The document discusses several topics related to online education programs, including convenience and cost, training and preparation of faculty, curriculum and course design, and retention and success. Some key points include: online programs offer flexibility for working professionals; costs are typically lower than traditional programs; faculty receive training on instructional design, technology skills, and teaching online; courses follow a standardized design process and template; and schools use strategies like advising, orientation courses, and peer mentoring to support student retention and success.

1. Battle of the Online
Kingdoms
Angela M. Gibson
Scott Dalrymple

2. Marie-Anne Mundy
Lori Kupczynski

3. Convenience and
Cost

4. Convenience and Cost
• Promote individual growth and mastery of course
• Busy professionals need the flexibility these programs
provide
• Student learning can be self-paced (PhD)
• Programs are centered around customer satisfaction
• The larger online program size provides a greater funding
source from tuition revenues
• The typical cost of maintenance and operations for faculty
are not as large as traditional educational settings (paper)
• Large programs tend to reflect a broader diversity of
students from both the national and international levels.

5. Convenience and Cost
• APUS is among the largest online universities in the United States
serving approximately 110,000 active students during the year 2011, a
year-over-year increase of 31%
• AMU is the #1 provider to active duty military
• A leading provider to Veterans
• Majority of students are working adults
• Prior Learning Experience evaluated
• Undergraduate Tuition $250/credit hour
• Books provided
• Graduate Tuition $300/credit hour
• Minimized costs for books

6. Convenience and Cost
•Excelsior’s online courses are all asynchronous
• We used to have synchronous faculty office hours, but found that
students didn’t come– now by appt.
•Excelsior (formerly Regents College) acts as a credit
aggregator
• Only a 3-hour academic residency requirement
• Most students are transfer students who arrive with an average of 5
transcripts
•Cost is $390 per credit hour for courses taken at EC

7. Convenience and Cost
• Large number of the local student population also
takes DL
• Cost is equivalent to face-to-face courses
• Currently no DL fee attached to any courses nor
do online students pay any less in student fees
• Looking at the benefits of both assessing DL fee
to courses and reduced student fees for online
courses

8. Training and
Preparation of Faculty

9. Training and Preparation of Faculty
• 1,750+ full time and part-time faculty members
• Professors work from around the world
• Active professionals
• Prior & current teaching at other universities
• New Faculty Training Course
• Regular training updates for LMS
• Community of Inquiry Framework training
• Professional Development

10. Training and Preparation of Faculty
• Mandatory 4-week course for faculty new to
Excelsior
• Covers our Learning Management System, academic
policies, adult ed theory
• Even the Dean has to take it!

11. Training and Preparation of Faculty
• Faculty wishing to teach hybrid/online courses must
complete a training course with DLIT
• Course consists of 15 one hour modules offered fully
online, face to face or hybrid delivery
• Additionally, there are Professional Development
seminars designed to enhance technical skills for online
and distance deliveries

12. Training and Preparation of Faculty
• New faculty members are required to possess the proper
credentials, content knowledge, and technology skills
necessary for ease of instruction.
• Mentoring courses required for new faculty prior to participating
in on-line instructional programs
• online training incorporates technical learning skills and
strategies
• Support during first online course
• Ongoing training
• Ongoing faculty evaluation

13. Curriculum and
Course Design

14. Curriculum and Course Design
• Courses are designed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME)
and Instructional Designer (ID), who work under the
guidance of a Program Director
• Course outcomes, content, assessments, etc. are fixed
across all sections
• Good news: less chance for a poor faculty member to screw things
up
• Bad news: less chance for faculty creativity & little pride of
ownership
• Excelsior owns the intellectual property

15. Curriculum and Course Design
• Department follows the ADDIE principles of instructional design
• Basic course template launched at a starting point for all
classes
• Each faculty member meets for an instructional design course
mapping session with instructional designers prior to the design
process
• Self-review handout modeled after principles of best practices
(SACS and THECB standards)
• Quality Matters standards are used as a guideline for designing
courses in addition to future development of review prior to
course launch

16. Curriculum and Course Design
• Ability to invest heavily in course development
• Content/Field experts develop courses
• Faculty are required to adhere to the content as designed
• Ongoing faculty feedback to aid in course revision

17. Curriculum and Course Design
• Utilize the Sakai LMS
• Community of Inquiry Framework
• Training and professional development for faculty in course design
• Institutional & specialized/professional accreditation
• Satisfying demanding requirements
• Demonstrating focus on academic excellence
• Member of Academy for Assessment of Student Learning of the
Higher Learning Commission
• Continuous evaluation of student learning

18. Retention and
Success

19. Retention and Success
Enrollment and Growth
School Year Online Hybrid
(includes
Fall/Spring/Summer)
FY2008-2009 130 18
FY2009-2010 168 92
FY2010-2011 169 65
FY2011-2012 207 95
FY2012-2013 (Fall 95 32
only)

20. Retention and Success
• Peer to peer mentoring
• Faculty-student mentoring
• Critical orientation course for all entering students
• Online instructor course
• Writing Center
• Student Services Team
• Success Coach
• Enrollment Advisors

21. Retention and Success
• 98% of seniors were satisfied or very satisfied with the
education they received
• 97% of seniors would recommend APUS to a friend or
colleague
• 98% of seniors evaluated their experience as positive
compared to 82% of students at all other schools (NSSE
2009)
• More than 50% of alumni return for a second degree
• 40% of new students referred by others

22. Retention and Success
• The faculty role at EC is unbundled: faculty
teach, advisors advise
• School of Liberal Arts has 19 full-time Academic
Advisors, each with at least one Master’s degree
• Small team of Retention Advisors who contact “at risk”
students
• Switched from a “call center” model to an individual
caseload model
• Provides more personal connection with the College

23. Thank You