Thoughts to share? The Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration is a peer-reviewed electronic journal offered free each quarter over the World Wide Web. The journal welcomes manuscripts based on original work of practioners and researchers with specific focus or implications for the management of distance education programs. Click here to access our readership stats.
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Editor-in-Chief Dr. Melanie Clay
University of West Georgia
Executive Editor Dr. Donald Wagner
University of West Georgia
Managing Editor
Ms. Alicia Williams University of West Georgia
Production Editor Ms. Stacey Rowland
University of West Georgia
Editorial Board Dr. Mac Adkins
Troy University
Dr. Michael Beaudoin
University of New England
Dr. Elizabeth Bennett
University of West Georgia
Mr. R. Thomas Berner
Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Kris Biesinger
Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Dr. Beverly L. Bower
Florida State University
Ms. Diane M. Burnette
University of Georgia
Dr. W. Dean Care
University of Manitoba
Mr. Matthew N. Clay
University of West Georgia
Dr. Sherry A. Clouser
University of Georgia
Mr. Ken Corley
Auburn University
Dr. Muhammet Demirbilek
Suleyman Demirel University, Turkey
Dr. Robert N. Diotalevi
Florida Gulf Coast University
Ms. Beth Evans
College Library of the City University of New York
Dr. Catherine L. Finnegan Advanced Learning Technologies,
Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Dr. Larry V. Flegle
Kaplan University
Mrs. Laurie G. Hillstock
Virginia Tech
Dr. Genell Hooper Harris
Southern Utah University
Dr. Cher C. Hendricks
University of West Georgia
Dr. Scott L. Howell
Brigham Young University
Dr. Thomas J. Hynes
University of West Georgia
Dr. Nataliya V. Ivankova
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Sallie J. Johnson
USAF Air University, Air Command and Staff College
Dr. Harold J. Kearsley
Norwich University
Dr. John J. Ketterer
Jacksonville State University
Dr. James W. King
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dr. Sally Kuhlenschmidt
Western Kentucky University
Ms. Elizabeth D. Larzelere
New York Chiropractic College
Dr. Andrew Leavitt
University of West Georgia
Dr. Barbara K. McKenzie
University of West Georgia
Dr. Jennifer McLean
Pennsylvania College of Technology
COL Philip A. McNair (USA, ret.) American Public University System
Dr. Paul F. Merrill
Brigham Young University
Dr. Marc D. Miller
Augusta State University
Dr. Nancy Griffin Mims, Ed.D. University of West Georgia
Dr. Abbot L. Packard
University of West Georgia
Dr. Angie Parker
Northcentral University
Dr. Shawn M. Quilter
Eastern Michigan University
Dr. M. D. Roblyer
University of Tennessee-Chattanooga
Dr. Michael Rogers
Advanced Learning Technologies,
Board of Regents
University System of Georgia
Dr. Timothy W. Seid
Earlham School of Religion
Dr. LeAnn McKinzie Thomason Brownsville, Texas
Dr. Thomas J. Tobin
DeVry University
Dr. Joann Kroll Wheeler
The George Bush School of Government and Public Service – Texas A&M University
Past OJDLA Editors
Dr. Stephen J. Anspacher
The New School
Janet Gubbins
University of West Georgia
Ms. Tammy Hamm-Ronsisvalle
Synergy Plus Inc.
Dr. Kathleen A. Kraus
State University of New York at New Paltz
Dr. Dwight Laws
Brigham Young University
Dr. George E. Marsh II
The University of Alabama
Mr. Bob Reese, Reese Consulting Associates, Inc.
Dr. Barbara L. Watkins
University of Kansas
Current Issue
A Strategic Planning Process Model for Distance Education
Kenneth Pisel
by Kenneth P. Pisel
As more institutions seek to implement or expand distance learning programs, it becomes critical to integrate distance learning programs into broader strategic visions and plans. Using the informed opinion from a panel of peer-nominated experts via iterative Delphi questionnaires, a 10-phased strategic planning process model for distance education was developed. This model is designed to support planners, from novice through expert, strategically prepare for implementing distance learning programs.
“To have a strategy is to put your own intelligence, foresight, and will in charge instead of outside forces or disordered concerns”
(Keller, 1983, p. 75).
Streamlining Forms Management Process in a Distance Learning Unit
Abdous
He
by M'hammed Abdous
Wu He
Managing the required forms for a variety of distance courses is challenging and sometimes overwhelming. Inefficient management can lead to a variety of problems in course delivery, such as delays in obtaining textbooks, problems in obtaining copyright permissions, and even course delays. In an effort to facilitate, streamline and improve forms management, a system was designed to streamline the management of required forms for face-to-face, hybrid, online and televised courses. The environment provides faculty, and the office of distance learning with an easy tool to fill in and manage all forms effectively and efficiently.
