Planning for online courses at rural community colleges

Abstract

Rural community colleges often expand their online course offerings in an ad hoc manner. Due to limited resources and competing priorities, the necessary, careful planning for online instruction is often forgotten. Planning for Online Courses at Rural Community Colleges Jay Leist, Jon TravisThe delivery of courses and even complete degree programs online has become commonplace in higher education. As institutions seek to extend their reach and students demand more convenient access to the college curriculum, online offerings have increased at an accelerating rate. What has not kept pace with this expansion of online offerings is the necessary corresponding development of planning to ensure that quality is incorporated with the increase in online delivery (Bathe, 2001). Although comparisons of online and face-to-face instruction have not shown a difference in quality (Allen and Seaman, 2006), a lack of planning for online instruction can reduce its effectiveness.This chapter examines the value of online instruction to rural community colleges, the importance of planning for these courses, and the actual planning that selected rural community colleges have undertaken. As this examination demonstrates, online course planning, as vital as it is to rural campuses, is often overlooked as colleges rush to jump on the fastmoving train of online instruction. Online Courses and Rural Community Colleges: Benefi ts and ChallengesLike their urban and suburban counterparts, many rural community colleges have incorporated online courses into degree and certifi cate programs 2

A National Survey of Community College Baccalaureate Institutions

“…The use of online learning to deliver instruction at the community college has grown exponentially within the last decade (Cejda, 2010). Offering online courses is aligned with the college's mission of providing access to higher education to those who might not otherwise attend, and it is particularly valuable for community colleges located in rural areas (Leist & Travis, 2010). Rural community colleges planning to offer baccalaureate programs online should be equipped to address the challenges these institutions often face in delivering online instruction (see Cejda, 2007;Leist & Travis, 2010).…”

“…Offering online courses is aligned with the college's mission of providing access to higher education to those who might not otherwise attend, and it is particularly valuable for community colleges located in rural areas (Leist & Travis, 2010). Rural community colleges planning to offer baccalaureate programs online should be equipped to address the challenges these institutions often face in delivering online instruction (see Cejda, 2007;Leist & Travis, 2010). As the number of online CCB programs increases, it is important to know if there are significant differences in degree attainment for online students compared to students enrolled in face-to-face CCB programs.…”

Teaching strategies that enhance the educational success of community college online students

“…Research shows that in recent years the increased literacy in computer information technology among students has increased online course enrollments in undergraduate and community colleges (Massachusetts Colleges Online, 2014;Allen & Seaman, 2010;Morris, 2011). However, course content and faculty online teaching skills have lagged behind (Leist & Travis, 2010), and overall student success is suffering throughout online education (Community College Research Center, 2013;Johnson & Mejia, 2014). Research points out that undergraduate and community colleges must provide support services such as developing peer groups, mentoring to serve as teaching assistants, and technical supports to boost the success rate of online students.…”

“…The delivery of courses and even complete degree programs online has become commonplace in higher education (Leist & Travis, 2010). In the United States, online course enrollment in higher education is growing each year (Allen & Seaman, 2010;Morris, 2011) as a direct response to student demand for more convenient access to college courses.…”

“…In response to such demand, institutions of higher education have increased their online course offerings, a growth quite evident in Massachusetts community colleges (Massachusetts Colleges Online, 2014). Unfortunately, the quality of course content and faculty online teaching skills appear to have lagged behind the pace of such expansion (Leist & Travis, 2010). Teaching strategies are among the factors affecting the quality of online courses but have not been sufficiently explored.…”