DISTANCE LEARNING 20 16

ANNUAL REPORT

CONTENTS WHAT IS WKU DISTANCE LEARNING?

WKU DISTANCE LEARNING GROWTH

WKU ON DEMAND

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

MEET OUR STAFF

02 02

FISCAL YEAR 15-16 HIGHLIGHTS

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INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

07

DISTANCE LEARNING TESTING CENTERS

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SPECIAL EVENTS

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WHAT IS WKU DISTANCE LEARNING? Distance Learning (DL) at Western Kentucky University (WKU) is largely a faculty service unit offering instructional design support, proctored testing centers, professional development opportunities, and consultation on best practices for teaching semester-based online and courses on demand. Housed in the Garrett Conference Center, our goal is to support engaging and flexible learning opportunities to WKU students.

FISCAL YEAR 15 - 16 HIGHLIGHTS U.S. News & World Report Ranking

For the second consecutive year, WKU received the second highest score in the United States on the US News and World Report rankings of online bachelor’s degree programs. This score was earned through a combination of offering a diverse catalog of online programs and providing a wide array of faculty and student support services, cementing our reputation as one of the premier distance education institutions in the country.

In the 2015/2016 Academic Year

Strategic Innovation in Online Learning Award

20%

The WKU DL team was recognized by the UPCEA as the recipient of the 2016 Strategic Innovation in Online Learning Award. “The award recognizes an institution of higher education (i.e. campus, system, or consortium) that has, at an institutional level, set and met innovative goals focused on online education and been strategic in the planning, development, implementation, and sustainability in line with the institutional mission.” The DL team spent the last three years developing and refining processes to address accessible course materials at WKU. While our efforts are focused mainly on distance learning courses, we serve as a resource for the entire campus community on accessibility efforts. This includes media transcription and video captioning, as well as reviewing and providing guidance on accessible documents and course content. Those efforts require us to document and work through processes to ensure we are monitoring and completing projects focused on accessibility. To manage our efforts we developed an online database that many throughout our campus community rely on daily. Our attention and efforts support faculty and student needs, and our process and database make it possible for us to keep ourselves focused on those activities. We’re immensely proud that our peers throughout the country recognize our efforts and continue to look to WKU for guidance on best practices in course accessibility. This is yet another way that DL is impacting the WKU campus community and extending the reach of WKU beyond our region.

of all WKU student credit hours, more than

100,000 hours, were attempted via DL courses

WKU’s online programs are nationally ranked. 2015

2016

On Demand Degree-Completion Program

Distance Learning has worked closely with the Department of Architectural & Manufacturing Sciences to develop and coordinate WKU’s new competency-based education (CBE) bachelor-completion program in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. The first roll out of modules has been completed and opened for enrollment this past spring. Recruitment efforts for the program included email campaigns to current KCTCS students and engaging with local industry to showcase the program and highlight its benefits to their employees and operations. Support services and supplemental resources, including a customizable retention tool and coaching model, were also implemented for the CBE program.

02

WKU DISTANCE LEARNING GROWTH WKU Distance Learning has seen consistent and sustained growth over the last 3 years.

More development and revision agreements means more course offerings. As our development and revision agreements have grown over the last three years, so have course offerings and enrollments. This consistent and sustained growth in development and revision agreements and course offerings led to 1,506 additional On Demand and semester-based online enrollment in the 15-16 academic year compared to the 13-14 academic year.

In 2015-16:

1,506

additional On Demand and semester-based online enrollments

03

This enables us to support more faculty who, in turn, provide more flexible and quality learning opportunities for students.

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT - BEST ONLINE BACHELOR’S PROGRAMS 2015 1. Penn State - World Campus 2. (Tie) Daytona State College (FL) 2. (Tie) University of Illinois (Chicago) 2. (Tie) Western Kentucky University

2016 1. (Tie) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 1. (Tie) Penn State - World Campus 3. Western Kentucky University 4. University of Illinois (Chicago)

PEER COMPARISON > KENTUCKY PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS INSTITUTION Western Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University Morehead State University University of Louisville Murray State University Kentucky State University University of Kentucky

ONLINE COURSE ENROLLMENTS (2014-2015 Academic Year) 28,896 24,392 20,866 19,001 16,961 9,591 4,268 Not Reported

Data Source: Online course enrollment counts from Kentucky public institutions’ websites.

04

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN The Instructional Design (ID) team worked on 34 different projects this year that supported teaching and learning at WKU: accounting student tutoring, English 200 departmental exam, piloting Blackboard Collaborate, automating enrollments for on demand sections, and the Mediasite integration, as well as numerous projects that supported DL operations (changes to our websites, enhancing our project management system, and feature enhancements to our transcription process). The ID team supports faculty in many unique ways, including creating multimedia material for their courses. This includes graphics, videos, animations, and course interactions. Depending on the complexity and content of the project, we can use our in-house studio to develop professional quality media assets to help the faculty member achieve their pedagogical goals.

144 FACULTY MEMBERS In 2015, our ID team collaborated with 144 faculty members.

238 COURSES In 2015, our ID team collaborated with faculty members in 238 semester-based courses offered online, face-to-face, or hybrid.

ON DEMAND COURSES In 2015, our ID team collaborated with 31 faculty in 55 courses for WKU On Demand to improve their online course sites on Blackboard.

MEDIASITE CONVERSION 187 faculty were supported through the Mediasite conversion, accounting for 7,619 Tegrity videos converted for use in Mediasite.

Point of Pride By hiring WKU students to transcribe videos for online courses, Distance Learning is both saving money and providing employment opportunities to students, as well as ensuring that all online learners have the tools they need to succeed.

