Virtual degree is now reality

ECTC ready for surge of students

Getting a second chance

Speaking of the future

Business First Louisville
August 6, 2004

Virtual degree is now reality
More university students are logging onto potential of online coursework

"I had finished 15 hours and got frustrated just trying to work full time and go to class," she said. "It was difficult to find night classes. You had to leave work early, drive to class and when you got there you were essentially brain dead. It wasn't the best environment for learning."

Then Crawford learned in 2001 of a master's program through the University of Louisville that offered some of its courses online. She quickly transferred and eventually graduated with a master's of education in human resource education.

"The online classes allowed me to work and absorb information at a pace that fit my schedule," Crawford said. "I could do it at lunchtime or work at night. I could take a break and come back to it."

Crawford's story illustrates the national phenomenon of online learning that is increasing campus enrollment and changing the campus landscape.

Michael P. Lambert, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), which sets the standards and offers accreditation for correspondence study and distance education institutions, said the growth rate of online learning and distance learning was approximately 20 percent per year from 2001-2002 and 2002-2003.

"My best estimate is that there are 5 (million) to 6 million people taking distance courses in the U.S. each year," Lambert said. "The vast majority -- 80 (percent) to 85 percent -- are on campus."

Head count on the rise
Locally, universities that are putting courses online are finding those courses rapidly filling as overall student enrollment increases, officials said.

Whether increased enrollment is a result of online course offerings, no one is sure yet, according to Myk Garn, senior adviser for distance education at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, based in Frankfort.

"Schools are seeing increased student enrollments in general, which is attributable at least in part to distance learning," Garn said. "But there is no statistical link to verify that."

Lambert noted that nationally, "chain schools -- schools with campuses in different states" are "riding the tiger" with online programs. He added that they are "experiencing 30 percent growth each year."

Schools plan to expand offerings
Some local education officials are preparing to continue expanding online programs as student demand increases, while other officials are relying on faculty and department heads to initiate online courses.

"I think the JCC leadership would agree with me that we're in the online business," said Bob Johnson, director of distance learning at Jefferson Community College. "The number of enrollments is dramatic. We don't have enough seats for the number of students, so we must find creative ways to reach them."

Johnson said the school's initial enrollment in online courses offered through the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and Kentucky Virtual University (KYVU) was 500 in 2001. (See box on the virtual university on page 20.)

This spring, JCC had an enrollment of 13,400 traditional and online students, out of which, 1,820 students were enrolled in online classes.

Johnson said the school anticipates an enrollment of 2,000 this fall in the 76 online classes JCC offers. As of May, 70 percent of JCC's fall online courses were "at capacity" and more sections would be added, he said.

"Our classes filled so quickly, we weren't able to fill all the requests," Johnson said of the spring semester.

The University of Louisville enrolled 50 students in its first online classes in the fall of 2000, according to Dr. Gale Rhodes, director of the Delphi Center, U of L's division for the enhancement of teaching and learning through incorporating technology into the classroom and for transforming classes to accommodate online and distance learning.

Currently, about 3,500 students are enrolled online, Rhodes said.

The offerings continue to expand, Rhodes said. In 2000, the university offered one degree program in special education. Now, U of L offers eight degree programs, including five master's degree programs in areas such as justice administration and communication, Rhodes said.

"The intention from the beginning was that these programs would attract new students," Rhodes said.

At Sullivan University, J.R. Curtin is now "on loan" from Louisville-based Connected Learning for a two-year stint as vice president of online initiatives in an effort to increase the university's online programs here and in Europe.

Curtin, CEO of Connected Learning, said Sullivan University currently offers 160 courses online with an online enrollment of 1,500 out of a student enrollment of 8,000 for the school year 2003-2004. The school offers MBAs online, and bachelor's and master's degree programs in areas such as dispute resolution and hospitality.

Student body evolves
While education officials say they have not determined that online coursework is causing increased enrollment, these classes are broadening access for students who otherwise might not be able to attend college because of a job, family situation or disability.

A survey showed that "the majority (of Kentucky Virtual University students) are female and over the age of 25," said Randolph Hollingsworth, director of product development for the university.

This is a contrast to the more prevalent student age range of 18 to 24, based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

"There are three access reasons that a student chooses online classes," said Curtin. "They access for schedule reasons, ... for geographical reasons or they access because of personal differences -- something in their life that makes it difficult to go to class, such as a disability."

