A Quality Education When and Where You Want It
Fall 2017 | By Maureen Harmon
Bryce Nelson, a first-generation college student, had a full class schedule when he started at UCF. He was doing OK, but he knew he could be doing better. The problem was, he simply couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 make the time. In addition to his full course load of online and on-campus classes, he was working two jobs. Not working just wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 an option.
麻豆精品 S淚 needed to work 35 to 40 hours a week just to survive, 麻豆精品 S� Nelson says. And that meant a lot of juggling with his UCF schedule, his work-study position as an event lead in the alumni center and his full-time job at Publix. All that, and he was facing the tough decision of changing his major from marketing to communication.
So Nelson headed to his mentor 麻豆精品 S檚 office and laid out the issue for him. How could he improve? That 麻豆精品 S檚 when he learned that he could pursue a communication degree entirely online, doing course modules, homework and discussion on his own schedule. Suddenly, new possibilities opened up.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 what you make of it, 麻豆精品 S� says Nelson. 麻豆精品 S淚n person, you can have the interaction with the teacher, but just because you 麻豆精品 S檙e online doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 mean you can 麻豆精品 S檛 do the same thing. 麻豆精品 S� Nelson points to his professors 麻豆精品 S� online office hours, and the fact that because he 麻豆精品 S檚 local, he still heads to campus regularly and participates in the social life, including his role in Delta Sigma Pi, a business fraternity.
This need for students to learn 麻豆精品 S� how and when they want 麻豆精品 S� is fueling a national movement. 麻豆精品 S淚 meet with college students across the country every year, and without exception, they all stress the importance of having flexibility in pursuing their degree or credential, 麻豆精品 S� says Allan Golston, president of the United States Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the arm of the philanthropic organization that oversees educational opportunities across the nation.
National movement or not, online education has its detractors, especially in higher education. There are those who argue that face-to-face learning is simply better, allowing for in depth聽conversation and in-person debate.
Proponents, however, argue that digital learning provides access to education for students, such as Nelson, who may not otherwise be able to pursue it 麻豆精品 S� a major driving force of the UCF mission. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 not a thought experiment, 麻豆精品 S� says Provost and Executive Vice President A. Dale Whittaker. 麻豆精品 S淥nline education is an innovation that allows us to meet students 麻豆精品 S� life needs at a price point they can afford, with the quality that matches some of the most elite institutions. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淥nline education is an innovation that allows us to meet students 麻豆精品 S� life needs at a price point they can afford, with the quality that matches some of the most elite institutions. 麻豆精品 S�A. Dale Whittaker, provost and executive vice president
Offering one of the lowest price tags in higher education, UCF needed to make sure it was living up to its strategic goal of providing a quality education to as many students as possible. To do that, administrators and faculty decided to go where students needed them to be.
麻豆精品 S淪imply put, online education is the opportunity to bring a high-quality education to students who otherwise would not be able to access it, 麻豆精品 S� says Tom Cavanagh, vice provost for digital learning at UCF. 麻豆精品 S淚 think we do a great service by bringing UCF to them. 麻豆精品 S�
If you look across any college campus at any moment, you 麻豆精品 S檒l see students looking at screens 麻豆精品 S� whether it 麻豆精品 S檚 a laptop, tablet or smartphone. There 麻豆精品 S檚 no doubt that students are living a good part of their lives online. 麻豆精品 S淪o we started offering online sections, 麻豆精品 S� says Whittaker, and they took off. 麻豆精品 S淎ll of the growth in online education has been driven by students. 麻豆精品 S�
So how does UCF give students what they want, how they want it, in terms of a quality education? Several ways. While technology is in every classroom these days in one form or another, students can live on or near campus and choose to either attend face-to-face courses, take courses both in classrooms and online (which is called blended learning), or take all their courses online; or they can live anywhere in the world and pursue a degree exclusively over the internet through UCF Online.
