates Sonoma County Junior College District 1501 Mendocino Ave. Santa Rosa, California 95401 April 10, 2012 Prepared by: Dr. W. Cherry Li-Bugg Dean of Learning Resources and Educational Technology Dr. Mary Kay Rudolph Vice President, Academic Affairs and Accreditation Liaison Officer
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Substantive Change Proposal: - Accreditation · Web viewThe District has identified 8 new online degrees and 12 new online certificates since the last time the District put forth
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Substantive Change Proposal
New Distance Education Programs
Associate Degrees and CTE Certificates
Sonoma County Junior College District1501 Mendocino Ave.
Santa Rosa, California 95401
April 10, 2012
Prepared by:Dr. W. Cherry Li-Bugg
Dean of Learning Resources and Educational TechnologyDr. Mary Kay Rudolph
Vice President, Academic Affairs and Accreditation Liaison Officer
ToAccrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Overview of Substantive Change ...........................................................................4
1. Description of Proposed Programs .......................................................................... 42. Relationship to the Institutional Mission ................................................................ 53. Rationale for Request .............................................................................................. 6
B. Description of Educational Programs To Be Offered ...........................................6C. Planning Process Leading to Request for Change ...............................................8
1. Needs and Resource Assessment ........................................................................... 102. Anticipated Effect of the Proposed Change on the Rest of the Institution ............ 113. Benefits Resulting from Change ............................................................................. 11
D. Institutional Resources and Process for Change ................................................11
1. Faculty, Management, and Support Staffing .......................................................... 112. Equipment and Facilities, Including Adequate Control Over any Off-Site Campus..153. Fiscal Resources – Initial and Long Term and Sources of Funding .......................... 164. Plan for Monitoring Outcomes ............................................................................... 16
E. Evidence of Internal and External Approvals .......................................................17
1. Administrative ....................................................................................................... 182. External Regulatory and Legal Requirements ....................................................... 183. Sonoma County Junior College District Governing Board Approval ..................... 18
F. Evidence of Maintenance of Eligibility Requirements ........................................18
1. Authority2. Mission3. Governing Board4. Chief Executive Officer5. Administrative Capacity6. Operational Status7. Degrees8. Educational Programs9. Academic Credit10. Student Learning and Achievement11. General Education12. Academic Freedom13. Faculty14. Student Services15. Admissions16. Information and Learning Resources17. Financial Resources
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 2
18. Financial Accountability19. Institutional Planning and Evaluation20. Public Information21. Relations with Accrediting Commission
G. Evidence that Each Accreditation Standard will still be Fulfilled Related to the Change and that All Relevant Commission Policies are Addressed .....................27
1. Standard I .............................................................................................................. 272. Standard II ............................................................................................................. 273. Standard III ............................................................................................................ 314. Standard IV ............................................................................................................ 315. Process for Monitoring and Evaluating the Effectiveness and Learning Outcomesexpected through the proposed change ....................................................................31
H. Appendices ..............................................................................................................33
APPENDIX 1: NEW SONOMA COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT PROGRAMS THAT CONTAIN 50% OR MORE UNITS IN DISTANCE EDUCATION .........................................33
APPENDIX 3: DISTANCE EDUCATION STUDENT RETENTION, SUCCESS AND AVERAGE GPA DATA .............................................................................................................................37
APPENDIX 6: SONOMA COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES ACTION TO APPROVE THE SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE PROPOSAL REQUEST...................................40
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 3
A. OVERVIEW OF SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE
Description of the Proposed Program
The purpose of this Substantive Change Proposal is to request approval to add additional
online degrees and online certificates to the Santa Rosa Junior College Distance Education/Online
Learning Program. The District is seeking approval to offer the following eight (8) associate
degrees and twelve (12) certificates via the distance education mode.
MajorsAdministration of JusticeChicano and Latino Studies Digital Media: Interactive MultimediaEconomics English* Political Science*Sociology for Transfer Spanish
Certificates Accountant Assistant Adobe Certification Training in InDesignBookkeeperCIS Information Technology: Cisco Certification Training in CCNA Computer Help Desk Legal Office Support* Office Assistant Payroll*Retail Management Small Business Management Tax Assistant Clerk* Web Project Management
The degrees and programs with asterisk have not quite achieved the full 50% status; however,
they are all between 45 and 50%; therefore we have included them in this round of proposal. These
online degrees certificates are promoted on the web and in the class schedule. The Weekend
College for working adults and other impacted/interested students also directs students to online
majors as a way of completing their degrees.
