Improving Distance Education Program Quality Through the Implementation of a Center for Excellence

Changes in technology and the needs of society are creating a demand for more educational offerings via distance education. To answer this need, George C. Wallace State Community College, currently known as Wallace Community College or WCC, offers courses through their distance education program. Over the course of 9 years, the offerings have expanded over 700% (R. C. Joiner, personal communication, November 5, 2008). To ensure quality in the growing number of courses offered through the distance education program, WCC implemented a Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE) during the spring semester of 2005. This article will review the history leading up to the implementation of the distance education program and the response to evaluation-identified needs in the form of CIE.

Established in 1947, WCC is a comprehensive community college located in southeast Alabama that served approximately 3,700 credit students and 1,500 noncredit students in the fall semester of 2007 (Barefield, 2008). According to the 2007 Fact Book (Barefield), in 1999, the State Board of Education, in an effort to promote efficiency and reduce duplication of services within the state college system, merged Sparks State Technical College in Eufaula with Wallace Community College in dothan. Today, the college serves students from campuses in Dothan and Eufaula and sites in Fort Rucker as well as two Alabama Department of Corrections facilities. The college offers associate degrees in arts, sciences, and applied sciences, as well as certificates in technical programs.

WCC is one of 26 public 2-year colleges in the Alabama Community College System. The Alabama State Board of Education is responsible for providing leadership, oversight, and policy development for the system. WCC is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and individual programs are accredited by appropriate professional and occupational organizations.

The WCC mission statement is: “Wallace Community College seeks to provide accessible, quality educational opportunities, promote economic growth, and enhance the quality of life of its constituents” (Barefield, 2008, p. 30). As a comprehensive community college, WCC fulfills its mission through college-level credit, continuing education, economic development, student development, and support programs and services (Young, 2004).

The college primarily serves a ninecounty region of Southeast Alabama along with the contiguous 14 counties in southwest Georgia and eight counties in the panhandle of Florida (George C. Wallace State Community College, 2009a). WCC’s service area is in transition and has long been characterized by rural isolation, changing demographics, low family incomes, low educational levels, and pervasive social problems (Young, 2004). Many undereducated residents have traditionally worked in agribusiness and textile industries (Young). However, jobs in both sectors are being lost to technology and global competition, and new service sector and manufacturing jobs that are being created generally require a higher level of education and training than those jobs being lost (Young, 2004). These and other economic trends present new challenges and opportunities for the institution.

Following the merger of WCC and Sparks State Technical College, WCC began an analysis of institutional effectiveness. The process worked closely with WCC students, faculty, staff, and administration, college advisory committees, foundation board members, area employers, and a cross section of other College stakeholders (Young, 2004). Their goal was to identify and analyze institution strengths and weaknesses, and community needs. The result of their effort was a 5-year strategic plan which defines institutional goals and priority initiatives for advancing WCC. One of the major goals defined in this strategic plan was to develop a distance education program.

In response to this goal, WCC began its distance education program spring semester of 2000 with six faculty members offering seven courses and serving 176 students (George C. Wallace State Community College, 2009b). Subsequent semesters showed an increase in faculty participation, course offerings, and enrollment. However, an evaluation of the program identified three problems (Young, 2004).

The first problem identified was that there were inadequate distance education offerings for students. Although the college had offered some courses through distance education, such efforts lagged far behind student demand. A 2003-2004 survey revealed that 93% of students indicated that because of employment schedules, course demands, and family responsibilities, they would prefer courses offered via web-based distance education as opposed to courses in the traditional mode (Young, 2004). At the time, less than 7% of the college’s 664 courses were offered through distance education, and less than 10% of full-time faculty members had incorporated web-based information into their courses, developed course webpages, or brought courses online (Young, 2004). For many of the 63% of WCC students who both work and attend classes, use of the Internet to obtain information to apply in traditional courses or complete courses in a distance format had become a necessity (Young, 2004). Nearly 70% of WCC students indicated a desire for increased use of audiovisual media, distance learning, and other technology (Young, 2004).

