Delgado Community College and Fielding Graduate University

Initial Discussion – Substantive Change Steering Committee/Rick Daniels 12/20/05

Potential Avenues For Association Based Upon Issues Raised by the SCSC

This illustration draws from comments and questions raised in the last steering committee meeting with Rick Daniels. It suggests from those comments and quests how DCC and Fielding Graduate University (FGU) might associate for mutually beneficial outcomes. It is intended to give some form to what has so far been a vague reference to a “relationship” between the two institutions. Questions concerning the value of such a relationship for each party have been raised and should be addressed more thoroughly than the “value gained” bullets below, which are woefully in need of input. While none of this has been confirmed or approved, it may serve as a launching point for further discussions.

  1. Areas of research – this avenue might include, but is not limited to action research activities conducted by Fielding Faculty and/or Students and dedicated to scholarship that would benefit Delgado’s present mission and directives. Researchers presently focused on Higher Education, Community Colleges, Faculty Development, Learning Theory, Distance Learning, Strategic Plannning, Communication, Transformative Learning, etc. may find relevant topics in these areas and propose action research projects in collaboration with Delgado interests.
  2. Value gained from this association – everybody wins
  3. Value to DCC in:

contribution to Delgado’s growth and DL initiatives

  • Value to FGU in:

contribution to Fielding’s research and social change interests in the area of adult and distance learning

  • Mutual value in:

funding opportunities for DCC/FGU collaborative scholarship/practice otherwise unavailable to either party

recognition for contribution to the body of scholarship and state-of-the-art practice in distance learning

support for both DCC and FGU’s social justice philosophy, bettering our communities through a commitment to learning and individual student success

  • Extended sphere of value:

contribution to state-of-the-art distance learning practices could influence and strengthen overall capacity of higher education to achieve valuable learning outcomes

contribution to local community extended to student success on a much larger scale

undeterminable influence gained through establishing and building a network of collaborative scholarly/practitioners in the field of DL.

  1. Information sharing – DCC and FGU may identify the value of an electronic knowledge-sharing network comprised of relevant information mutually beneficial to either or both party’s interests.
  • Value gained from this association – to varying degrees, everybody wins
  • Value to DCC in:

existing work/research requested from FGU

tools, methods, and “best practices” requested from FGU

  • Value to FGU in:

investigations conducted by DCC into DL policies and “best practices”

the narrative record of DCC’s process in responding to the disaster, steps taken to transform and recover, etc.

  • Mutual Value in:

professional and scholarly network generated by knowledge-sharing

learning from shared experiences of both parties

knowledge-sharing as it informs areas of research conducted in #1.

  1. Professional expertise – FGU students and/or faculty may possess certain skills or expertise identified by DCC as critical to the success of the DL program, college recovery and transformation. This type of association could take several forms, but generally yielding long-term tangible value to DCC and long-term intrinsic value to FGU.
  • Value gained from this association – to varying degrees, everybody wins
  • Value to DCC in:

utilizing qualified professional resources to recover, rebuild, and transform (services in some cases would be donated or could be negotiated at a reduced rate)

establishing communication channels between individuals with specific questions and FGU faculty/students who might be willing to share practical experience, tools, or proprietary information as a professional (or circumstantial) courtesy.

  • Value to FGU in:

sharing their resources that could benefit the greater good, part of FGU’s commitment to “social justice” in all work

contributing to the recovery efforts in New Orleans, and in doing so supporting a shared commitment to “social justice” and the betterment of the community through quality education

  • Mutual Value in:

learning from a unique situation and applying that to other scholarship/practice

  1. Professional development – interested DCC faculty or staff may decide to apply for degree or certification programs related (in some cases) to DL and offered by FGU. With regard to tuition, it may be worthwhile to investigate funding sources interested in DL teaching technologies or that are available as a result of the recent disaster and present circumstances surrounding DCC faculty’s need for deep and immediate DL competency development.

