Integrating Course Quality within a Community of Practice

Online institutions continue to seek quality guidelines related to effective course development and quality improvements. The struggle lies in getting support from institutional leaders to implement new ideas. While perseverance and serendipity always play a part when these efforts are successful, a few of Capella’s strategies were vital to their implementation of systematic course quality: 1. Selecting a course quality assurance partner that was a good fit, 2. Piloting the program for fit and to build experienced supporters, 3. Forming a core group that was accountable for the implementation, 4. Building a steering committee of senior leaders from across the institution, 5. Nurturing a community of practice with many avenues for genuine participation, and 6. Establishing and being held accountable for measurable goals. This case study describes Capella University’s implementation of a course quality system through a community of practice (CoP) model that facilitated genuine buy-in rather than top-down implementation.

Evidencing Quality

In an era of tightening institutional budgets, ever increasing online enrollments and greater calls for accountability from multiple directions, the need for online program administrators to continually assess the quality of their overall operations has never been greater. But even vigilant administrators have had difficulty defining “quality” and were unable to benchmark to other programs, as standards for quality varied. To address this daunting task, a research-based standard assessment tool known as the Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Education Programs was developed. The primary goals of this case are to Provide a brief overview of the scorecard highlighting the key areas of the quality indicators and the scoring protocol and present practical applications for this research-based assessment tool as evidenced through the administration of the scorecard by three online administrators at four institutions. By focusing on the ways in which different administrators at diverse institutions (public and private, large and small) used the Quality Scorecard to benchmark their online operations against a standard, we are able to illustrate how continuous improvement opportunities, impacting on both learning effectiveness and program improvement, can be implemented at the program or institutional level.

Orchestrating an Enrollment Management Transformation

This case chronicles the beginnings of an enrollment management transformation currently underway at The Extended Campuses of Northern Arizona University. After flat enrollments for three plus years, the organization executed a phased plan to alter the university’s enrollment trajectory. A complete reorganization, an intentional effort to operationalize enrollment marketing best practice, and the establishment of a data-driven organization comprise the foundations of the first phase of the plan. While specific to Northern Arizona University, the case will also highlight six foundations for initiating any enrollment management transformational journey.

eLearning Pedagogy

The online “classroom” can be a rich learning environment; however, many instructors are inadequately prepared, thereby undermining our students’ educational experiences. The following case study is based on a retrospective of experiences as course designer and instructor, feedback and examples from student online experiences, and an analysis of scholarly research. This chapter contributes to the literature on eLearning theory and practice by providing detailed insights and improvements on methodologies, technology, and practice, thereby promoting critical thinking related to effective online instruction. A qualitative, descriptive analysis of professional development, personal mastery, organization, open communication, assessment, and an overarching element of eLearning pedagogy comprise the vital elements for sound, effective online teaching. In order for online instructors to provide a rich learning experience, these elements must be developed and implemented for effective learning outcomes.

Learning across Multiple Spaces

This chapter deals with four different case studies represented by graduate and post-lauream courses run at the Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism at University of Macerata (Italy). These cases synthesize the research developed in the last 10 years by the teaching staff who have promoted the activation of e-learning in the institution. The choice to present different contexts, from blended solutions where face-to-face courses are integrated with online environments to fully online courses, is framed in a new pedagogical perspective; that is, the need to focus on the methodologies and strategies is recognized as successful in e-learning in order to improve the quality of traditional instruction developed in the presence of higher education institutions. This process shifts attention from “quality of e-learning” to “quality through e-learning.” In fact, the differentiated and flexible use of technologies is aimed at helping students become more involved in the educational setting and to help them contextualize their studies more effectively.

Improving the Online Dissertation Writing Process

Online doctoral programs have been developed rapidly over the years due to the advance of technology, and educators are seeking a new educational paradigm and innovative instructional strategies for online doctoral programs. This study presents cases of doctoral learners and dissertation mentors in online dissertation courses. The goal of this case study is to raise awareness for the need of an interactive mentor-mentee relationship in online higher education and to provide pointers and guidance for both mentors and mentees in navigating the maze of ill-structured learning. The findings of this study imply that social presence in distance education affects doctoral learners’ learning, course satisfaction, and faculty-student relationships in the dissertation writing process. This case study has implications for instructional designers and educators in infusing faculty-student interactions with technological support.

Moving Your College toward Online Programs Including a Quality Matters Implementation Plan

Moving faculty in a direction toward having online programs/courses at their college can be a daunting task, but another college’s example may assist in preparing for online programs with quality online courses that include a Quality Matters Implementation Plan that will help define how the college will expand faculty knowledge of online education instructional design. In a college’s transition to online education, it is particularly important to “sell” this idea to faculty members. Faculty members at many institutions may be fearful that they will not meet QM standards when going through a course review. Further, faculty members may be fearful of losing the “boundaries” that they currently have teaching in a face-to face setting. Other concerns revolve around budget constraints, preparing the college for online education, keeping consistency in faculty work duties, training faculty, faculty staying current with technology, keeping the same rigor in the online course as a face-to-face course, including an appropriate level of contact with students, and accreditation needs in order to have online education offered at the college. Management and organizational needs include having an administration team that supports faculty in making the change from a face-to-face class to an online class.

Beyond the Horizon

The mission of this chapter is to explain the extensive step-by-step process involved in creating and teaching an online university humanities course based upon the primary educational philosophy called “constructivism.” Instead of using a distance learning or correspondence model, the University of Maryland University College’s learning approach focuses on “construction and engagement” or intensive interaction among students and professors. This social engagement (professor to student and student to student) requires more time, energy, and thought on the part of students and faculty members than face-to-face teaching. As a case study in teaching the History of the American West online within an intensive eight-week course length, this chapter provides concrete information about the course’s required concepts, skills, goals and objectives, project assignments, conference participation requirements for threaded discussions, assessment methods, and grading rubrics. The case study also addresses the current challenges facing the implementation of the course and offers recommendations. Although some of the details specifically relate to teaching a history course, they are applicable to any humanities course.

Conducting Online Posting Activity on a Social Networking Site (SNS) to Replace Traditional Learner Diaries

This case examines online posting activity by international students in Malaysia. The aim of the case is twofold, where it provides a platform for the students to practice their writing skills and a way to gather data for a bigger project, which is a research project into their English language learning experiences. The issues revolved around a string of decisions made before embarking on the case and challenges faced in running and maintaining the case. They are dissected and presented in two stages and two phases. Decisions were made and challenges were solved in line with the two aims of the case by considering extant literature and good research practice.

Redesigning Student’s Thinking Processes through Advanced Discussion Forums

This chapter addresses how a typical discussion board can transform the learning process into a collaborative environment that creates extended thinking processes promoting successful student outcomes. To illustrate a collaborative learning environment, teaching methodologies should focus on assisting a student to become diversified independent thinkers. Creating a diversified independent thinker infuses independent and cooperative critical analysis through varied topical issues.