Metro's stable of online courses has grown by leaps and bounds since 1996 when the first courses were offered, vaulting Metro into a role as one of the leaders in online education in the state. A testament to the popularity and necessity of online courses, the college's enrollment in traditional classroom courses is, in fact, decreasing, while online enrollment is increasing, says David Conde, associate vice president for Academic Affairs. He adds that there are more than 6,300 unduplicated enrollments in online courses this spring semester. And since Metro is landlocked within the Auraria campus, the only way the college can keep growing is through cyberspace.

So the time has come for Metro's online offerings to be organized and supported with a clear vision and an infrastructure so that it can become a real partner in the college's future. "The college needs to come to grips with online education so that it is a genuine option for institutional work," Conde says.

Hence work on the Online Education Comprehensive Development Plan has begun. With the backing of Interim President Ray Kieft, last summer Academic Affairs Vice President Joan Foster charged Conde with recruiting faculty members to begin studying the situation and determine how to approach what appears to be an immense undertaking.

"There are many important and complicated issues surrounding online education," Foster says, "and I knew that we needed to produce a plan that outlines its future at Metro."

The work of the core committee led to the creation in December of task groups manned with volunteer faculty and staff in four areas, each with slice of the online education beast to dissect: policy, curriculum, faculty personnel and technology.

"The faculty and staff from across the college who've volunteered to serve on the task groups are knowledgeable and enthusiastic," says Foster. "They are tackling this initiative in a serious and systemic way."

Asking the right questions
Right now it's all about questions. Each group has a list of questions to answer, and from those answers, Academic Affairs will devise recommendations for an infrastructure that is built around standards for formats, accountability, training and operating rules.

For instance, online courses currently include those that are mostly online, those that are entirely online, and those considered hybrids with a blend of classroom and online requirements. So, one of the 11 questions the policy task group will answer is What should be the definition of online education at Metro? Others include How should faculty intellectual property rights be addressed? and What should be the structure for governance of online curriculum decisions and approvals?

The curriculum task group is facing nine questions, including How do we determine the best way for students to be assessed and tested in an online course?, and What are the principles that will govern the design of online course construction to ensure that there is continuity across programs, schools and the college?

The faculty personnel task group will be answering 11 questions such as What are the training requirements for online faculty? and What are the contractual obligations of online faculty and what are the salary considerations beyond those already established for on-campus faculty?

And last but certainly not least, the technology task group will tackle seven questions, among them What is Information Technology's role in supporting online students? and What would be the relationship of a virtual college concept with the other parts of the institution?

With representatives from Student Services serving on each task group, the critical role of the division will also be fleshed out.

"Online classes and online services need to work together hand in glove," says Karen Raforth, interim vice president of Student Services. "This coming together of the faculty and Student Services on these task groups can make sure that the two are seamless."

Raforth says that her division has already made a concerted effort to get each service online, if it makes sense to do. "Clearly, students want services 24/7, online as well as face to face. We must make sure that everyone has access."

You need it when?
The task groups have been meeting since spring classes started and are expected to have their ideas to the core committee by the end of March, when the college administration will begin discussing the recommendations.

The reason for the fast track, Conde says, is that the college needs to begin implementing elements of the plan this summer with the idea that it's a trial. "Then we'll make adjustments and come back full swing in the fall."

Also, he adds, this timeline dovetails nicely with the upcoming NCA self-study prior to the reaccredidation. "The NCA could have major questions about this. This way, we're going to have the answers."