Leaders in education have different attitudes, feelings and beliefs in relation to the politics and policies in higher education. Among these policies is the recent buzz in online education programs offered by many universities in the United States. Many leaders in the education field believe that changes in social structures emanating from work and family commitments necessitate the need for a different approach by all stakeholders in regards to educational demands by individuals (Norman, 2016). One of the leaders that I had the opportunity to interview over distance learning policy at their institution is Mrs. Ellis Durham, the dean of Online Learning Program at Pueblo Community College in Colorado.
Ellis Durham believes that the onset and the unexpected popularity of online education heralds a fundamental shift for education policy makers, not just in the country but across the world. Therefore, she believes that it is the role of leaders in the sector to inspire and motivate potential students to increase enrollment numbers and enhance the credibility of these programs (Norman, 2016). She thinks that leaders in education must be in a position to effectively communicate the benefits of these programs not to individual students but also institutions, especially community colleges. She posits that the popularity of these programs arises from the pros that they provide, especially flexibility for students and accessibility for the institutions. Further, she believes that the increase in the number of universities and colleges offering online learning ensures that students have the capability to select the kind of institutions they want irrespective of the existing geographical differences and distances (Lungu, 2016). She opines that institutions offering these programs must ensure that they focus on quality so that online learning is considered not only as a flexible but also a quality option for the enrolled students. Here is a glimpse at my interview with Dr. Ellis Durham.
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Q. What is your definition of online learning?
A. The Colorado education department defines online course as any learning delivered using the Internet technology. Further, a student taking an online course is defined as anyone enrolled on an online course and uses the medium as the primary source of their learning materials.
Q. How would rate college completion rates in the state and perhaps in the entire country for the online students, and are they important?
A. I would first state that completion rates are essential since they help those institutions to assess the effectiveness of their programs’ offering and the kind of students that they fit. However, comparing these students to the traditional face-to-face counterparts may not provide a fair, credible and evidence-based assessment because of a variety of factors. It is factual that the traditional face-to-face student has a better rate of completing their bachelor’s program as compared to their online counterparts. That said, it should be noted that the essence of these programs is to allow more students access educational opportunities if desired irrespective of their situations than to limit them to the traditional time frame. These students seek flexible schedules which I believe that the traditional framework offers to the other students.
Q. As a community college, do have online policy regulations for interested students?
A. Any institution offering these programs must have one and indeed, the college has one. Students enrolling for the program must pass the minimum test score needed; this includes both reading and writing. Once admitted, they must a minimum GPA score; our score is 2.0 because we understand the nature of students seeking these courses. When a student fails to maintain the GPA score, they are suspended from the online classes.
Q. How do you evaluate the success of your programs, particularly the scores?
A. The college carries out an independent evaluation based on the distribution of grades and their format of delivery regularly. We assess the retention rate from one semester to another, the pass rate which is a D grade or better, and the success rate which is a C- grade and above. Further, we monitor the GPA scores and the success of students enrolled with low scores. It is important to mention that the program has been effective based on the scores that we have registered over the past five years.
Q. How many students have enrolled for the online program as we commence the fall semester?
A. I do not have the final figures since the registration process is still going on. However, based on the last semester’s data, we had 6, 346 enrollments in the online program, which was an increase of about one thousand compared to the previous period. Therefore, I project that the numbers might go up again.
Q. Do you think that a college education through an online program adds value to a student’s knowledge and skills?
A. I believe that online college education has a lot of impact on the knowledge and skills of a student. For instance, at our community college, we allow students to transfer their credits when they wish to other colleges within the state and the country. Through my interactions with them, they confide that the credits attained in our college have allowed them to advance in their career areas. The knowledge and skills obtained through the program have been beneficial in their community engagements, especially initiating community services projects and formation of civic groups.
Q. Can innovations in higher education make students better?
A. Innovations are fundamental to the success of any program, either online or traditional face-to-face session. However, you must realize that online programs are new innovations that have improved the ability of students to access education and be better members of society. The ability to conduct predictive analytics on students improves their success and using information obtained from such tools, instructors can reach to the students using better strategies. Furthermore, it offers them an opportunity to have better interventions and tools with emphasis on developing proactive processes to improve students’ success and overall learning.
Q. What is your responsibility as a leader in the education in regards to improving higher education standards in the state, and the country?
A. Leaders need to be transparent and accountable in their actions. They can achieve these by ensuring that have consistency, better competencies and assessment standards that improve success rates among students.
Summary
It follows that an online education requires one to go beyond the ordinary commitment that they make when enrolling for the traditional course based on the set time frames. Further, the interview reveals that higher education stakeholders must offer necessary resources to all seeking opportunities in higher education with a view of making it only accessible but with the requisite quality standards required. It suffices to note that the popularity of online courses continues to rise, especially at a time when many students seek to have control over their resources and time. These students may feel comfortable doing the online programs at home (Lungu, 2016). Imperatively, policy makers, particularly leaders like Ellis Durham, must be seized of these dynamics and develop quality online programs for those opting for them.
While the culture of online learning still raises pertinent moral and ethical issues, colleges, universities and their faculties have an indispensable responsibility to ensure that they offer quality programs that do not undermine or seek to undermine the moral standards of a student (Norman, 2016).
References
Colorado Community College System, 2017. “By Law” Accessed from
https://www.cccs.edu/about-cccs/state-board/bylaws/
Lungu, M. (2016, September 7). “Top 5 Advantages of Online Education” Accessed from
http://www.distancelearningportal.com/articles/260/top-5-advantages-of-online-education.html
Norman, S. (2016 March 10). “5 Advantages Of Online Learning: Education Without Leaving
Home” Accessed from https://elearningindustry.com/5-advantages-of-online-learning-education-without-leaving-home