The second problem identified was that there was limited access to technology and insufficient faculty training in technology. A limited number of WCC faculty had integrated advanced technology into instruction. The majority of faculty relied entirely on traditional teaching methodologies which often failed to address the multiple learning styles of a diverse student body or take advantage of technologies students routinely use at work and at home. In a 2003 survey, nearly 80% of faculty indicated a desire to improve their knowledge and skills for using instructional technology in their classes (Young, 2004). A companion student survey found that 87% of students were disappointed at faculty’s inability to provide web-enhanced or distance courses (Young, 2004). Faculty lacked training, equipment, software, and staff support for using advanced technologies. The result was faculty frustration and, more importantly, diminished student success.

The third problem identified in the distance education evaluation was that there was an insufficient technology infrastructure within the college. The college’s technology infrastructure was insufficient to handle increasing demand for instructional support. The college had no equipment to convert and edit video for multimedia presentations, and no personnel to train instructors in multimedia production and utilization.

To address these three problems, four goals were identified (Young, 2004). The first goal was to promote excellence and innovation in teaching, support services, and instructional delivery. The second goal was to improve faculty capabilities for meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. The third goal was to improve student opportunities by expanding nontraditional learning options. The final goal was to improve the infrastructure for supporting the teaching/learning environment.

The solution to correcting these problems and meeting these goals was the creation of a CIE in spring semester 2005. This center became responsible for managing the initiative to strengthen the college’s technology infrastructure for supporting instruction, designing and implementing a mentoring program to improve faculty members’ ability to apply advanced technology in the classroom and through distance education, and to provide training and instructional design resources for developing course materials and courses for distance education.

To strengthen faculty capabilities in utilizing technology in the teaching/learning process, WCC established CIE to provide training and support for faculty, with a focus on strengthening skills in the use of technology. Structured as a multiservice resource facility, the center supports faculty in revising and developing curricula and course materials and assessing their efforts to integrate technology into instruction. Faculty benefits from opportunities to interact with Center staff and peers.

The CIE design is based on models at other institutions, including Lansing Community College in Michigan and New River Community College in Virginia (Young, 2004). CIE is equipped with computers, office productivity and web authoring software, multimedia technology including professional video recording and editing equipment. CIE is under the authority of the college president, and reports to the dean of academic affairs through the coordinator of academic programs. Within CIE, a distance education technology specialist, web/media technician, media assistant/technician, and lab supervisor report to the director of CIE. Also, CIE is advised by a 15-member steering committee comprised of representatives from all divisions and levels of the college.

The role of CIE is constantly changing; however, they are charged with carrying basic functions. One of the basic functions is to support innovations in and promote the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. They are also to provide educational opportunities for effective teaching and learning. Also, they should increase access to, and use of, web-based teaching and learning tools. Lastly, they are charged with expanding support for and share best practices of professional development for both full-time and adjunct faculty.

In addition to these functions, CIE works closely with all divisions of the college to continually strengthen the technology infrastructure needed to meet the goals set. Strengthening WCC’s technology infrastructure continues to provide faculty with resources to support instructional innovation, including electronic classrooms, software for web authoring and other applications. CIS found that technology such as document cameras, “smart tablets,” recording equipment, web authoring, and video production hardware and software were some of the technologies needed to enhance distance delivered courses.

Another initiative that CIE launched to meet the goals set, was an online mentoring program. Faculty who had led WCC’s effort to use technology and in distance delivered instruction were identified and appointed as mentors for faculty to be trained. Mentors received advanced training, as well as advanced hardware and software to support their efforts. Working with CIE, mentors developed an online mentoring program comprised of six instructional modules: (1) planning an effective web-based course; (2) presenting material effectively in a web-based format; (3) engaging students; (4) promoting student interactivity and dialogue; (5) assessing what/how students are learning in the format; and (6) managing a web-based course. Also included in this online mentoring program are samples of each of the topics included in the modules, additional documents for further research, and a way to communicate with CIE staff, faculty mentors, and to post questions on a discussion board.