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 4
Relationship to the Institution’s Stated Mission
“Sonoma County Junior College District’s Mission is to promote student learning
throughout our diverse communities by increasing the knowledge, improving the skills and
enhancing the lives of those who participate in our programs and enroll in our courses” (Board
Policy 1.1). To achieve this mission, the District provides general education, transfer, career
technical, and basic skills classes. Many of these are offered online. The District offers about 200
different online courses, about 500 sections per year.
Fifteen statements outlining the broad purposes of the District support SRJC’s Mission.
Adding more online degrees and certificates specifically addresses this aspect of the District’s
mission: “Promoting open access through actively eliminating barriers to a college education.”
Board Policy 3.12.2, adopted July 10, 2007 and reviewed January 8, 2008, makes it clear
why SRJC offers online instruction:
Online instruction, as a core component of Distance Education at SRJC, is designed to benefit student and the District by providing alternatives to traditional “on-site education.” Benefits and goals of such instruction shall include increased flexibility and convenience for students, as well as decreased use of impacted instructional space. Online teaching enables the District to better serve current and potential students both inside and outside its service area.
The vision for Distance Education supports the overall mission of SRJC with a strong
commitment to student learning and success through:
• High quality, student-centered, interactive learning experiences in online,
hybrid, or blended courses.
• Collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to learning that help students
develop meaningful and relevant connections in their lives.
• Pedagogy which encourages critical and independent thinking and is responsive
to a spectrum of learning styles.
• Flexibility in the scheduling of course offerings to meet student needs.
• Up-to-date delivery formats which equip students to be successful in an ever-
changing technological environment.
Distance Education in the form of online degrees and certificates is an integral part in the
fulfillment of the mission for the Sonoma County Junior College District.
Discussion of the Rationale for the Request
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 5
SRJC’s students are part of the increasing trend of students nationwide who are turning to
online certificate and degree programs to complete or advance their education. SRJC sees this
trend as an opportunity to provide our students with a variety of options to pursue their educational
goals, while not changing the expectations that the District has established in regard to the
importance of students’ meeting course and program student learning outcomes. The District and
the faculty have been actively responding to this student need by creating more online degrees and
certificates. The District has identified 8 new online degrees and 12 new online certificates since
the last time the District put forth a substantive change proposal to ACCJC; hence the Sonoma
County Junior College District is maintaining compliance with ACCJC and submitting this
substantive change proposal to seek approval.
Santa Rosa Junior College has been offering online courses since 1997. Between fall 2007
and fall 2011, the growth in online FTES (full-time equivalent student) at SRJC is 63%. During the
same time period, student retention has gone from 63% to close to 70%.
Even with the phenomenal growth of the online program at SRJC, students continue to
“demand” more online classes. Online classes close immediately after registration opens each
semester and on average, the “hits after close” for online classes are in triple digits versus single
digit or teens for face-to-face classes. In a recent Student Technology Survey of enrolled online
students at SRJC, 92% report that they take online classes for schedule flexibility and not having to
travel to campus. (See Appendix 2)
B. A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAM TO BE OFFERED
The change in delivery mode does not constitute the creation of new educational programs.
All of the proposed online certificates and majors in this application already exist as Chancellor
approved certificates and majors, previously taught by more traditional instructional methods,
mostly face-to-face instruction. Only the instructional delivery method is new to the District.
The programs proposed in this application to be offered via the distance education mode
are already offered by the District in the traditional, face-to-face delivery of instruction. Majors,
general education and graduation requirements are identical for both distance education and face-
to-face programs. Courses, regardless of their method of delivery, share a common curriculum and
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 6
an officially approved course out of record (COR). In addition, Sonoma County Junior College
District has Board-approved procedures in place to ensure that rigor, breadth, objectives, student
learning outcomes and academic quality of courses and programs offered in the distance education
mode meet the same standards as those offered in the traditional, face-to-face delivery mode.
