scholarly journals Evaluating Quality in Fully Online U.S. University Courses: A Comparison of University of Maryland University College and Troy University

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. Aldridge ◽  
Mark L. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
State Universities ◽  
Online Course ◽  
University Of Maryland ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
University College ◽  
Periodic Evaluation ◽  
Student Discussion

A key component of quality assurance in online higher education is the periodic evaluation of fully online courses, by both internal and external reviewers, against standards developed by the offering institution. These standards can address a variety of quality areas including but not limited to: the organization and structure of the online course; the extent to which technology is used to foster learning and student engagement; and the use of available communication features to stimulate student discussion and interaction. In this paper the online evaluation processes and criteria of the two largest U.S. state universities involved in online education – University of Maryland University College and Troy University – are compared. It will be shown that the two institutions arrived independently at very similar quality standards for online courses, and that these standards are congruent with those developed and promulgated by nationwide higher education accreditation agencies in the U.S.

Faculty Participation in Online Higher Education

2018 ◽  
pp. 2000-2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
The United States ◽  
Faculty Participation ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Student Demand ◽  
Education Report

In the past decade, enrollments in distance education, and specifically online education, have grown dramatically in the United States. According to the 2009 Sloan Report (), enrollments in online courses increased from 9.6% of total postsecondary enrollments in 2002 to 25.3% in 2009. Unfortunately, a number of barriers exist that may result in an inability of higher education institutions to provide quality online education programming in sufficient scale to meet the expected student demand. The Managing Online Education report () identifies the resistance of faculty towards teaching in an online environment as foremost among ten factors that “impede institutional efforts to expand online education programs” (p. 1). An understanding of the factors that both motivate and discourage faculty member participation in online education programs is critical if institutions are to leverage their existing faculty to meet the current and future demand for online education. This case study first presents a number of motivating and inhibiting factors and then discusses how St. Bonaventure University leveraged these factors in an attempt to boost faculty participation in online education.

Faculty Participation in Online Higher Education

2018 ◽  
pp. 1148-1161
Author(s):  
Michael S. Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
The United States ◽  
Faculty Participation ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Student Demand ◽  
Education Report

In the past decade, enrollments in distance education, and specifically online education, have grown dramatically in the United States. According to the 2009 Sloan Report (), enrollments in online courses increased from 9.6% of total postsecondary enrollments in 2002 to 25.3% in 2009. Unfortunately, a number of barriers exist that may result in an inability of higher education institutions to provide quality online education programming in sufficient scale to meet the expected student demand. The Managing Online Education report () identifies the resistance of faculty towards teaching in an online environment as foremost among ten factors that “impede institutional efforts to expand online education programs” (p. 1). An understanding of the factors that both motivate and discourage faculty member participation in online education programs is critical if institutions are to leverage their existing faculty to meet the current and future demand for online education. This case study first presents a number of motivating and inhibiting factors and then discusses how St. Bonaventure University leveraged these factors in an attempt to boost faculty participation in online education.

scholarly journals African American Males Learning Online: Promoting Academic Achievement in Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan G Salvo ◽  
Brett Welch ◽  
Kaye Shelton
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
African American ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
African American Males ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Course Completion ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Attrition Rates

Online education is expanding within higher education. However, attrition rates for African American males enrolled in higher education in general, and in online courses specifically, is on the rise. Because the future of our nation depends on how well our educational institutions develop, nurture, and deploy talent, an investigation was conducted to identify factors that promoted online course completion among African American male undergraduate students. Ten males who successfully completed online courses were interviewed, and significant themes were identified. Factors that contributed to online course completion were financial assistance, prior academic achievement, previous information technology (IT) training, continuous academic enrollment, student selection of topics perceived as uncomplicated and less demanding or familiar due to sufficient prior knowledge, use of handheld digital devices, and a non-prejudicial learning environment. Based on these findings, recommendations are made that include strategies policymakers and educationists can implement to promote academic achievement and degree attainment among African American males in higher education.

4. The Autopsy of Quality in Online Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-93
Author(s):  
Matthew M. Acevedo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Quality Matters ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Digital Nature

Abstract The purpose of this essay is to critically and philosophically explore the role of and impetus for quality assurance regimes in online education and their most salient manifestation, the Quality Matters program. The author argues that online courses are particularly vulnerable to autopsic quality examinations under neoliberal rationality as a result of their corporeal, digital nature. This essay will also consider the implications for faculty and others who must abide by and perform quality in online higher education and will consider ways in which those facing the incursion of quality assurance in online education can resist its threats and coercions, leveraging the promise of the liberatory aspects of distance education.