In addition to strengthening the technology infrastructure and sponsoring an online mentoring program, CIE also offers other resources to assist faculty. These resources include classroom and one-on-one training in online course development, summer institutes on distance education course best practices, current instructional trends and techniques, support from instructional design professionals, additional software and hardware, as well as stipends or release time for distance education course design. In addition, CIE provides assistance to help faculty develop webpages and web-based management tools to support both online and lecture courses; develop skills in using electronic classrooms; employ advanced presentation techniques; and incorporate the Internet in existing courses. CIE encourages and sponsors distance education faculty members to broaden their knowledge base by attending conferences such as International Conference on Educational Media, Multimedia, and Telecommunications (EDMEDIA).

WCC currently utilizes WebCT, a proven system for delivering courses via the Internet, for course development and delivery. Using WebCT, CIE provides an online CIE Support Center. This support center contains the Wallace Online Standards which was developed to provide faculty with guidance on what is expected in a quality distance education course. The CIE Support Center also provides examples of how to implement Wallace Online Standards within a course as well as additional support and training.

The Wallace Online Standards (George C. Wallace State Community College, 2008a) has varying degrees of requirements based on whether a course is considered a web-enhanced course, a hybrid course, or a distance delivered course. The Wallace Online Standards defines a web-enhanced course as a course in which 100% of teacher-student interaction is conducted in a face-to-face environment. A hybrid course is defined as a course in which more than 50% of teacher-student interaction is conducted in a face to face environment. A distance delivered course is defined as a course in which less than 50% of teacher-student interaction is conducted in a face-to-face environment.

A distance delivered course, according to the Wallace Online Standards (George C. Wallace State Community College, 2008a) must be equivalent to a face-to-face course. It must also comply with the standard minimum template requirements of posting the syllabus and instructor contact information. The course must identify all technology requirements, such as office productivity requirements, web browser add-ons, .pdf reader, et cetera. It should also outline skills needed by the student to successfully complete the course, such as basic computer skills. One of the most important standards is communications. Each distance delivered course must have clear directions for communication, must include timely and appropriate interaction between students and faculty as well as interaction between students. Lastly, Wallace Online Standards requires each course to meet specific instructional design standards which include specifying student learning outcomes with a complement of supporting course materials and appropriate assessments.

Also included in the Wallace Online Standards (George C. Wallace State Community College, 2008a) are guidelines for evaluating courses. The guidelines indicate a review process will begin as soon as course is approved for development and continue throughout development. Once a course is designed, an initial review will be conducted followed by a periodic review to be conducted during the first semester of implementation. The criteria to be evaluated include basic course design, such as alignment with curriculum and outcomes, syllabus, interactivity, et cetera; a review of instructional processes, such as student interactivity and instructor accessibility; and institutional processes, such as academic credentials, training, and services.

Since the inception of CIE in 2005, each distance education course has been reviewed, evaluated, and subsequently revised to meet the Wallace Online Standards for Distance Education Courses. Today, more than 32 courses are offered by over 20 faculty and generate an average of over 3,500 credit hours (George C. Wallace State Community College, 2009b). According to the 2008 Spring Student Service Survey, 88% of students who responded to the question “For me, the number of courses offered through the Web (distance education) is:” rated course availability via the World Wide Web as “excellent” or “satisfactory” (George C. Wallace State Community College, 2008b). According to the 2008 Spring Distance Education Survey, students responding to the question “How would you rate the overall quality of instruction that you received via the Internet?”, rated satisfaction with faculty delivering courses via the World Wide Web as 4.1 on a 5.0 scale” (George C. Wallace State Community College, 2008b). This 81% approval of online courses at WCC “well exceeds the overall requirement” of a rating at or above 68.75% (George C. Wallace State Community College, 2008b).

WCC began its distance education program with a few inexperienced but willing faculty. Through the efforts of the college and CIE, the distance education program today has flourished in the number of courses offered, faculty offering courses, and students enrolling in courses. More importantly, the program is flourishing because of the efforts by CIE to promote a culture of quality within distance delivered courses. Based on student services surveys and student distance education surveys, the effort is paying off in the level of satisfaction students have in the number of courses offered and the quality of individual courses. Therefore, the conclusion can be made that the CIE is a major contributing factor in WCC’s distance education program success.