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Delgado Community College and Fielding Graduate University

Potential Avenues For Association

A few ways DCC and FGU could associate for the shared benefit of student success, scholarly practice, faculty development, program development, and institutional growth (column 2 content generated from input by participants at the Steering Committee meeting on 12/20 with Rick Daniels):

Areas of research… / …concerning questions about identifying, advising, and supporting students who are unprepared for learning in an online environment.
…investigating how faculty and staff new to DL can continue offering the same quality instruction that presently occurs in the classroom.
…concerning how to transfer what an institution already does well in the classroom to an online format.
…concerning how to deliver successful online versions of such challenging courses as nursing clinicals or hands-on laboratory practicals.
…developing an approach to online faculty development that utilizes expertise of current online faculty and generates cycles of continual development through a rotation of faculty-driven workshops and peer review.
…documenting the journey that DCC goes through in reestablishing itself as a valuable contributor to the community.
…establishing within a new DL program the deeply rooted history and philosophy responsible for prior success in the classroom.
…discovering organizational designs that would align embedded culture and values with new processes and actions related to the functions necessary to implement a DL program.
…involving Experiential Learning.
…investigating how to maintain in a DL environment the one-on-one relationships achieved in traditional classrooms.
…investigating the benefits and challenges of online v. traditional classroom relationships (student-student, student-instructor, instructor-instructor, etc.).
…surrounding the Diaspora following Katrina, how that relates to our displaced students, their experiences, their present circumstances, and how it all affects their educational goals.
…concerned with the implications a DL program will have for faculty; specifically regarding changes in the roles and responsibilities of instructors and answering questions such as, “How will teaching and learning about teaching DL be incorporated into the already packed workload?” “What expectations are there for faculty teaching in an institution that offers a DL program?” “What sorts of changes will faculty face, regardless of whether or not they teach an online course?”
Information sharing, such as… / …how does FGU and/or other DL organizations maintain a “consistency of message” across departments/programs?
…suggested books in online design and instruction for faculty.
…methods learned to differentiate between traditional classroom students and non-traditional or DL students (related to admissions).
…the record of any research data that emerges from a DCC/FGU association.
…the record of how DCC carried forward existing expertise in technology, pedagogy, instruction, academics, and student-centeredness into an online learning environment.
…existing methods of identifying whether or not someone would do well in an online environment (i.e. a learning styles inventory or other such practical tool).
…results of DCC investigations into admissions/enrollment/financial aid/orientation policy issues related to DL, specifically through comparisons with similar open-admissions colleges.
…record of DL “best practices” investigated, applied at DCC, and their impact on program goals.
…how have other allied health institutions achieved equally successful learning outcomes in online versions of nursing clinicals or labs?
…results of DCC investigations into various HR and professional policies and processes such as student grievances related to online technology, intellectual property rights for instructors’ tools, etc.
…a record of the lessons learned and process DCC goes through to determine what its new student population looks like; what its DL student population looks like; how to find them; how to communicate with them; and most of all how to prepare for them (i.e. Call Center).
…DCC narratives from those who went through the “ immediate response and recovery process” along with formally recorded documentation of where DCC has been so far since the disaster struck.
Professional expertise, such as… / …third-party facilitation of critical decisions required for moving forward with DCC’s DL program: 1) a rationale for DCC’s DL program; 2) a “consistent message” for both traditional and online learning at DCC; 3) a definition of DCC that encompasses the DL component of the college (i.e. whether or not DCC will be a “dual” university).
…third-party facilitation of a strategic plan and strategic process for building a successful DL program at DCC that is based on the present strategic plan for the whole college.
…temporary access to FGU’s online library databases and library/research tutorials.
…faculty development workshops/courses in “active learning,” “collaborative learning,” and/or “online instructional design.”
…online instructional design experts who could work with online faculty to develop “master courses” for online instruction.
Professional and Institutional development / Certifications offered at FGU to develop online teaching competencies such as instructional design techniques, facilitation skills, ability to identify and respond to student learning styles with online instruction, and creating a learning-centered environment.
Potential for corporate funding or sponsorships supporting the development of DL programs through collaborative efforts between institutions such as DCC and FGU.

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