Students who take online courses generally
agree that the online format is challenging.
But the benefits are great.
“Flexibility and convenience are
what our students say they like best
about online courses,” says ARCC
business faculty member Candace Heino. “I
have one student who had to move to another
state when her husband got called up
for active military duty, and she’s
been able to keep taking courses and
working toward her degree. I’ve
also had a few students who had babies
in the middle of the semester, and kept
right on going with their classes.”
ARCC’s Business Department has
been an innovator in online delivery
of courses. “Many of our students
are in business and have daytime jobs,
or they have to travel a lot,” says
ARCC business faculty member Jennifer
Friestad, who taught the very first online
course offered by ARCC. “Taking
your courses online, you can just plug
in your computer anywhere you have an
Internet connection and get right to
work.”
“Taking courses online isn’t
for everyone, though,” cautions
ARCC business faculty member Roberta
McDonald. “You have to be organized,
self-motivated, and resourceful to keep
up with all the reading and assignments
and stay on track. And you can’t
be afraid of computers.”
But for those who can meet the challenges
of online learning, they’ll find
a highly effective learning experience.
“I get a lot of students thanking
me for all the individual attention they’ve
received from the discussions we have
online,” says ARCC business faculty
member Debbie Von Spreecken. “And
I really like the amount of individual
communication I’m able to have
with each student.”
ARCC has seen tremendous growth in popularity
of its online courses. In 2000, 242 students
enrolled in the 11 courses sections offered
online. In 2004, 1,537 students enrolled
in 96 course sections offered online.
ARCC now ranks eighth in the Minnesota
State Colleges and Universities System
in its percentage of enrollment delivered
through online courses, which currently
totals 3.9 percent of its full-year equivalent
enrollment.
The Accreditation Process
To receive Higher Learning Commission
accreditation for online delivery of
its business degree, ARCC had to ensure
that students are offered the same
academic rigor that on-campus classes
offer, and that coursework could be
completed without on-campus participation.
Those goals have been reached for ARCC’s
business degree. However, at this time,
students who want to use their A.S. in
business as a first step toward a four-year
degree somewhere other than the Business
Online program at Metropolitan State
will still need to attend some on-campus
activities to complete Minnesota Transfer
Curriculum coursework.
The college is striving to do away with
those on-campus requirements.
“We are working to establish
online delivery of the complete Associate
of Arts degree, which includes the Minnesota
Transfer Curriculum requirements,” Weishapple
says. “Then we will seek institutional
accreditation for our online delivery
system.”
ARCC continues to expand its online
delivery of student services, too. For
the upcoming spring semester, it is piloting
online delivery of its student orientation,
a required first step for new students.
Students transferring from other institutions
will be given the option of completing
the orientation program online. This
option will become available to all new
students in the summer term.
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