While all options have plenty of strengths to offer, data from a study conducted by an outside consulting group show that the students who choose blended learning have the best results 麻豆精品 S� and UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 numbers reflect that too. More than 20 years of data confirm that adding digital learning to students 麻豆精品 S� mix of classes accelerates the time needed to earn a degree. UCF students who take a large portion of their courses online 麻豆精品 S� from 40 to 60 percent 麻豆精品 S� on average graduate in less than four years, compared to 4.3 years for those who take only traditional, face-to-face courses.
Students in blended learning courses, says Cavanagh, have more success, achieving higher grades. 麻豆精品 S淸Blended learning classes] also have the lowest withdrawal rates, and they have the highest end-of-course evaluation, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 pretty compelling. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淎t its best, 麻豆精品 S� says Golston, 麻豆精品 S渙nline learning is about seizing the opportunity to do things in online instruction that you can 麻豆精品 S檛 do face-to-face. 麻豆精品 S澛燜or Amanda Groff, an associate lecturer in archaeology who teaches all of her courses online, that means leveraging the technology students聽are already using by having course discussions through closed social media groups; it means instructional video; it means in-depth learning modules.
麻豆精品 S淚 think back to 2008 when I taught my first online course, and I look at my courses today, and it 麻豆精品 S檚 like night and day, 麻豆精品 S� Groff says. 麻豆精品 S淭he strides, the technologies that have been developed just in these last 10 years are unbelievable, and it makes online education exciting and fun for me. 麻豆精品 S�
When it comes to judging an online course 麻豆精品 S檚 quality, UCF approaches the process just as they would any course. First, more than 80 percent of all UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 online courses are taught by full-time faculty and must go through the same departmental review process as any face-to-face course. Second, UCF created the Center for Distributed Learning, an organization dedicated to educating faculty in how to teach online courses effectively.
麻豆精品 S淚 think that we can leverage online learning as a laboratory to innovate the way we teach and to experiment with new technologies and new methods to engage students in more interesting and effective ways, 麻豆精品 S� Cavanagh says.
麻豆精品 S淚 think that we can leverage online learning as a laboratory to innovate the way we teach and to experiment with new technologies and new methods to engage students in more interesting and effective ways. 麻豆精品 S�Tom Cavanagh, vice provost for digital learning at UCF
All faculty members hoping to build online courses must complete 80 hours of professional development with an instructional designer, and the university provides 35 hours of training for faculty who want to teach existing online courses.
麻豆精品 S淏asically, instructional designers are a great support system, 麻豆精品 S� Groff says. 麻豆精品 S淚f we have a really interesting idea that we want to introduce into our coursework, they show us how it translates in an online environment. 麻豆精品 S�
Though she teaches all of her courses online these days, Groff is still on campus several days a week to work and hold office hours. Sometimes students drop by to see her in person; others set up phone appointments.
麻豆精品 S淪he makes learning the subjects interesting, informative and interactive, 麻豆精品 S� says Tracy Lovingood, one of Groff 麻豆精品 S檚 students. 麻豆精品 S淪he 麻豆精品 S檚 always open to answering any questions 麻豆精品 S� in addition to presenting the most up-to-date information. Dr. Groff sets the bar high as far as online classes go. 麻豆精品 S�
UCF recognized that effort by presenting Groff with the Chuck D. Dziuban Award for Excellence in Online Teaching in 2012. This year 麻豆精品 S檚 winner was Kenneth Hanson, associate professor of Judaic studies, who created a series of videos in which he explored the history of the diaspora, the Holocaust and other topics. 麻豆精品 S淚n many cases, he donned costumes and performed in character to bring it to life for his students, 麻豆精品 S� Cavanagh says. 麻豆精品 S淭he committee thought it was just wonderful. 麻豆精品 S�
The work that Hanson, Groff and UCF at large聽are doing in the online education industry caught the attention of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation recognized the differences being made by about 30 universities in their approach to online learning. Three of them 麻豆精品 S� Georgia State, Arizona State and UCF 麻豆精品 S� were what the foundation referred to as 麻豆精品 S渕ega-universities 麻豆精品 S� in online instruction. As a way to influence聽other colleges and universities, the foundation began聽publishing studies on how well online education works, especially when it comes to making higher education accessible to more people.