The Sonoma County Junior College District Catalog for 2010-2011 was used to determine
graduation requirements and individual major requirements for the Associate Degrees in
Administration of Justice
Chicano and Latino Studies
Digital Media: Interactive Multimedia
Economics
English
Political Science
Sociology for Transfer
Spanish
The fact that the District is proposing to offer a new Sociology for Transfer degree via the distance
education delivery mode is indicative of the responsiveness of the District to the changing
educational environment and student need.
The same catalog was used to determine the requirements for the following CTE certificates:
Accountant Assistant
Adobe Certification Training in InDesign
Bookkeeper
CIS Information Technology: CISCO Certification Training in CCNA
Computer Help Desk
Legal Office Support
Office Assistant
Payroll
Retail Management
Small Business Management
Tax Assistant Clerk
Web Project Management
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 7
The Curriculum Committee of the District separately approves each course proposed for distance
education delivery to ensure that the following are met:
Regular and effective contact is maintained between instructor and students through group
or individual meetings, orientation, review sessions, study sessions, field trips, library
workshops, chat rooms, telephonic contact, email or other methods of contact.
Instructors employ effective pedagogical techniques appropriate to the distance education
mode to achieve the quality and rigor of instruction equivalent to that of traditional, face-
to-face version of the course
Appropriate technologies and tools are used to achieve course objectives and student
learning outcomes
Multiple measures are used to achieve and assess student learning
Student retention, success and average GPA data are readily available through datamining at the
District and some of the relevant data are presented in Appendix 3.
C. THE PLANNING PROCESS THAT LED TO THE REQUEST FOR CHANGE.
Sonoma County Junior College District has been offering online classes since 1997. The
District has well-established policies and procedures for the development and the delivery of
distance education courses. All distance education courses and programs of study are approved by
the District’s Curriculum Committee and all online courses and program of study undergo a
separate approval by the Committee as per requirement by Title 5 of California Code of
Regulations. Policies and procedures related to online program approval are contained in the
information on the District online learning website. http://www.santarosa.edu/instruction/online-
learning.
On an annual cycle, the Institutional Planning Council (IPC), the highest planning body of
the District, develops College Initiatives that guide strategic planning for the District. For the past
several years, expansion of online learning and the creation of entirely online degrees and
certificates have been included as a goal under College Initiative #7, Enrollment
Management and Retention. Specifically, the goal of improving and solidifying the distance
education program at SRJC is to be achieved by:
focused online course development
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 8
implementing an alternative Learning Management System in Moodle
targeted faculty development in online pedagogy
expanding the variety of options for course delivery
In the District’s latest update to its technology plan, distance education plan is a central part of this planning. As such, the needs of distance education related to services, programs and resources are outlined and discussed in full in the technology plan. https://bussharepoint.santarosa.edu/committees/institutional-technology/Committee%20Documents/Tech%20Plan%20Narrative%206%2029%2011.pdf
For the past fifteen years, SRJC has gradually geared up for offering online certificates and
majors. Starting in 1997, the Center for Advanced Technology in Education (C.A.T.E.) was
launched and an Instructional Systems Designer was hired to create and support the software,
which is locally developed. In the last two years based on faculty feedback, the Distance
Education planned for the addition of an open source course management system in Moodle. Pilot
testing in Moodle began in the spring of 2011 and by spring 2012, there is increased adoption of
Moodle by faculty at SRJC to use as a vehicle for delivery of online course content and
management of online courses.
Initially, most of the online offerings were simply courses, many in the business and
technology area, but over the years more and more in the general education and transfer area. The
creation of online certificate and degrees has largely been an evolutionary process.
Planning for many of the proposed online certificates occurred in the Business and
Professional Services division, where faculty have for many years taken a strong interest in online
teaching. For this reason, there has typically been adequate numbers of offering to serve all
interested students.
Over the past several years, the Online College Course Development Project has provided
stipends and support for faculty to develop new online classes that were part of existing
occupational certificates and transfer degrees. The goal, documented and approved in the
planning process, was to move toward offering certificates and degrees entirely or substantially
online, thus giving students the maximum flexibility in completing their program of study.
