Notes on Campus Strategic Plans, 2008-2013
The following is a summary of the references to online teaching and learning that appeared in the Campus Strategic Plans (2008-2013). Only those goals listed included such a reference.
ABINGTON
Areas of strategic focus (4) include:
- Adult learners
- New degrees
Goal 1: Educational Excellence
- Continue to explore the opportunities for development of new degree programs, options, minors.
Goal 3: College Outreach
- Expand summer, evening, weekend, half semester, and intersession courses and programs using hybrid delivery when appropriate.
ALTOONA
Goal 1: Cultivate academic excellence through the support of high-quality teaching, research and service.
- College will work strategically to enhance online learning opportunities for faculty and students.
- The Business faculty will work with other faculty at other campuses to develop courses in the B.S. in Business for the WC.
- INART 205, The Beatles, is in advanced stages of preparation for delivery through the WC.
- Academic Affairs and CE will work together to enhance blended learning opportunities as part of expanded course offerings in the Devorris Downtown Center.
BEAVER
Goal 1: Develop, enhance and assess credit and non-credit academic programming to meet student and community needs.
- Focus on credit and non-credit programming that meets the needs of the workforce and the adult learner through a linked RI and vibrant CE operation.
- Support the development and use of the online business degree and/or its courses to accommodate adult students.
- Provide technology training to enable faculty to support the development and offering of online academic courses and degree programs.
BERKS
Goal 4: Community Outreach—enhance existing and promote new partnerships between Penn State Berks and its service area.
- Position Berks as a recognized regional provider of career and professional education, research and programs that address demonstrated public need.
- Increase the number of credit program offerings and alternative delivery methods to meet service area needs.
- Offer courses and programs to meet the needs of students, including accelerated and blended course delivery. This includes the development of accelerated and blended course delivery and bundling courses with existing programs. Allocation: $10,000/yr for curriculum development, faculty release, materials, etc.
- Initiate workforce development and public programming.
- Develop and offer non-credit programs that are aligned with community needs, Berks’ academic strengths and University delivery capabilities.
BRANDYWINE
Goal 3: Expand and develop innovative academic programs
- Develop online/hybrid courses in collaboration with WC—develop one online/hybrid course yearly and have ready for delivery.
Goal 6: Increase enrollments
- Develop and implement programs and schedules that will accommodate the non-traditional student population.
DUBOIS
Goal: Access
- Many strategies to recruit adult students—scheduling, support services, etc.—and scholarship support.
ERIE
Goal 1: Strengthen existing academic programs and outcomes and expand academic programming.
- Continue to pursue teaching innovations to improve learning outcomes.
- New ways to encourage additional faculty members in all four schools to adapt blended learning into their courses will be explored and an instructional designer will be hired to support these efforts.
- Possibility of requiring an online course experience will be assessed by select academic programs.
- Additional RI programming for adult students will be assessed, including WC courses, and the associate degree in General Business will be modified to serve adult students better.
- New masters-level programming will be assessed for possible development and implementation.
- Extension of an online or hybrid MBA degree to the Pittsburgh region (in partnership with PSU campuses in that region).
- Masters in Psychology (Applied Clinical/Counseling) taught in hybrid format.
- An online and/or hybrid masters program in engineering.
- WC-delivered programming will be expanded.
- Public version of Masters in Project Mgmt. will be extended.
- Additional cohorts of the iMBA will be absorbed.
- An SAP certificate and possibly other Enterprise Resource Planning programming will be implemented.
- Faculty participation in the online RN to BSN program will be explored.
- Innovative ways to add critical foreign languages to the curriculum via technology or partnering with other academic units will be explored.
Goal 2: Improve the teaching-learning environment
- Increase support for faculty development.
- A redesigned funding mechanism will be introduced to support eLearning instructional innovation and development, one that provides enhanced incentives to promote greater faculty involvement.
- An instructional designer position will be filled to provide dedicated support for the eLearning instructional development program, including course redesign workshops.
FAYETTE
Goal 1, Objective 3: Improve the flexibility and convenience of class schedules and facilities access.
- Expand afternoon, evening, and weekend courses and services.
Goal 1, Objective 4: Assure effective and accessible academic advising and support to students.
- Increase proactive, campus-wide advising methods and create a process for effective faculty advising by:
- Utilizing available technology such as ANGEL Live Chat and Adobe Connect (Breeze) for “long distance” advising and tutoring.
Goals 2, Objective 1: Increase support for pedagogical improvement and curricular excellence.
- Expand the Teaching and Learning Center to support all campus efforts to improve teaching and learning by:
- Increasing use and efficacy of educational technologies.
Goal 2, Objective 2: Improve campus resources for promoting student academic success.
- Create the “Digital Commons” to encourage the use of multimedia in campus teaching, learning, and research.
GREATER ALLEGHENY
Increase enrollment strategies and results.
- Increase enrollment of adult students through adult “Try It” scholarships for first-time adult students; efforts to reach vets; community college transfer scholarships are promoted.
Deliver academic programs that will establish a campus academic identity.
- Create STEM magnet Center.
HARRISBURG
Theme: Alliances and Partnerships
- Lead online collaborative program development
- Successful online ventures (iMBA, bachelor’s in criminal justice) have significantly enhanced the College’s faculty capability and receptivity to online learning and have prompted commitments for additional online programming n this planning cycle.
- Expand the college’s role in WC and the e-Learning Cooperative.
- In this planning cycle, the College proposes to work with the WC in collaboration with other colleges and Great Valley to develop additional online master’s programs with demonstrated market interest, and steward the online programs/courses offered.