It Takes a Virtual Community: Promoting Collaboration Through Student Activities
Stevenson - Forrey - Battista
by Ludmila Battista
Carol Forrey
Carolyn Stevenson
Distance education provides many nontraditional students with the opportunity to pursue a college education not possible through traditional brick and mortar education. Although not meeting face-to-face, student activities help promote a stronger connection between the classroom and university community. This paper will discuss strategies for developing a sense of student community at a distance. Topics include: the role of professional and student organizations in building community; academic coaching and courses for at-risk students; community building through student websites; use of Second Life for promoting student leadership and collaborative activities.
Instructor’s Privacy in Distance (Online) Teaching: Where do you draw the line?
Storey
Tebes
by Valerie Storey
Mary Tebes
The exponential growth of distance learning provision in the past forty years poses pertinent and critical ethical issues. Students participating in distance education via an online course are required to recognize and resolve various ethical issues, some of which focus on the instructor's actions. The university, too, as it supports students and instructors, is ethically involved in the process. As the number of online classes continues to grow, an increasing number of articles are being written about student and program integrity but there is a notable absence of articles or research focusing on the emerging issue of institutional integrity in relation to instructors. The ideology of New DEEL’s (Democratic Ethical Educational Leadership) speaks to the ethical basis of online teaching and this paper delineates an authentic ethical dilemma for which a universalized and generalized ethical model is proposed to be usefully applied to all issues involving privacy of participants.
Action Research: Effective Marketing Strategies for a Blended University Program
Cook
Ley
by Ruth Gannon Cook
Kathryn Ley
This action research study investigated a marketing plan based on collaboration among a program faculty team and other organizational units for a graduate professional program. From its inception through the second year of operation, program enrollment increased due to the marketing plan based on an effective approach grounded in simple marketing principles. Data including planning and meeting notes, memoranda, documents, and program enrollment data reveal how plan development and implementation increased enrollments by over a third in less than two years.
Profiling Students Who Take Online Courses Using Data Mining Methods
Digangi
Jannasch-Pennel
by Chong Ho Yu
Samuel Digangi
Angel Kay
Jannasch-Pennell
Charles Kaprolet
The efficacy of online learning programs is tied to the suitability of the program in relation to the target audience. Based on the dataset that provides information on student enrollment, academic performance, and demographics extracted from a data warehouse of a large Southwest institution, this study explored the factors that could distinguish students who tend to take online courses from those who do not. To address this issue, data mining methods, including classification trees and multivariate adaptive regressive splines (MARS), were employed. Unlike parametric methods that tend to return a long list of predictors, data mining methods in this study suggest that only a few variables are relevant, namely, age and discipline. Previous research suggests that older students prefer online courses and thus a conservative approach in adopting new technology is more suitable to this audience. However, this study found that younger students have a stronger tendency to take online classes than older students. In addition, among these younger students, it is more likely for fine arts and education majors to take online courses. These findings can help policymakers prioritize resources for online course development and also help institutional researchers, faculty members, and instructional designers customize instructional design strategies for specific audiences.
E-mail Alerts and RSS Feeds for Distance Learning Administrators
Washburn
Howell
by Allyson Washburn
Scott L. Howell
A distance learning administrator’s need for an executive survey of breaking developments is not unique—especially when so much information is now available. One author used the following comparison to describe the information age in which distance learning administrators now live and work: “A weekday edition of the New York Times contains more information than the average person was likely to come across in a lifetime in seventeenth-century England” (Wurman, 1989, p. 32). This same author also stated, now almost 20 years ago, that “more new information has been produced in the last 30 years than in the previous 5,000 . . . and the total of all printed knowledge doubles every eight years” (Wurman, 1989, p. 35). It is no wonder that “seven out of 10 office workers in the United States feel overwhelmed by information in the workplace, and more than two in five say they are headed for a data ‘breaking point,’ according to a recently released Workplace Productivity Survey, . . .” (Tahmincioglu, 2008). Some distance education administrators fear that they might not be keeping up with critical developments in their field because there is just too much information to sort through; or that they are not receiving the best information available; or they just don’t have enough time to get through it all, so why try...
From the Editor
This edition is annually a personal favorite because it features the Best Papers from our upcoming Distance Learning Administration
conference (June 22-25 in Jekyll Island, Georgia). One of the Best Papers describes efforts at Kaplan University to create a virtual
community (Battista, Forrey, Stevenson). This is always a particularly challenging effort in the online environment, but efforts can pay off
big in terms of student retention and success. At the welcome session of our conference, I will discuss briefly how even the smallest,
simplest measures in terms of student support can pay off in unmeasurable ways. Think of the Butterfly Effect (from Physics) that contends that the flap of a butterfly's wings in the Amazon can set off a series of events which eventually results in a tornado in China. When applied to our work with students, this means that every little act of encouragement (even when we are frustrated or having a bad day), every smile, and every extra moment spent trying to help our online students can also set off a series of events. These events begin with the increased probability of that student's success in an online course, but we can imagine that the ripple effect may include things such as a patient's life being saved when that student later becomes a nurse, or a relationship saved when that student is much less frustrated that day, week, or course period. We must welcome and be grateful for the opportunity to be in a position to support students, and applaud those whose work shows passion, creativity, and a constant willingness to help. Every single tiny act that you take really matters!
This edition is annually a personal favorite because it features the Best Papers from our upcoming