Online Distance Learning Among the California Community Colleges: Looking at the Planning and Implementation

Considering Information Literacy Skills and Needs: Designing Library Instruction for the Online Learner

“…Recent research has focused on support for online students and the implications of online support (or lack thereof) for student satisfaction, retention, completion, and students' perception of connectedness to an institution (Dare, Zapata, & Thomas, 2005;LaPadula, 2003;Levy, 2003;Levy & Beaulieu, 2003). Students' perception of connectedness to an institution can influence student retention, student completion of online courses, and student satisfaction in an online program (Cain & Lockee, 2002;Tait & Mills, 2003).…”

The Administration of Online Programs in Statewide Systems: A Case Study of the University System of New Hampshire

“…Business acumen is particularly important in today's higher education landscape since it has become progressively more difficult for new entrants in today's online degree market to succeed (Rovai & Downey, 2010;Legon & Garrett, 2017). Without competent program administration and the appropriate infrastructure, online programs often underperform or fail (Legon & Garrett, 2017;Levy & Beaulieu, 2003;Rovai & Downey, 2010). In addition to administrative issues and insufficient infrastructure, Rovai and Downey (2010) identified several other reasons why online programs fail: marketing and recruitment, financial management, quality assurance, student retention, faculty development and online course design and pedagogy.…”

“…Researchers have found that effective online program administrators typically rely 3 on business models that are different from those used to manage face-to-face programs (Chaney, Chaney, & Eddy, 2010;Discenza, Howard, & Schenk, 2002;Lowenthal & White, 2014;Rovai, 2003;Rovai & Downey, 2010). Additionally, online programs are typically managed with different policies, (Gaskell & Hayton, 2015;Kenward, 2008;Levy & Beaulieu, 2003;Maguire, 2007) organizational structures and staffing (Creswell, Roskens, & Henry, 1985;Garrison & Kanuka, 2008;Hanna, 2013). In order to find the appropriate approach to administer online programming, Berge (2007) suggests that institutions adapt their strategic planning and quality assurance practices to the unique needs of online students.…”

“…Since online programs can provide an alternative source of revenue to help mitigate the effects of reduced residential enrollment (Ernst & Young, 2012;Inglis, 2013;Rovai & Downey, 2010), online program administrators must be equipped to achieve both instructional and financial outcomes. This is even more important in the case of multicampus and public statewide systems, where challenges are often more complex and intertwined with organizational structure (King, 2013;Levy & Beaulieu, 2003;Vines, 1998). Consequently, the opportunities and challenges afforded to stakeholders of large, multicampus online programs are amplified when an organization's size can be leveraged to lower operational costs, improve student access, and generate increased revenue (Discenza, Howard, & Schenk, 2002;Maguire, 2007).…”

“…Online program policy facilitates growth in program development, student support and helps determine the level of autonomy program leaders are allowed to exercise (Gaskell & Hayton, 2015;Maguire, 2007). Levy and Beaulieu (2003) (2010) alsosuggest that institutions must carefully consider the length of time it will take for new programs to become profitable. Since there is no standard formula that details the path to profitability, each institution must consider different factors that influence the financial success of online programs.…”