About the Remodel

In an effort to provide a student-centred approach and a high-level of quality in our course delivery, over time, our present online instructional model has become highly resource intensive. This model has resulted in a heavy reliance on contracted adjunct staff to execute the delivery of instruction and the marking of assignments. Each course comes prepared with pre-packaged instructional units which Course Coordinators (CCs), Course Instructors (CIs), e-tutors and Group Facilitators (GFs) rely heavily upon for teaching and learning. These adjuncts are charged with the responsibility of delivering instruction to our students.

According to the UWI Open Campus’ Adjunct Booklet, Updated October 14, 2021, Course Coordinators “provide overall academic and pedagogic supervision for the delivery of the course [...] monitor the teaching and learning process [...] and manage the course site and the delivery strategies for the course” p. 5. The Course Instructor on the other hand “provides overall facilitation and instructional leadership of the course” p.36. Similar to the Course Instructor, the e-tutor is responsible for online teaching, facilitating learner interaction through asynchronous online discussions and synchronous Zoom sessions as well as the marking of assignments and providing feedback to students. Finally, the Group Facilitator, so called for graduate courses, guides the learning experience of all students assigned to one group, very similar to the e-tutor in undergraduate programmes.

In the current model, a ratio of 34 students to 1 e-tutor is employed for all undergraduate courses. The Course Coordinator is usually responsible for e-tutors in courses in excess of 68 students. However, where there is a group of 68 students or less, the CC “will teach a group of a maximum of 34 students and supervise one e-tutor” p. 30 Adjunct Booklet, 2021. It must be noted however that if a course has 44 students or less, only a Course Instructor (CI) is assigned and he/she has responsibility for all course related activities. At the graduate level the student to tutor ratio is 25:1 and there are similar expectations for postgraduate facilitators as their undergraduate counterparts.

Over the past few years, it has become increasingly difficult to meet our financial obligations with respect to the payments to adjuncts. Some adjuncts have since opted to discontinue working with the Open Campus, whilst recruitment numbers of new adjuncts have declined due to reduced applications from qualified persons.

In the Summer of 2021, a mandate was issued to propose and implement measures that would reduce costs by 20%. As a result, recommendations were made including a new teaching model which was piloted in an effort to cut the adjunct staff wage bill. In summary, the recommendations included:

• full time UWIOC staff volunteering to serve as facilitators in about 20% of the courses on offer in the Summer session of 2021 whilst still carrying out their substantive duties at the Campus;

• a reduction in the number of contracted adjunct staff;

• the introduction of a new teaching model in courses with a student enrolment number of 68 or more;

• a modification and renaming of the existing e-tutor role to an Online Teaching Assistant (OTA);

• OTAs only being responsible for monitoring discussions and marking of scripts with a ratio of one (1) OTA to sixty-eight (68) students;

• Course Coordinators assuming greater teaching responsibilities by hosting once-weekly BbC sessions as opposed to what previously obtained i.e. three (3) BbC sessions for the delivery period;

• synchronous sessions conducted by CCs being shorter in duration (no more than 45 minutes) with interactive activities integrated;

• the use of the flipped classroom approach where students read course content prior to the live session with the CC so that they may come to sessions more prepared to ask questions and engage with their CC and peers;

• students being divided into groups and selecting topics to lead in asynchronous discussions. This type of engagement was graded and constituted course participation;

• the use of Moodle tools (OC analytics) to assist with academic support by providing automated mails to students and facilitators where there was a lack of course activity by said users; and

• the use of existing and / or new and emerging technologies to support teaching and learning.

After the Summer delivery period, the Summer 2021 Teaching Model was evaluated using survey instruments administered via email to facilitators and students impacted by the model. There was a very strong response rate with 708 students and 84 facilitators responding. While the feedback from facilitators was mixed, students’ responses indicated that the model required careful re-examination and perhaps revision, before further implementation. In Semester, 1 AY 2021/2022, a decision was thus taken to revert to the pre Summer 2021 teaching model until a revised teaching model could be proposed. After further reflection and examination of the Summer 2021 Teaching Model, we are at a juncture where we must propose a more refined model, which takes into consideration the findings from the evaluation of Summer Teaching Model as well as the feedback from recent consultations with OC students and facilitators and student course evaluations.

With the financial challenges being felt around the globe, many higher education institutions offering fully online degree programmes have embraced strategies that are less resource intensive. While some equate the increased class sizes to an impoverished learning experience (Exeter et al., 2010; Mulryan-Kyne, 2010), others embrace innovative instructional methodologies and class policies in large class teaching (Lynch & Pappas, 2017). A review of practices in well known online universities such as

Walden University in the USA, Athabasca University in Canada and the UK Open University, reveals models that utilise faculty in more creative ways. For example at the UK Open, facilitators are included in live sessions to monitor chat and coordinate discussions. At Walden University, most activities are asynchronous and there is one facilitator to 100 students and markers are employed to facilitate the marking of course assignments. At Athabasca University, students primarily utilise pre-packaged course materials to facilitate learning, and there is little engagement of the course facilitator in online discussion fora. Despite the varying approaches, these universities remain highly popular and demonstrate that reduced facilitator numbers need not impact negatively on student learning experiences and overall satisfaction and performance. Within our unique Caribbean context, we must find innovative ways to tailor and adopt common practices to suit our particular circumstances. The purpose of this paper is thus to propose such an approach.

The revised teaching model will retain many of the useful cost cutting measures that were previously proposed in the Summer 2021 Teaching Model, however, strategies used when implementing will be fine-tuned to ensure that students receive a fulfilling learning experience and facilitators get the necessary orientation and training needed to execute their specific roles more effectively. The main aim would be to:

• Implement practices that would promote more self-directed learning whilst still maintaining student engagement and interaction.

• Take greater advantage of new and emerging technologies for the automation of assignments;

• Reduce the adjunct course facilitator wage bill by at least 50%;

• Utilise UWIOC full time staff where necessary to reduce the adjunct wage bill.

Figure 2 - Outcomes

A plan will be put in place to evaluate the effectiveness of the model in the middle and at

the end of the semester.

• The purpose will be to determine how the changes are being accepted and implemented by students and adjuncts.

• A monitoring plan will also be implemented to determine challenges being experienced by adjuncts and students during delivery, so that corrective measures where possible, can be put in place in a timely manner.