Needs and Resources Assessment
As part of the Program and Resource Planning Process (PRPP), the Dean of Learning
Resources and Educational Technology includes an analysis of the Online Learning Program, its
expansion, and its needs for resources. The data presented in the program review document shows
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 9
continuous, sustained growth in online learning. Specific needs assessment including staffing,
technology, instructional equipment and facilities are listed, discussed and forwarded to the Vice
President of Academic Affairs for further prioritization and decision-making. This program review
process allows for appropriate and integrated resource allocation that meets the needs of students
and helps to achieve the institution’s mission and strategic directions.
Here are some specifics of how this program review process works effectively. PRPP helps
to identify the need for additional resources in Distance Education as the online program continues
to grow at SRJC. The need for a Director of Online Learning has been identified, and filling this
position is considered a high priority of the District. The document also verifies that existing
resources, primarily a server and an instructional systems designer, are adequate to present needs.
As the program keeps growing, an additional server will be needed. In 2009/10, an additional part-
time position, PC Trainer, was added to specifically support online learning and to train faculty on
making online courses accessible to students with disabilities. In 2010/11, a part-time management
position in the form of a Distance Education Manager was created and filled. This management
position has quickly become indispensible in facilitating the accessibility compliance review for
online courses and faculty training and development. With the addition of this half-time
management position, the District has been able to institute the six-year accessibility review of all
online courses and in reviving the once-vibrant online faculty training and development program.
In spring 2011, the District contracted with @ONE to provide a four-week online training program
for Moodle and began a brown-bag series to address online pedagogical issues such as engaging
online students with group work and social media, best practices in ensuring academic integrity in
online classes and cool tools for online and f2f classrooms. Under the management of this position,
the District continues to offer faculty training in the use of Moodle and other pedagogical issues
that come up with Distance Education delivery mode.
Anticipated Effect of the Proposed Change on the Rest of the Institution.
Since all programs of study are already approved by the California Community College
Chancellor’s Office and are currently offered successfully online, this substantive change will have
no adverse effect on the Institution. In addition, the District is accustomed to this rapid growth in
online learning and anticipates no negative impact on the rest of the institution. Each of the seven
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 10
division deans is accustomed to supporting and scheduling online courses. Making online
certificates and majors available will reduce the impact on facilities and provide our students with
more options to access their higher education.
Benefits Resulting from the Change
The District has been very intentional in the growth of online degrees and certificates as
evidenced by the deliberate inclusion of this in the College Initiatives. The intended benefits of
offering more online certificates and degrees include the following. We anticipate that the new
online certificates and majors will:
Generate less traffic congestion and less of a parking problem;
Help alleviate impacts on facilities, including lack of classroom space during
“prime time” (9 am to 3 pm);
Allow more students to access classes that fit into their busy lives;
Continue to serve large numbers of women who gravitate to online classes in part
because work and family obligations. Seventy percent of our online students are
women.
Serve increased numbers of students with disabilities, given our emphasis on
assuring that all of our online classes are accessible to persons with disabilities.
D. INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES AND PROCESS FOR CHANGE
Sufficient and Qualified Faculty, Management and Support Staffing:
Academic Affairs is responsible for Online Learning. Department Chairs are responsible
for all courses in their disciplines, regardless of location or delivery methodology. Department
chairs play a major role in scheduling, faculty evaluation, hiring, discretionary expenditures, and
other processes designed to address instructional quality. The Dean for Learning Resources and
Educational Technology, Dr. Cherry Li-Bugg, provides administrative supervision of the Online
Learning program. She reports directly to the Vice-President for Academic Affairs.
The Curriculum Review Committee (CRC) approves all courses offered at the District,
regardless of the method of instruction. Online courses are approved for inclusion in the academic
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 11
curriculum following policies and procedures outlined in the Program and Course Approval
Handbook as mandated by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office California Code
of Regulations, Title 5. This procedure generally involves initiation of a proposed curriculum
offering or curriculum change by a faculty member, approval by the Supervising Administrator,
review and approval by Curriculum Review Committee (CRC).
The Distance Education Advisory Committee (DEAC) was created in 2002 to review
proposals for online courses before they are developed. Title 5 (55213) requires that all courses
proposed for distance education undergo a separate review process to ensure that the course meets
all the standards for courses in general and for distance education listed in Title 5. DEAC reviews
online course proposals to determine if a particular course is suitable for online delivery. DEAC is
advisory to CRC and makes recommendations to CRC re the suitability of specific courses for
online delivery as proposed by faculty.