Curtin, who also is creating online training partnerships, such as a program for health care workers at the Fiat Corp. in Hungary, said enrollment of nontraditional students will increase.

Dr. Anne Kearny, a JCC history professor, said online courses are "meeting the needs of students who formerly would have had a hard time attending classes -- stay-at-home moms, students working strange hours, students who live in rural areas, students who are out-of-state or in the armed forces."

Since last year, Kearny teaches all of her classes online from her Louisville home and only travels to campus one day a week to pick up mail and attend meetings. She said the experience continues to be enjoyable and beneficial for students.

"There is more interaction with me and with their classmates online than they ever would have had on campus," Kearny said.

Both JCC and Sullivan University officials said they are aggressively adding to their online class offerings.

Johnson said JCC is adding 20 percent more courses online each semester, and Curtin said Sullivan is adding about 10 courses each month.

Officials at other institutions, such as U of L and Indiana University Southeast, say that while tech support is available, future growth depends in large part on whether faculty or departments decide to make their courses available online.

Rhodes said U of L has "no formal plan" to grow online courses and that individual departments are determining new course offerings.

At Indiana University Southeast, six online courses were offered in the fall 2003 semester, with an enrollment of about 150 students, said Gil Atnip, vice chancellor for academic affairs. Total student enrollment was 6,400, Atnip said.

Currently, IUS is not planning to develop online courses, Atnip said.

But the multiple benefits of online courses will foster its future growth, Lambert said.

For one thing, online learning makes higher education more affordable -- a credit hour online may cost $125 compared with $500 to $900 for on-campus classes, Lambert explained.

Second, online coursework can shorten the time it takes students to earn a college degree.

"In the future, I think residential universities will develop hybrid programs, incorporating distance education courses into mainstream campuses," Lambert said. "You'll be able to get a B.S. degree in three years. ... Instead of spending four years on campus, you may spend only two years by supplementing with online classes."

The News Enterprise
August 10, 2004

ECTC ready for surge of students
Tuition is up 16.5 percent, but incoming freshmen are finding it a bargain

Despite a 16.5 percent tuition hike at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, officials expect enrollment to continue a steady upward climb.

Thelma White, president at ECTC, said she expects the student population to grow this semester as the college has received more applications this year than it had at the same time last year. Finalized enrollment figures will not be available until November.

At last fall's final count, 4,996 students were enrolled.

When registration began for first-year freshman Monday, hundreds of students lined up to schedule classes. The line started forming about 7:30 a.m., more than an hour before registration began, said ECTC spokeswoman Mary Jo King. Registration continues through Thursday and classes begin next week.

New students registering for classes or purchasing textbooks Monday said they were attracted to the school by a mix of offerings. Some want to stay close to home. Others prefer the small campus to larger universities. Most said they'll attend the college, in part, because they can handle the tuition.

While the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, which includes ECTC, raised in-state tuition for the 2004-05 school year to $92 per credit (up $13 from last school year), the rate is still a value to students, White said.

"Our tuition is still lower than the universities'," she said.

Tuition, along with the small atmosphere, led recent high school graduate Alison Bartley to choose ECTC.

"I want to save as much money as I can," she said. The Washington County resident said she will save even more by living with her parents and commuting.

Evelyn Barber agreed the tuition at the community college is the most affordable. She checked out several radiology programs before choosing ECTC.

"This was the best deal," said Barber, who, at 39, will attend college classes for the first time next week.

She noted the quality of the program and the proximity to her Bardstown home were benefits, too, as she shifted her registration papers and plastic bag full of new textbooks.

Droves of incoming students paced the bookstore aisles and crowded registration areas Monday, ending the quieter days of summer on campus.

"It's going to be a busy week," White said.

She said the start of the year is always an energizer on campus, as so many new students look toward their future and put plans to improve themselves in motion.

"We're always excited that they trust us to come here and let us be a part of that," she said.

The Messenger
August 6, 2004

Getting a second chance
GED grades see value in going back to school

Amanda Cline will finally get to wear a cap and gown tonight, four years after dropping out of high school.