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WKU ON DEMAND A significant increase in WKU On Demand course agreements with faculty over the last three years has led to a more than 20% increase in on demand enrollments.

FACULTY TESTIMONIAL

“I love WKU On Demand. I truly appreciate the fleet of talented staff at my disposal. They make it easy to want to teach online. [WKU] On Demand staff are accessible, responsive, creative, and definitely sensitive to my goals and vision.”

Point of Pride In the 2015-2016 academic year, completion rates in WKU On Demand courses improved by more than 20%.

06

DISTANCE LEARNING TESTING CENTERS

15,116 EXAMS 353 COURSE SECTIONS 159 FACULTY MEMBERS In the 2015-2016 academic year, the Distance Learning Testing Centers (DLTC) proctored 15,116 exams in 353 course sections taught by 159 faculty.

Point of Pride The DLTC is one of only three testing centers in Kentucky certified by the National Collegiate Testing Association (NCTA).

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FACULTY TESTIMONIAL

“The DL Testing Centers are such a valuable resource for WKU. Tabatha Phillips and her team accommodate so many student needs effectively and in such a professional manner. There seems to be no task or issue too difficult for them to troubleshoot. I have worked for over ten years with DL and have found the testing centers, all locations, to be an excellent resource for my students. WKU is very lucky to have such a talented group of people who are dedicated to student success and committed to getting the job done.”

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WKU Distance Learning collaborates with The Center for Faculty Development to administer the Graduate Teaching Assistant Institute (GATI). GATI provides graduate students with the opportunity to receive professional development and training on the basics of teaching, pedagogy, and student learning so they may serve more effectively as Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) or Graduate Assistant Instructors (GAIs) within their academic units. GATI is designed to provide the basic frameworks and introduce the core elements of teaching within a classroom or laboratory environment. It should be used to complement and augment additional professional development activities offered within each graduate student’s academic unit and college.

105

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Over the past year, DL has developed and delivered over 105 training and development opportunities offered online and in-person to 357 faculty and graduate assistants focused on teaching with technology, Blackboard tips & tools, Quality Matters, blended learning & flipped classrooms, cheating & plagiarism, accessibility, providing feedback, online teaching, and online learning pedagogy. We also have engaged faculty through the Teaching Message listserv, sending out teaching tips to 119 faculty each week during the spring and fall semesters.

FACULTY TESTIMONIAL

“This is by far the best professional development experience I’ve had at WKU. It was the most useful and also the most respectful of teaching and me as a teacher. And everyone was so sincere in expressing their willingness to help when we start our online teaching that I really feel I’ll have support if I need it to set something up or if I run into problems.”

Point of Pride Through face-to-face and online methods, WKU Distance Learning offered professional development programs to meet the needs of WKU faculty. These included 30-minute webinars, day-long workshops/bootcamps, a weeklong summer camp, and a 6-week online course.

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SPECIAL EVENTS In addition to our everyday work of supporting faculty, WKU Distance Learning hosts and participates in several special events throughout the year. In SEPTEMBER 2015, we had the honor of hosting Dr. Curtis Bonk, a leading voice in online teaching best practices, at the WKU Professional Development Conference. Dr. Bonk presented on blended learning, motivating & retaining online learners, and addressing diverse learner needs. In November 2015, we celebrated Distance Learning Week (wku.edu/dlweek). Our efforts included a proclamation from Governor Beshear recognizing November 9-13 as Distance Learning Week in the Commonwealth. DL team members promoted events to highlight distance learning at WKU, including webinars hosted by WKU staff, as well as webinars hosted by the Online Learning Consortium and the U.S. Distance Learning Association. Our week concluded with the Kentucky Convergence Conference hosted by WKU at the Knicely Conference Center. Each conference brings instructional designers, information technology, and librarians together to present, discuss, and explore best practices in distance learning and Information Technology. At the 2015 conference, WKU represented the greatest number of participants from one institution (40+) and led many of the sessions as presenters. The 2016 conference will also be at the Knicely Conference Center, November 10-11. The theme will be “Making Higher Education Accessible.” Visit kyconvergence.blog.wku.edu for more information. Throughout the week of July 13, 2015, faculty participated in the Online Teaching Summer Camp to learn about the basics of designing and teaching an online course. Topics included transitioning to an online environment, planning & managing online courses, engaging students, and assessments. On January 19, 2015, 21 faculty attended the Warming Up for Spring workshop to learn about topics related to technology use in teaching. Sessions included green-screen video, online student peer-reviews, using Google apps in classes, and using Adobe Connect.

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MEET OUR STAFF

Dr. Julie Uranis Director, Distance Learning & Continuing and Professional Development

Hannah Digges Elliott

Tanja Bibbs

Assistant Director, Distance Learning

Anthony Elliott

Anne Honaker

Distance Learning Training Coordinator; CFD Teaching Fellow

Lisa Epley

Patrick Flanigan

Instructional Designer

Distance Learning Testing Center Specialist

Distance Learning Testing Center Specialist

Stefanie Keown

Steven Kirtley

Juliana Ortolani

Tabatha Spain Phillips

Angela Richardson

Andrew Swanson

Instructional Support Specialist

Distance Learning Testing Center Coordinator

Instructional Technologist

Office Associate

Dr. Wren Mills

Senior Instructional Designer

Instructional Designer

Instructional Support Specialist

Ryan Black

Instructional Support Specialist

Donna Kasznel

Distance Learning Data Specialist

Distance Learning Specialist

Hannah Page

Alicia Pennington

Instructional Support Specialist

Tanya Vincent

Coordinator, WKU On Demand

Instructional Designer

Catie Yates

Distance Learning Specialist

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