The District Online Committee (DOC) is comprised of administrators, faculty, classified
staff and students. DOC meets regularly to discuss issues related to online teaching and learning.
The committee helps introduce faculty to the pedagogy and technology of online instruction,
guides experienced faculty in the areas of more advanced technical tools and sophisticated
teaching methods, and recommends standards, guidelines, and best practices for students and
faculty in online classes.
The Distance Education department is comprised of the Dean of Learning Resources and
Educational Technology, a half-time Distance Education manager, a Instructional Systems
Designer, a PC Trainer and an Instructional Consultant (faculty). The Distance Education is tasked
with the fulfillment of the vision for distance education. As previously stated, the vision for
Distance Education supports the overall mission of SRJC with a strong commitment to student
learning and success through:
• High quality, student-centered, interactive learning experiences in online, hybrid, or
blended courses.
• Collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to learning that help students develop
meaningful and relevant connections in their lives.
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 12
• Pedagogy which encourages critical and independent thinking and is responsive to a
spectrum of learning styles.
• Flexibility in the scheduling of course offerings to meet student needs.
• Up-to-date delivery formats which equip students to be successful in an ever-changing
technological environment.
To that end, the Distance Education department enforces all policies and procedures related to
online course development and delivery. The Distance Education department also provides the
tools, training and resources necessary to ensure the quality of our distance education program.
The Computer Assisted Teaching Environment (CATE) hosts SRJC's online classes as well as
web-based instructional materials created for face-to-face classes by SRJC faculty. Most faculty
members utilize CATE's proprietary courseware management system to create and maintain their
Web-based materials. CATE provides a cluster of instructional support services and facilities,
focusing on the use of technology in the instructional program at SRJC. CATE performs the
following in support of online learning:
Acts as the central portal for online learning and maintains the necessary infrastructure,
including hardware and software to support online instruction.
Provides training and direct support to faculty and staff in use of its online instructional
software system.
Investigates and implements emerging technologies relevant to meeting the needs of the
instructional program.
Provides professional development opportunities and trainings for online faculty.
Works collaboratively with other campus service providers, such as Media Services,
Academic Computing, and Computing Services to ensure the quality of the services that it
provides.
Since spring 2011, the Distance Education department has added an alternative Learning
Management System to the mix. Moodle has provided a more up-to-date alternative for faculty to
use as their learning management tool. So far the feedback from students regarding Moodle has
been uniformly positive. Moodle is also the learning platform adopted at most California State
University campuses including our local CSU campus, Sonoma State University. The ability to use
Moodle provides an added advantage to our students who transfer to California State Universities.
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 13
Since spring of 2011, Distance Education has started to provide Moodle training to SRJC
faculty. The 27-hour training series in Moodle is being offered this spring with a mix of f2f, hybrid
and completely online options. Faculty participation is high in this training series and there is a
five-day Moodle bootcamp being planned for summer intersession. In addition, the Distance
Education department has collaborated with the Center for Teaching, Learning and Sustainability
and the Office for Staff Development to offer training in online pedagogy and best practices.
Online Instructional Faculty. Currently, SRJC has well over 100 faculty members
actively teaching online courses. Sonoma County Junior College District uses the same standards
and processes for the hiring and evaluation for all faculty regardless of delivery mode. Online
faculty members are required to meet the same State minimum qualifications that apply to on-
campus instructors. Human Resources handle recruiting new instructors with job announcements
approved by academic departments. The hiring of both part-time and full-time online faculty
follow the established procedures used for hiring of all faculty. Evaluation of instruction for online
classes follows the same contractual procedure as evaluation for more traditional forms of
teaching, including a survey of students. Beginning spring 2011, the Distance Education has
advocated with all academic departments to adopt online special expertise as part of their
procedure to assign online instructors as a way to further ensure the quality of instruction in the
online classes. To date, most departments have adopted the recommended language or more
stringent language. The recommended online special expertise language for SRJC is as follows:
Must have either (1) Taught a total of 6.0 online semester units for an accredited college or university within the last 5 years or (2) passed a class or classes totaling at least 2.0 semester units at an accredited college or university on the pedagogy of teaching online within the last 5 years or (3) demonstrate successful completion of SRJC online teaching training within the last 5 years or (4) demonstrate successful completion of at least 30 hours of certified training in teaching online from @ONE (or comparable organizations as determined by SRJC) within the last 5 years.
