designing gen ed_for_distance

Designing General Education for

Distance and Adult Students

Cynthia Davis, PhDUniversity of Maryland University College

Kara VanDam, PhD, MBAKaplan University

Enrollment patterns◦ Stop in and out◦ Variable loads◦ No cohorts

Multiple institutions◦ Transfer credit◦ Not optimal sequences

Variable backgrounds◦ Ages◦ Educational background◦ Developmental stage◦ Related experience

IssuesGeneral Education for Adult Online Students

Two Models

State institution◦ Distribution requirements◦ Transferability from other Maryland colleges

Open access◦ Flexible degrees◦ Many options for requirements◦ Recommendations in degree plans

Cross-curricular hallmarks ◦ Embedded across curriculum◦ Apply to all degrees

Hallmark and Gen Ed learning outcomes Recommended Gen Ed courses Common theme: “technological

transformations” Criteria for designing Gen Ed courses Faculty development and support

  Effectively communicate ideas, information, arguments, and

messages to achieve a specific goal.  Access, analyze, interpret and evaluate information to foster

learning and to guide decisionmaking.

Make choices based on awareness of global, social, and ethical contexts.

Apply understanding of roles, responsibilities, and relationships in order to advance the goals of a community or organization.

Evaluate, select, and integrate technology to enhance communication, learning, and decisionmaking.

UMUC General Education Learning Outcomes

Proprietary institution with a professionally-focused mission◦ Adult learners, 20% military, 74% female

Flexible degree programs accommodate prior learning (transfer, CLEP, experiential)

Kaplan Commitment ensures right fit Strong focus on core skill proficiency

◦ ETS Proficiency Profile: 10.4 point increase vs. 7.9 point national average

◦ Core and distributed General Education◦ Academic Support Centers (Writing, Math, Science)

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KU General Education program

The Goal: Ensure that students understand and can apply the skills associated with ethics, critical thinking, research, technology, arts and humanities, communication, mathematics, science, and social science professionally and personally

The Core: Six courses within the bachelor’s degree programs in communication/composition, mathematics, science, social science, and arts and humanities

The Connections: Each required or elective course includes:◦ A writing assignment and the use of technology, reinforcing the

communications and technology literacies. ◦ An assignment based on one of the remaining seven literacies,

addressing practical issues and engaging students.

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Innovative Assignments Help Students Make Connections

Social Science GEL: Accounting students evaluate the cultural impact of scandals like Enron

Communication GEL: Criminal Justice students create a crisis negotiations training used to introduce police officers to the types of situations requiring a crisis negotiator, common negotiating tactics, and the indicators of negotiation progress

Science GEL: Legal Studies students write a policy analysis on whether the U.S. should conduct offshore drilling on the east and west coasts and what effects offshore drilling may have on the environment, marine life, and the public health

Implementation Challenges

Helping all schools and programs understand and implement the General Education Program

Ensuring proper integration across all programs

Continuous training Improving data reporting and analysis to

drive continuous curricular improvement

SCHOOL 100--200 300--400 DifferenceArts & Sciences 2.97 3.60 +.63Business & Management 3.77 3.87 +.09Criminal Justice 3.78 3.99 +.21General Education 3.61 3.63 +.02Health Sciences 3.71 4.16 +.45Information Systems & Technology 4.11 4.33 +.23Legal Studies 3.98 3.94 -.03Nursing 2.93 3.83 +.90

Note. GEL scores represent the three-year moving average (2009--2011)

COURSE LEVEL

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

3.9

4.1

4.3

4.5

100--200 300--400

Ave

rage

GEL

Sco

re

Course Level

AVERAGE GENERAL EDUCATION LITERACY SCORES BY SCHOOL AND COURSE LEVEL

Arts & Sciences

Business & Management

Criminal Justice

General Education

Health Sciences

Information Systems & Technology

Legal Studies

Nursing

Key Finding:

Increased GEL scores from lower-level to upper-level courses across most schools.

“I enjoyed this course primarily because it opened my eyes up to the strategies involved with making conclusions and diagnoses in a clinical setting. Most disorders and issues that need attention can be properly assessed by following ethical guidelines while administering specific assessments. Great course.”

KU Ethics & Communication Study

Longitudinal design to assess learning across specific GEL outcomes

Cohort design to assess learning outcomes at specified time intervals

Compare specific GEL areas at various course-level subgroups to assess learning outcomes

KU Future Research Studies

Embed throughout full curriculum Support individual courses with cross-

curricular approaches Curriculum design

◦ Outcomes definition◦ Assessment◦ Integration of experience◦ Supporting tools and resources

Lessons Learned

Questions? Comments?

Cynthia Davis: cynthia.davis@umuc.edu

Kara VanDam: kvandam@kaplan.edu