The purpose of these interviews was to explore the following questions:

• What issues do other colleges and universities encounter in building their online and alternative format offerings and programs?
• How is demand/need for online and alternative format courses and programs identified currently?
• What key lessons were learned in developing existing online degree completion programs and other online course offerings?
• Where are there possibilities for new online degree completion programs and innovative course delivery models?
• What is faculty interest, readiness and availability to teach online courses?
• What are the barriers to developing online courses and programs, and what strategies have faculty and administrators used successfully to overcome them?
• What is student satisfaction with current online offerings?

3. Identify Specific Immediate Steps (Retreat April 2015)

After a briefing on data collected and analyzed [Infographic Gallery], and issues encountered by online students [Win, Lose or (With)Draw game], retreat participants took a first pass at the question, “What is one specific thing we can do starting this Spring and build on over the next three years to ensure that our students have a great online learning experience that is consistent across programs, services, and faculty, results in student success, speaks well for the entire University, and provides the ‘SOU experience.’”

Two actionable problem statements were tackled and recommendations made for each.

1. G-Strand Online Lab Science Courses

Actionable Problem Statement: G strands courses involve labs which are difficult to provide to online students.

A pressing issue is that an insufficient number of G-Strand courses (Sciences — Physical, Biological and Computer) are being offered (whether in online, face-to-face, or alternative formats) to meet the needs of SOU students who must take at least three courses in this strand. (See G-strand eligible courses.) In addition, two of the three Strand G courses must include a lab. Only four of 33 G-strand courses are currently taught online, and only two of these are lab courses. As a consequence, many students in our online degree completion programs have difficulty finding a G-strand course and this may delay their degree completion. (Note: Only one G-strand course has been offered in hybrid format.) Face-to-face students also have fewer choices of sections available because fewer are being offered as class sizes are increased, and this leads to scheduling challenges for students.

Recommendation: Explore student needs for G-strand courses to support degree completion. Pilot courses in online and alternative formats that can meet these needs, and provide faculty development and support for pilots.

Status Update 7/16

• The first online lab science course at SOU has been designed, developed, and offered (Summer 2016): Concepts in Science: Energy (SC110).

2. Expectation Management

Actionable Problem Statement: Differing expectations result in dissatisfaction for faculty and students.

There is a disconnect between what faculty think is good service and what students expect from their instructors. As a consequence, students who need to take online courses in order to graduate in a timely manner may avoid them because they have had a negative experience with an online course. Faculty may avoid them for the same reason.

Recommendation: Define and communicate reasonable expectations (for the institution, faculty and students) regarding online courses. This does not require everyone to teach the same way, but expectation management contributes to a positive experience.

Status Update 7/16

• We developed a board game — Win, Lose or (With)Draw to help faculty and administrators understand the challenges of the online student.
• Two animations were developed, Are Online Classes for You? and Getting Ready for Your Online Class.

LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP

6. Develop Policy Framework

Adoption of policy and design framework that will maximize and enhance existing offerings, and enable new online courses/programs to be identified and offered.

These initial phases will create a solid foundation for building institutional policies and developing broad strategies for online teaching and learning.

7. Develop Strategic Framework for Growing Online Enrollments

Informed by the work products of Phases 1-6, this strategic framework would articulate objectives, priorities, institutional capacity (including funding model) and metrics for growth, assessment and enhancement of online instruction at SOU. The statement would address the key relationships for successful expansion of online and alternative format course offerings. Potential institutional priorities and approaches that have already been identified (and would be prioritized during the earlier phases) include:

• Leverage existing strengths in our online degree completion programs by increasing the number of University Studies humanities, social sciences and science courses offered online (E, F and G strands). Adding online sections in these strands will also offer alternatives for campus-based students to help them expedite their degree completion.
• Drive choice of courses for conversion by departmental strategic planning and faculty readiness in those departments (supplemented by enriched faculty development and support through the Center for Instructional Support).
• Focus on redesign of existing courses initially.
• Identify key courses and implement a faculty-led course design process (with appropriate compensation) with assistance from the Center for Instructional Support.
• Enhance faculty readiness institution-wide through strategic process of converting to hybrid and flipped formats. Faculty with experience in hybrid formats transition more smoothly into teaching online, and hybrid courses are easier to convert to fully online courses.
• Coordinate efforts with key community college partners.
• Determine competitive price point.
• Provide online course content for high school completion requirements.
• Provide more dual-enrolled course content via online delivery.