Appropriate Equipment and Facilities, including Adequate Control over any off-site Campus
The nature of online instruction minimizes the need for and the use of traditional physical
facilities. We utilize one server to house both CATE and Moodle. The server is housed in a secure
and locked facility in the Doyle Library. While the Instructional Systems Designer administers the
course software (CATE and Moodle), the work on maintaining the server is performed by a
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 14
System Administrator from the Instructional Computing department. Funds have been allocated to
purchase a brand-new server in 2012/13 to ensure that online course materials are fully backed up
and restorable.
Student Authentication
Sonoma County Junior College District requires that all instructors use the District-
supported learning management system, whether CATE or Moodle. The District-supported
learning management systems house hybrid and blended learning courses in addition to fully
online courses. Students are required to log on to the systems using a District established
identification system (SIDS-Student Identification System). In the CATE system, students are
required to check in during the first week of class. In Moodle, students are required to log in and
participate on the first day of class. The District’s attendance policy stipulates that students log in
and start participating in the online classrooms on the official start date of the course. See the
District’s attendance here http://www.santarosa.edu/polman/8stuserv/8.1.5.pdf
Sonoma County Junior College District also requires instructor initiated discussion forums
in online classes to address course content and engage regular and effective contact with students.
Additionally, testing and assignments are required to be submitted via the District-supported
course management system. These practices ensures the ongoing active participation of all students
in the course beyond the mere determination of course statistics. The use of multiple measures of
assessment is also encouraged at all professional development activities for distance education
faculty. All these practices taken as a whole constitute a holistic set of policies and best practices
to ensure students participate fully in online classes. The District is currently undergoing a review
of all Board policies and procedures. In the revision to Board policy 3.12.2 for Distance
Education/Online Instruction, there will be an explicit provision of faculty to maintain regular and
effective contact with students.
Fiscal Resources - Initial and Long Term and Sources of Funding
Sonoma County Junior College District has sufficient fiscal resources to cover the costs
associated with the continued maintenance of the District’s Distance Education program. Funding
for staffing and supplies is provided through the District’s general fund. It’s been stated in the
PRPP for several years that staffing needs to increase in Distance Education. There is plan to hire a
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 15
Assessment Services provides online study guides and forms.
Bookstore offers online ordering for textbooks.
Cal Works provides eligibility and contact information online and works with students by
phone.
Career Development Services offers a virtual Career Center.
Disability Resources offers online forms and phone consultations
EOPS offers information online and assistance by phone.
Financial Aid offers online application information, resources, links, and assistance by
phone.
Jesse Peter Multicultural Museum offers online exhibits.
Libraries make online databases available to all students, and an “Ask the Librarian” web
feature allows students to ask questions online.
Matriculation provides online information and can be contacted by phone.
Orientation is available online.
Scholarship programs offer online forms and are available by phone.
Student Health Services provide online forms, resource links, and are available by phone.
The Transfer center offers many helpful online links and resources, and it is available by
phone.
Veterans Affairs offers online information and phone contact.
Work Experience offers online information, an online orientation video, and telephone
contacts.
Writing Center offers online modules to improve writing.
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 30
Standard III: Resources
As explained earlier, the District has sufficient resources to support online learning,
including fiscal, technology and personnel resources. The Distance Education department, under
the leadership of the Dean of Learning Resources and Educational Technology, achieves its vision
by doing the following:
Acts as the central portal for online learning and maintains the necessary infrastructure,
including hardware and software to support online instruction.
Provides training and direct support to faculty and staff in use of its online instructional
software system.
Investigates and implements emerging technologies relevant to meeting the needs of the
instructional program.
Provides professional development opportunities and trainings for online faculty.
Works collaboratively with other campus service providers, such as Media Services,
Instructional Computing, and Computing Services to ensure the quality of the services that
it provides.