She is among the GED graduates who will be honored during Adult Education commencement exercises in the Byrnes Auditorium on Madisonville Community College’s Health Campus. The 7 p.m. ceremony will be followed by a reception.

“I didn’t know that we were going to get a graduation, to be honest,” Cline said. “I’m glad that they offer it where you can graduate if you didn’t finish school. That’s one thing I regretted for dropping out was no graduation.”

Adult Centers for Educational Excellence report 157 GED graduates this year, with about 44 expected to participate in the commencement.

“It does look like out of the 157 graduates that we have, at least 50 are going to go on to postsecondary education,” said ACE2 Coordinator Cris Crowley. “That’s our largest percentage ever.”

Commencement speaker will be Cindy Dye, a counselor at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School and a GED graduate.

Cline, who passed the GED in December, has already started classes at Madisonville Community College. The 21-year-old hopes to earn an associate’s degree in accounting.

She quit school at age 17, while a junior at MNHHS.

“I was getting into too much trouble,” she said.

That means she was getting into fights.

“I had a bad attitude back when I was a kid,” she said. “I’ve actually changed a lot. I’m not nearly as mean as I used to be.”

After leaving school, Cline moved to Florida and learned to provide for herself, working in the office of a temporary agency. After suffering a broken arm and injuries to her neck and back in a car crash, she returned to Madisonville.

“I knew that I wasn’t going to get anywhere without a GED and being able to go to college,” she said. “Nowadays, you have to have at least your GED, and some places want a college education. I knew I didn’t want to see myself working at a burger place all my life.”

She took two college classes this summer and plans to enroll in four this fall.

Now, Cline said she is “more into studying and making better grades.”

Fellow GED graduate Nina Cain said she quit school in frustration after accommodations she had requested to deal with her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were not provided by the Hopkins County school system.

“I opted to drop out because I would have had to repeat a year,” she said. “I ended up saying to myself, hey, it’s just going to be a lot easier to get my GED and get on with it, so I can get a form of higher education.”

Cain, 19, of Madisonville, quit MNHHS in April 2002, during her junior year.

“There’s a serious deficit in the understanding of educational needs, as far as conditions like myself where it’s not a severe learning deficit,” she said. “I’m just as intelligent as your average person. I just learn different. Most of the time, the reasons my grades were bad was because I couldn’t get all the paperwork done.”

Cain completed online study courses through ACE2 in the subjects where she needed extra help. She earned her GED this summer, and also works at Radio Shack.

“I plan on going to either Madisonville Community College or some other community college for my basics, and getting that, then deciding on another college to do another four years in a specialized area,” she said.

She hasn’t decided on a major.

“My main interest is to go into fashion or interior design,” she said. “I’ve always been a little ahead of the fashions, and I like to draw. I’m learning how to sew.”

Hazard Herald
August 4, 2004

Speaking of the future
Futurist visits educators and community leaders

Most people think of tarot cards and predicting futures when speaking of a futurist, but those at the Hal Rogers Center and Hazard Community and Technical College yesterday witnessed more of a strategic planner when futurist Dr. Ed Barlow Junior and noted others spoke.

Barlow, president of Creating the Future Inc., detailed plans for the educational community at the Hal Rogers Center as the keynote speaker and then talked to local business leaders and other guests at Hazard Community and Technical College.

"It's good to see educators and the community coming together like this," said Barlow. "There are more than 300 meetings like this going on around the country and all are preparing for our futures."

Several other prominent speakers gave remarks during the first-ever Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative at the Hal Rogers Center, including author and educator Carl Boyd and award-winning speaker Christine Holton Cashen.

"We're very excited for this opportunity and fortunate to have these three individuals in Hazard speaking to our community," said Hazard Independent Superintendent and Kentucky River P-16 Council Chair James Francis. "It's important to establish a connection between our local schools, local and other college and universities and then on to our business community."

The noted speakers talked to local educators about the transitions from primary schools on to higher education and then to the job market during the 2004-2005 Regional Professional Development Kickoff at the Hal Rogers Center. Barlow also made a luncheon speech at Hazard Community and Technical College.

"We're trying to raise awareness to these transitions and make opportunities available for our kids," said Perry County Central Principal Edwina Burke, who also serves on the council presenting the event. "This was designed to help bring Eastern Kentucky more in line with educational trends for the future to help offer our young people more."