Transcript Kein Folientitel

Learner Support
@UMUC
Christine Walti, MDE
Beijing, China
May 12 -14, 2008
Learner Support @UMUC
Workshop Content
• Institution and Context
• Philosophy of Education
Values/Culture/Methods
• Some Research Data
• Learner Support Services
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Learner Support @UMUC
Description
• Devoted to adult and part-time learners
• Dual mode, open university
• One of 11 degree granting institutions in Maryland
• Worldwide Enrollment: 2nd among 4-year degree
granting public universities in the US
• 32‘000 student enrollments stateside
• Nearly 100‘000 students worldwide in 2007
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Learner Support @UMUC
Goals and Challenges
• Continuous Transition
• Dependent on own resources: only between 3% 7% of the $285‘000‘000 budget is publically funded
• Intense competition from for for profit institutions
• Increasing competition from public and private
institutions for the same student population
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Learner Support @UMUC
Location
• Online students in all 50 states and various countries
throughout the world
• Campuses in Adelphi, Maryland, Europe and Asia with
160 locations worldwide
• Partnerships with Irkutsk State University, Siberia; Far
Eastern National University, Vladivostok; University of
Oldenburg, Germany
• Contracts with U.S. government to support education
programs
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Learner Support @UMUC
Revenue and Funding
• Most current figures:
- 6.4% public funding from the state of Maryland
- 8% from the University‘s Inn and Conference Center
- 85.5% Tuition and fees
- Tuition freezes over the past three years for Maryland instate student
> difficult choices in terms of funding strategies
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Learner Support @UMUC
Business Model
• Streamlining Processes
• Pipeline of Functions
• Specialized Pipelines
• Few Full-time faculty
• Majority of faculty adjuncts:
- No Tenure
- High demand on faculty
- Needs deliberate and cohesive communication
- Increased training
• Business is as important as academics
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Learner Support @UMUC
Programs and Courses
• Associate (2 yr.)
• Baccalaureate (4 yr.)
• Masters
• Doctorate of Management
• Very few continuing education courses
• National Leadership Institute
• Over 100 bachelors and masters degree programs and certificates
fully online.
• In FY 2007, UMUC offered close to 700 distinct courses online.
• In Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 UMUC had over 177,000 online course
enrolments
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Learner Support @UMUC
Target Audience
• US citizens abroad
• International students
• Residents of the State of Maryland as well as other States
• Primary Age group: 25 -44
• Carefully watching 45+
• Somewhat more females than males
• Ethnic diversity reflects societal make-up
• Median age for BA degrees: 31 yrs.
• 4 out 5 students enrolled (stateside) work full-time
• Great variance in terms of preparation and leraning skills
• Over 40% are fist time degree earners in their family
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Learner Support @UMUC
Issues and Challenges
• Level of academic quality: must be the same for online delivery as for
face to face: same curriculum ---> same learning outcomes
• Technology information resources and institutional services help to
accomplish this goal
• Ownership of the curriculum (graduate and undergraduate school
have used two different approaches in the past to develop curriculum)
• Measuring learning outcomes
• Funding
• Provide front door mentoring and support courses to assist at risk
students in acquiring the skills and confidence they need to succeed
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Learner Support @UMUC
Issues and Challenges (2)
• Adding new faculty and training them not only for the technology
and pedagogy but to the values of UMUC
• Dealing with growth, diverse academic backgrounds and
preparedness, scalability and standards
• Ensuring current and innovative curriculum
• Academic support resources for students must be developed
and maintained to ensure persistence and retention
• Accessibility in terms of costs
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Learner Support @UMUC
Opportunities
• Space and capacity issues at public universities are – while a
problem in general – an opportunity for UMUC to step up and
provide learning environments that do not depend on space and
capacity
• UMUC is achieving an increasing level of standardization and
with technology mediated processes and mass customization can
meet its own challenges associated with growth
• Metrics/measurement is an important piece in knowing whether
the goals set out are being achieved and if the institution is
moving in the desired direction
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Learner Support @UMUC
Educational Philosophy
• Pillars: Access, Quality, Accountability and Affordability
• Interaction is critical
• Students must be engaged in the learning
• Assessment and feedback
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Learner Support @UMUC
Role of the Teacher/Instructor
• The model used by UMUC is the ‘interactive’ model: conferencing
is an important vehicle and discussion is the predominant method
(as opposed to the broadcasting model)
• The instructors facilitate cohorts based on a certain degree of
standardization and they add value by including their individual
knowledge, professional backgrounds and teaching style
• Level of multimedia use is generally quite modest
• At the graduate level faculty tend to be more technology fluent and
they develop their own courses
• At the undergraduate level a team approach is used where course
designers, multi-media specialist, editors and graphic specialist are
employed along with subject matter experts.