Standard IV: Leadership and Governance
As noted earlier, the Online Learning Program fits well within the established leadership and
governance structures. Faculty members create the curriculum. The Distance Education Advisory
Committee reviews applications to determine suitability for online delivery. The Curriculum
Review Committee approves courses for online delivery. The Board of Trustees then approves
those actions. An Academic Dean, reporting to the Vice-President of Academic Affairs, supervises
the Online Learning Program. The District Online Committee, a shared-governance committee,
provides support and recommendations for the pedagogical aspects of the program.
Process for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and learning outcomes expected
through the proposed change
It is the responsibility of the Dean of Learning Resources and Educational Technology, a
permanent educational administrator assigned to manage the distance education programs, in
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 31
coordination with the Vice President of Academic Affairs, to monitor and evaluate the
effectiveness of programs conducted online.
The Dean of Learning Resources and Educational Technology is tasked with the creation of
the annual PRPP for distance education. In this program review document, effectiveness of the
programs and student achievement are discussed; strengths and weakness assessed and resources
requested. With the review and approval of this program review by the Vice President of
Academic, decisions are resource requests are made and each year the cycle goes forward. SRJC is
committed to supporting the distance education as it provides a sustainable option for students to
complete their educational goal in a reasonable time frame.
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 32
Appendix 1
Sonoma County Junior College DistrictNew Online Majors and Certificates Spring 2012
MajorsAdministration of JusticeChicano and Latino Studies Digital Media: Interactive MultimediaEconomics English* Political Science*Sociology for Transfer Spanish
Certificates Accountant Assistant Adobe Certification Training in InDesignBookkeeperCIS Information Technology: Cisco Certification Training in CCNA Computer Help Desk Legal Office Support* Office Assistant Payroll*Retail Management Small Business Management Tax Assistant Clerk* Web Project Management
Sonoma County JC District: Substantive Change Proposal for Additional Online Programs 33
IntroductionOnline students at SRJC have not been routinely included in institutional surveys. In order to learn more about the demographic make-up, the needs of and the challenges faced by online students, the District Online Committee decided to survey online students in 2010. In addition, the District Online Committee was interested in learning more about and formulating strategies to address the gap in retention and success rates between on the ground students and online students. So working collaboratively with the Office of Institutional Research and with the support of the IT department, the District Online Committee created the survey in the spring of 2011. A link to the survey was sent to all enrolled online students and those who dropped out of online classes in the spring 2011 semester. Roughly a quarter of the students responded to the survey. Respondents also entered voluminous comments. The survey yielded rich data in the following areas: student motivation, technology skill levels, satisfaction, readiness and workload and demographics. For the body of this document, we will attempt to summarize the results of the survey in these five broad areas.
Student MotivationOverwhelming majority of the responding students took online classes because of the scheduling flexibility and not having to travel to campus (92%). The majority of the classes are completely online (80%) and 90% of the students completed their online classes in the spring of 2011.
Technology Skill LevelsStudents self-reported that they possess very high technology skill levels; 86% of the responding students reported that their overall comfort level with technology is high or very high. Whether it’s email, web browsing, attaching documents or word processing, over 80% of the students reported that their skill level is either high or very high. The only category that slightly below 80% is control panel settings.
SatisfactionMajority of the responding students self-reported as receiving little technical assistance for their online classes. The instructor is the person students seem to turn to for assistance in their online classes; 36% of the responding students reported receiving a lot (15%) and some (21%) technical assistance from their instructor.
The data seems to indicate that online students need little to no technical assistance. However, online support services as they relate to course registration or web portal or online course site are regularly used by students and majority of the students are satisfied with these services:
But those support services that are not directly related to course registration or online class access were not used or accessed by the students. And these support services include:
1. services to students with disability, 79% didn’t access or use; 2. Online Writing Center, 77% didn’t access or use; 3. Online Academic counseling, aka Ask a Counselor, 74% didn’t access or use; 4. Student Help Desk, 72% didn’t access or use.
But for the students who did use or access these services, the majority of them were satisfied with these services. The rate of dissatisfaction among the students for any of the services does not go above single digit with the majority hovering at 2%.