麻豆精品 S淭he foundation has a broader strategy around postsecondary success, improving equitable outcomes and closing attainment gaps in U.S. higher education, 麻豆精品 S� says Rahim Rajan, senior program office in the postsecondary success strategy at the Gates Foundation. 麻豆精品 S淥ur goal is to erase and eradicate those gaps so that all students can succeed, and right now that 麻豆精品 S檚 not the case. Institutions like UCF are really at the forefront of leading that charge. 麻豆精品 S�
As for UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 own data: Students accessing the university 麻豆精品 S檚 online degrees tend to be older and from lower-income families. Women outnumber men in online coursework, and it 麻豆精品 S檚 a go-to for transfer students. The best part: These students tend to score better in an online environment than they do in face-to-face courses. 麻豆精品 S淐losing college attainment gaps by race and income means increasing student success without limiting access, 麻豆精品 S� Golston says. 麻豆精品 S淚t can be done, and UCF is committed to doing that. And they 麻豆精品 S檝e used approaches that could serve as a blueprint for other institutions. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淸UCF has] used approaches that could serve as a blueprint for other institutions. 麻豆精品 S�Allan Golston, president of the United States Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
When Golston visited UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 campus recently, he spoke with a first-generation senior. 麻豆精品 S淗e talked about how he felt like there were systems in place designed to help students just like him. He had had an experience at another college before coming to UCF and felt that they weren 麻豆精品 S檛 as invested in seeing聽him graduate, 麻豆精品 S� Golston says. 麻豆精品 S淔or a student to recognize that the institution is invested in his success and putting systems in place to address his specific needs is powerful testament to the work UCF is doing. 麻豆精品 S�
UCF is learning that online education isn 麻豆精品 S檛 just about making a college degree possible, it 麻豆精品 S檚 also about making it affordable. Students who graduate in less than four years have lower overall tuition bills.
Then there are issues of space constraint 麻豆精品 S� a building and a campus can only hold so many students and faculty members. 麻豆精品 S淥nline education allows us to scale way beyond what our physical facilities allow, 麻豆精品 S� Whittaker says. 麻豆精品 S淲e are built to teach about 40,000 students. 麻豆精品 S� But online education allows UCF to reach 66,000 students in search of an education. Over 42 percent of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 annual student credit hours are in online modalities, which equals more than 650,000 hours of learning 麻豆精品 S� a number that continues to grow at a minimum of 2 percent per year, driving overall university growth.
What does all of this mean for the future of online education at UCF? First, it 麻豆精品 S檚 a promise that Whittaker hopes to keep. 麻豆精品 S淭he first promise of our strategic plan is that we become the most educated region in Florida in terms of the number of people who have a four-year degree or better, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 going to have to happen by dramatically increasing access, especially among folks in the lower half of family-income brackets. That 麻豆精品 S檚 done, I believe, through UCF Online, which offers fully online programs at a discount. 麻豆精品 S�
Whittaker also hopes that in 20 years, digital versus classroom learning won 麻豆精品 S檛 be a topic of debate at all. 麻豆精品 S淚 hope we won 麻豆精品 S檛 be having this discussion, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淚n other words, we will be talking about how technology increases a faculty member 麻豆精品 S檚 ability to reach students through more intimate and individualized learning. I hope we won 麻豆精品 S檛 be talking about whether something is online or face-to-face. It will be so blended that you won 麻豆精品 S檛 be able to distinguish the difference. 麻豆精品 S�
For Bryce Nelson, the difference is clear and compelling. An online education allows him to make his own schedule, sometimes completing a week 麻豆精品 S檚 worth of coursework on his days off. Could he have pursued his degree the more traditional way 麻豆精品 S� juggling his jobs with attending classes in person? Sure. But given that fact, his schedule would inevitably put his education second. He knows the online route is right for him. And his grades, which have climbed since moving his coursework entirely online, are proof enough for him. These days, he 麻豆精品 S檚 not just getting by at UCF. He 麻豆精品 S檚 thriving.