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Learner Support @UMUC
Modes of Teaching/Tutoring
• Face to face (traditional)
• Online
• Interactive video
• Two-way video conferencing
• Instructional TV
• Executive and short residency programs
• Blended approaches using one or more of the above
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Learner Support @UMUC
Premises
1.
The institution has a commitment – administrative, financial,
and technical – to continuation of the program for a period
sufficient to enable all admitted students to complete a degree
or certificate in a publicized timeframe.
2.
Ascertains by a review of pertinent records and/or personal
review that the student is qualified by prior education or
equivalent experience to be admitted to that program, including
in the case of international students, English language skills.
3.
The institution recognizes that appropriate services must be
available for students of electronically offered programs, using
the working assumption that these students will not be
physically present on campus.
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Learner Support @UMUC
Premises (2)
4.
The institution recognizes that a sense of community is important
to the success of many students, and that an ongoing, long-term
relationship is beneficial to both student and institution. The
design and administration of the program takes this factor into
account as appropriate, through such actions as encouraging
study groups, providing student directories (with the permission
of those listed), including off-campus students in institutional
publications and events, including these students in definitions of
the academic community through such mechanisms as student
government representation, invitations to campus events
including graduation ceremonies, and similar strategies of
inclusion.
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Learner Support @UMUC
Considerations
- Faculty qualifications and support.
- Course materials
- Course management and delivery
- Library-related services:
- Remote access
- Services providing information to students concerning
the institution and its programs and courses
- Technical services
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Learner Support @UMUC
Academic Resources
• Admission Assistance
• Advising
• Information and Library Services
• Bookstores
• Computer Labs
• Career and Cooperative Education Center
• Graduation Services
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Learner Support @UMUC
Administrative Resources
• Registration, student records, etc.
• Services related to orientation, advising, counseling, or tutoring
• Online payment arrangements
• Student privacy considerations
• Drug Prevention Program
• Student Advisory Council
• UMUC Policies
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Learner Support @UMUC
Financial Resources
• Determination of Residency for Tuition Purposes
• Federal Return of Funds Policy
• Financial Information
• Refund Policy
• Veterans Benefits
• Golden ID Program
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Learner Support @UMUC
Other Resources
• Dates and Events
• General Information
• Frequently Asked Questions
• International Applicants
• Orientation
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Learner Support @UMUC
Services
• Automated Services
(by telephone (IRIS) and online through the portal
MyUMUC and IRIS allow students to register for classes, make
changes, look up their grades and check on the status of their
financial aid application and have access to many of their
personal UMUC records to change personal information (such as
home address, e-mail address, or phone numbers), view and print
reports (such as their class schedule, grade report, statement of
account, unofficial transcript, and academic audit), and register for
final examinations for online courses
• Disabled Student Services
• Transcript Services
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Learner Support @UMUC
Research Data Collection
• Goal: Assure implementation of the Institutional Plan for
the Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
• Longitudinal action plan that defines the critical tasks and
timelines for reporting on student learning
• Key activities of the Office of Outcomes Assessment:
- Support activities that create and sustain an institutional
learning assessment culture
- Provide an annual update to the Institutional Plan for the
Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
- Monitor institutional timelines for learning assessment
initiatives
- Develop formalized guidance for reporting of student learning
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Learner Support @UMUC
Research Data Collection (2)
- Assure reliable data collection
- Facilitate effective use of student learning results in course
design, curriculum review, and program development
- Prepare annual reports that summarize learning assessment
data and findings from the institutional-level, program-level, and
course-level
- Provide guidance to the School of Undergraduate Studies and
the Graduate School of Management and Technology on the
development of school-level student learning assessment plans
and related learning assessment activities
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Exploring New Approaches: Web 2.0
Questions???
THANK YOU!
Many thanks to Nick Allen and Stella Porto from UMUC for their input for this presentation.
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