Development & Delivery of Distance Education Programs: Lessons Learned

1. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Development & Delivery of Distance Education Programs: Lessons Learned NERCOMP March 19th Jacquie Moloney, Dean CSCE UMass Lowell and Interim Chief Academic Officer for UMass Online Steven F. Tello Assoc. Director of Distance Learning CSCE UMass Lowell

2. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Agenda • Overview of UMass Lowell • 5 Lessons Learned • Develop and Support Faculty • Strategic Program Selection • Redesign Student Services • Make Smart Technology choices • Assess Quality and Student Satisfaction • Questions and Discussions

3. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Overview of UML’s Continuing Studies Division • Award winning degrees and certificates in: • Information Technologies • Creative Media Arts • Engineering Technology • Liberal Arts • 20,000 annual enrollments • On-site at 50 companies annually • Largest Online in New England • Enrollments project to reach 5,000 for year 2001

4. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education • 100 Courses/Semester • 1600 Students/Semester • 5 certificate programs • UNIX, IT,Intranet, Multimedia,Data Telecom • 3 degree programs • AS/BSIS, BLA • National Reputation • UMass Online

5. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education

6. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Develop and Support Faculty • Developmental Process • Extensive faculty training • Online training and orientation programs • Ongoing, evolutionary process • Redesign Takes Technical and Pedagogical Development • Course Content • Course Delivery • Student Assessment • Intrinsic and Extrinsic Incentives • Faculty must become informed participants

7. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Select Program Structure & Content Strategically • Mirrors Classroom Experience • 14 week semester • Low student/faculty ratio • Qualified and experienced full-time and adjunct faculty • Interaction w/faculty and classmates • Program Selection/Market Driven • Make sure it is a winner • Student interest in flexibility, convenience • Content in high demand areas such as IT • High brand recognition/signatures • Student/ faculty proficiency Avoid single courses/ fragmented efforts

8. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education • CyberEd courses include: • Online Lecture Notes • Asynchronous Email & Discussion Boards • Synchronous Chat for “Office Hours” • Collaboration Tools • Multimedia • Student Servers

9. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Redesign Student Services • Everything on campus will be delivered online • Alumni Community Registration Library • Advising/Tutoring Financial Aid Orientation • Review/Revise Policies & Procedures • What additional resources are needed? • Staffing, Technical, Outsourced

10. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Make Informed Technology Choices • Learning Management System must: • Support Ease of Use, Facilitate Interaction • Support Course Development, Administration • Robust, Scalable Systems Architecture - 24/7 • Build talented human infrastructure • Course & Faculty Developers • Web/Graphic Designers • Technical Web/Database Developers, Web Administrators • Continuum of choice: In-House vs. Outsource

11. In-House Operation Out-Source Operation University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Continuum of Choice: You:License/Purchase SystemDevelop CoursesDevelop FacultyDirect Technology Dev.Market Program Provider:Maintains SystemDevelops CoursesProvider Dev. FacultyDirects Technology Dev. Markets Program You:Retain RevenueControl GrowthBuild Internal CapacityIntegrate Campus Systems You:Pay UpfrontShare Revenue w/GrowthContract Controls Growth

12. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Assess Quality & Student Satisfaction • Build in benchmarks • Faculty and student experience • Retention & Return Rate • Student satisfaction a good indicator • Course quality Instructor quality • Student services Technical services • Accreditation Standards, just emerging • AASCB white paper • Regional Accreditation Guidelines • Distance Education Training Council

13. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Challenges for the FutureUMass Online • Creating/Managing Effective Consortia- • UMass Online • Staying Ahead of the Competition • Keeping Pace with Technology • Enrollment Management • Quality & Equity • Shared Control of Distance Education

14. University of Massachusetts Lowell Continuing Studies and Corporate Education For More Information: • Jacquie Moloney, Dean CSCE UMass Lowell and Chief Academic Officer for UMass Online Jacqueline_Moloney@uml.edu • Steven F. Tello Assoc. Director of Distance Learning CSCE UMass Lowell Steven_Tello@uml.edu • http://cybered.uml.edu