Faculty Participation in Online Higher Education

2014 ◽  
pp. 61-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
The United States ◽  
Faculty Participation ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Student Demand ◽  
Education Report

In the past decade, enrollments in distance education, and specifically online education, have grown dramatically in the United States. According to the 2009 Sloan Report (Allen & Seaman, 2010), enrollments in online courses increased from 9.6% of total postsecondary enrollments in 2002 to 25.3% in 2009. Unfortunately, a number of barriers exist that may result in an inability of higher education institutions to provide quality online education programming in sufficient scale to meet the expected student demand. The Managing Online Education report (Green, 2010) identifies the resistance of faculty towards teaching in an online environment as foremost among ten factors that “impede institutional efforts to expand online education programs” (p. 1). An understanding of the factors that both motivate and discourage faculty member participation in online education programs is critical if institutions are to leverage their existing faculty to meet the current and future demand for online education. This case study first presents a number of motivating and inhibiting factors and then discusses how St. Bonaventure University leveraged these factors in an attempt to boost faculty participation in online education.

scholarly journals Online Course Design

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally J. Baldwin ◽  
Yu-Hui Ching
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
The United States ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Evaluation Instrument ◽  
Online Course Design ◽  
Quality Matters

The evaluation of online courses is an important step in providing quality online courses. There are a variety of national and statewide evaluation tools used to help guide instructors and course designers of online courses (e.g., Quality Matters, OSCQR). This paper discusses a newly released course evaluation instrument from Canvas, the second largest learning management system (LMS) used by higher education institutions in the United States. The characteristics and unique features of the Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist (CCEC) are discussed. The CCEC is also compared to established national and statewide evaluation instruments. This review is helpful for those interested in online course design and developments in the field of online education.

An Empirical Analysis Of Student Satisfaction Influential Factors In Online Learning

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Alina Payne ◽  
Reza G. Hamzaee
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Instructional Effectiveness ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Course Effectiveness

There exists the need to better understand the effectiveness of online education.  In recent years, academic institutions (of higher education) have increased the number of online courses offered to students.  The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that are most influential in determining student satisfaction of overall course effectiveness and overall instructor effectiveness in online higher education.  The main research question is: What factors influence student satisfaction of overall course effectiveness and instructional effectiveness?  Through an application of step-wise regression procedure, hypotheses will be tested to determine any influential factors for students’ satisfaction with course and instructional effectiveness. The data source will be online course evaluation results at colleges in the state of Connecticut.  The results of the study will allow higher education administrators and instructors to make more effective decisions regarding online students, online course offerings, the distribution of funds within online education. Furthermore, the results will allow instructors to more effectively manage online courses, and allow students to increase personal effectiveness with respect to the online learning process.

scholarly journals Usage of Online Education in the Field of Mathematics for Hearing Impaired and Deaf Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 05002
Author(s):  
Dmitry M. Chirkov ◽  
Mikhail D. Konstantinov ◽  
Artyom N. Semakin ◽  
Galina P. Yemgusheva ◽  
Mikhail V. Mozgovoy
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Impaired Hearing ◽  
Deaf Students ◽  
Mathematics Knowledge

The article is devoted to problems of usage of online education in the inclusive education process in BMSTU. Russian and foreign experience in the field of mass open online courses in the system of higher education is briefly described. Information on foreign platform Coursera, Russian online courses construction platform Stepik and the National Open Education platform is given. The experience of Ural Federal University in development of two first online courses for people with disabilities is shown. The article describes educational features and specific needs of students with impaired hearing in the system of higher education on the base of BMSTU’s years-long experience in work with groups of students of that type. The model of inclusive higher education in Bauman university is briefly described and explained. Main stages of development and approbation of online course on elementary mathematics knowledge actualization for hearing-impaired and deaf students on the first year of education in BMSTU are revealed. Practical recommendations for online courses’ authors on materials selection, preparation, video recording and other stages of online course creation are given. Prospects of the developed course usage and plans for further activities of the university in that field are shown.

scholarly journals Online Higher Education: Beyond the Hype Cycle

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 135-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. McPherson ◽  
Lawrence S. Bacow
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
College Level ◽  
Hype Cycle ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Faculty And Administrators ◽  
Selective Schools ◽  
Start Ups

When two Silicon Valley start-ups, Coursera and Udacity, embarked in 2012 on a bold effort to supply college-level courses for free over the Internet to learners worldwide, the notion of the Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) captured the nation's attention. Although MOOCs are an interesting experiment with a role to play in the future of higher education, they are a surprisingly small part of the online higher education scene. We believe that online education, at least online education that begins to take full advantage of the interactivity offered by the web, is still in its infancy. We begin by sketching out the several faces of online learning—asynchronous, partially asynchronous, the flipped classroom, and others—as well as how the use of online education differs across the spectrum of higher education. We consider how the growth of online education will affect cost and convenience, student learning, and the role of faculty and administrators. We argue that spread of online education through higher education is likely to be slower than many commenters expect. We hope that online education will bring substantial benefits. But less-attractive outcomes are also possible if, for instance, legislators use the existence of online education as an excuse for sharp cuts in higher education budgets that lead to lower-quality education for many students, at the same time that richer, more-selective schools are using online education as one more weapon in the arms race dynamic that is driving costs higher.

scholarly journals Evaluation Instruments and Good Practices in Online Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Baldwin ◽  
Jesus H. Trespalacios
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Undergraduate Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Seven Principles ◽  
Evaluation Instruments ◽  
Type Of Institution ◽  
Principles Of Good Practice

Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education offers extensively researched and validated tenets for best practices in higher education. After a review of the literature, twenty-eight evaluation instruments currently used to design and review online courses in higher education institutions were collected and divided into categories, based on geographical reach and the type of institution for which they were developed. This study investigates how evaluation instruments used in higher education assess the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, and what other items are addressed in the evaluation of courses. Findings show that national and statewide evaluation instruments were less institute specific and more closely aligned to the principles of good practice, and that evaluation instruments often measure extraneous items (e.g., student services, navigation, resources, or institutional support). Additional findings and conclusions based on the analysis of the instruments are discussed.

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