Dear Colleagues,
I hope your spring semester is off to a great start. Up to this point in the year we have primarily worked on developing recommendations and decisions related to how Colorado Online @ will work once implemented. While there is still much to be done, we have come a long way already. For a summary of decisions made so far, please check out the Colorado Online @ Blog at http://coloradoonline@cccs.edu.
In February, we will focus on three main areas:
- Refining the proposed registration process. After discussing several different options last fall, the project team recommends thatstudents continue to have the option to enroll directly in specific online sections offered by their home college, as well as placeholder sections representing all online sections available across CCCS in specific parts-of-term. While the Colorado Online @ placeholder sections would appear much the way that CCCOnline sections do now, we are exploring ways for students enrolled in those sections to be assigned to open seats in existing college sections, increasing enrollment efficiency and minimizing the need to cancel sections. Once existing capacity has been filled, additional sections could be added.
- Drafting scheduling processes. We want to distribute online sections among the colleges in ways that support faculty and student engagement, and encourage growth and innovation in online learning across CCCS. There are many factors to consider, and our approach may need to be different for low-enrollment courses taught by only a few colleges, to high-enrollment courses taught by all 13 colleges. This month, a team of representatives from each of the subcommittees, joined by IT, will model how the process for distributing sections could work using historical enrollment data from a sample of small, medium and large enrollment courses.
- Outlining the basic framework for a financial model that will support growing online enrollment and revenue for all colleges while minimizing competition between colleges.
I hope you will join us for one or both of the following events this month:
- Open Forum. On February 11, from 9 am – 10:30 am, I will host an open forum like I did in April and October. Q&A from previous forums are organized by category in the FAQ section of the Colorado Online @ Blog.
- Colorado Online @ Mini-Conference. On February 18, from 9 am –3 am, the Project Team and representatives from the subcommittees will host a mini-conference. During the mini-conference you will learn more about work underway, connect with colleagues, and provide feedback on topics such as messaging in D2L, the healthy course checklist, and the collaborative design process.
Recordings from both events will be posted to the Colorado Online @ Blog.
Do not hesitate to reach out to me, Tammy Vercauteren (tammy.vercauteren@cccs.edu), or any members of the Project Team or subcommittees with questions or suggestions regarding implementation of the Colorado Online @ Strategic Plan.
Sincerely,
Landon