As to specific aspects of the online classroom, students are satisfied with the majority of them (above 80%) except for online textbook and chat services, which were both hovering around 40% satisfaction. Students also reported roughly 80% satisfaction with interactions with other students and sense of belonging in the class in the learning community aspects of the online class. However, participation in group discussion or projects showed a low rate of use-25% did not use group discussion and 63% did not participate in a group project.
The types of office hours students used were varied with over 20% using one of these methods: email and message list; face-to-face in Santa Rosa; and synchronous online (CATE Chat module).
The satisfaction level was high for the students who identified that they were a person with a disability with 90% responding that all or some of their needs were being met in regards to the required or reasonably necessary portions of their course being provided in an accessible format.
Students responded that the greatest challenges for participating in online classes –over 35% listed Cost of text books and Job pressures (time/schedule conflicts) while over 23% listed Communicating with the instructor, Family pressure or responsibilities and Distractions/conflicts at home. 18% listed Lack of self-discipline to study and go to the class site and 10% listed Easy access to course related information and materials while all of the other choices were in the single digits.
Readiness85% of students responded that they did not attend a face-to-face orientation with the instructor and 6% attended an optional orientation and 9% attended a mandatory orientation
91% of students said they did not take SRJC’s College Skills 334 (“How to Take an Online Course”) before or during the semester and of the 9% who indicated they took College Skills 334, 85% indicated it was useful to them. For those who indicated they did not take College Skills 334, 42% said they would find an assessment of their readiness to take an online class and a tutorial related to taking an online class important while 58% indicated they were not important.
WorkloadOverall students felt they were prepared for participation in online courses. 96% state they are prepared in the area of self-motivation to participate in the online class and 96% also state they are prepared in regards to self-discipline to complete assignments on time. 98% feel they are
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technologically savvy enough to participate fully. In the area of time management, 94% state they are prepared.
66% of the responding students stated that the workload of courses matched their expectations for while 30% said it was more work than expected and only 4% claimed there was less work than expected.
63% of students responded that the time requirements of the course matched their expectations while 32% felt more time was required than they expected and 4% claimed less time was required than expected.
Overall Satisfaction92% claimed overall satisfaction with the quality of the online courses. In regards to expectations of response time from online instructors, 59% stated that instructor’s response time matched expectations and 25% felt the instructor’s response time was faster than my expectations with 15% stating it was slower than expectations.
Based on their experiences in online classes 83% stated they would you take another online course at SRJC with 11% stating maybe and 6% stating they would not.
DemographicsIn regards to the total number of college units completed prior to the online course, 11% reported taking 1 to 15 units, 16% reported16 to 29 units, 28% reported 30 to 59 units and 44% reported 60+ units.
As to the number of online college units completed prior to the online course, 71% reported taking 1 to 15 units, 15% reported 16 to 29 units, 8% reported 30 to 59 units and 7% reported 60+ units.
In the area of the number of hours per week students work for pay, 27% reported none, 10% reported 1-10 hours, 12% reported 11-20 hours, 15% reported 21-30 hours, 19% reported 31- 40 hours, and 17% reported over 40 hours.
As far as primary educational goal at SRJC for the students taking online classes, 37% plan to transfer to a 4-year (baccalaureate granting) college or university; 25% seek an associate degree; 19% are working toward a certificate in a Career Technical Area; 5% for job training; 10% are after personal interest or self improvement; and 3% are not sure/undecided. It should be noted that there are no basic skills or GED students taking online classes.
ConclusionOverwhelming majority of the SRJC students take online classes for schedule flexibility and majority of the online students are satisfied with their online classes at SRJC. Students feel that they are ready and prepared to take online classes and students with disabilities feel that their needs are being met in the online classes. However, there is a little to no use of the existing online student support services excluding online registration. Students also reported little to no group work being carried out in the online classroom.
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Appendix 3
SRJC Online DATASpring 2009 through Spring 2012
Semester
CategorySp 09
Fa 09
Sp 10
Fa 10
Sp 11
Fa 11 Sp 12
Online enrollment 5776 5754 5536 5578578
2 5262 5899(non-duplicated headcount)
Online FTES 432 430 435 432 447 529 502
Online Retention 69% 66% 68% 70% 69% 72% 70%
Online GPA 2.44 2.55 2.59 2.62 2.59 2,71 2.54
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