- Strategic investments (at .5 and one percent recycle level) will accelerate progress in realizing these ventures.
Strategic investments: 1 percent level
- Expand significantly the College’s involvement in online education in partnership with WC and other Penn State colleges.
- Accelerate plans to offer selected online graduate professional programs with the WC, in cooperation with the Graduate School.
- Following programs reflect existing capability in resident faculty and programming. Requests for new hires will add to the complement in place:
- Master of Public Administration—strategic investments add two FTE faculty (one in 2008, one in 2009)
- iMBA—offer the iMBA in alternative format in partnership with Smeal, Great Valley, and Behrend. Modified format alternates seven weeks of online instruction with one week of residential instruction (at select sites)—strategic investments add two FTE faculty positions.
- Homeland Security—College is developing 12-credit postbacc. certificate through WC—reinvestment funds support two FTE faculty and instructional design support.
- Criminal Justice: Capital College, Liberal Arts collaborating with WC on development of MPS in Criminal Justice—strategic investment will support a total of two FTE faculty.
- Health Administration—considering online delivery of Master of Health Administration with WC. Investments will support two FTE faculty.
HAZLETON
Goal 1: Foster a dynamic campus environment by increasing the quality of student life and learning for traditional and adult students.
- Develop new programs at the baccalaureate and master’s levels with CE based on market research.
- Promote instructional design opportunities to increase excellence in the traditional and non-traditional classroom.
Goal 5: Develop a financial plan that will support increased services, and includes collaborative and/or entrepreneurial efforts that will increase offerings, increase enrollments.
- Work within Campus Alliance for Eastern Pennsylvania (four campuses) to develop collaborative offerings.
LEHIGH VALLEY
- Incorporate current and emerging technology to increase collaborative efforts among faculty, staff, students.
- Make a commitment to use the latest technological, instructional tools in academic programs and courses, including e-learning, ANGEL, and WC.
- Increase transfer and adult student enrollment through credit for experience, adding course options, and developing alternative course schedules.
- Collaborate with the WC and e-Learning Cooperative to enhance online learning experiences for students.
- Work with PSU Steering committee to increase our online learning opportunities.
- Investigate professional development opportunities for faculty regarding online course development and implementation with the assistance of the PSU Online Steering Committee.
- Encourage faculty to begin investigating options for courses that could be offered online at the campus or with other campuses and their programs.
- Collaborate with regional Penn State campuses to offer online courses in an effort to share expertise and resources.
- Inform students about the availability of online courses at the campus and through WC.
- Recycling scenario project:
- .5% scenario: Seamless transition program for adults transferring from community colleges.
- Campus Alliance of Eastern PA (see separate document)
MONT ALTO
Relevant strategies involve enhancing CE role in economic & workforce development.
NEW KENSINGTON
- Partner with western PA Penn State campuses to efficiently utilize resources to address low enrolled courses.
- Commit funding for online course development. Selected under-enrolled courses will be ready for delivery by Fall 2009.
- Provide training for faculty to support the development and implementation of online course program delivery. Special consideration for focus on under-enrolled courses.
SCHUYLKILL
Goal 1: Enhance academic excellence through support of high-quality teaching, research, service.
- Maximize interdisciplinary and cross-campus/cross institution collaborations and programs that address regional opportunities and needs.
- See proposal of Campus Alliance for Eastern PA document.
Goal 4: Realign missions, programs, services, and budgets to meet needs of students and communities that Schuylkill serves.
- Expand degree and certificate offerings with the use of online technologies, partnerships with local and regional campuses.
SHENANGO
Academics—develop new programs or enhance existing programs that reflect national and local job trend analyses.
- Actively promote hybrid/blended learning experiences available on WC to enhance skill set development and to expand majors.
- Train IT staff to serve dual roles as blended learning coordinators and student advisors for students in WC courses.
- Market WC OLEAD more aggressively.
- Add WC BS in Criminal Justice; market as blended learning experience.
WILKES-BARRE
Goal 1: Increase enrollment
- Increase part-time student enrollment by 10% yearly through:
- Increasing yearly blended delivery and online options.
- Offering courses at off-campus locations near major population centers
- Increasing number and variety of evening and weekend courses
- Increase adult student credit enrollments at off-campus locations by:
- Increasing BSB options
- Developing accelerated formats
- Increasing simultaneous delivery at multiple sites through technology
WORTHINGTON-SCRANTON
Goal 2: Enrich the educational experience of all Penn State students by becoming a more student-centered University.
- Develop and deliver additional online and hybrid courses that blend online and RI, ensure curricular integrity, and provide flexible access to courses while increasing cost efficiency and innovation.
- More fully utilize the Instructional Design Center to assist in the development of courses and programs.
- Expand the availability of online courses through the e-Learning Cooperative and the WC for both resident and non-resident instruction at all locations, and encourage all Penn State campuses to utilize and promote these offerings.
- Determine local support needed to effectively promote online course delivery through the e-Learning Coop. and WC, including e-activities for non-traditional learners.
- Develop service strategies designed to assist online students and promote online delivery as an enrollment management strategy.
- Deploy technology to improve learning, enhance information literacy, and develop students’ overall competency in various digital environments.
- Also supports the proposal of the Campus Alliance of Eastern PA (see separate document).
YORK
Goal 1: Strengthen our academic excellence and reputation.
- Strengthen the BSB program in residence and online, with plans to achieve accreditation from AACSB.
- Ensure the availability of faculty resources.
- Provide professional development for faculty planning to teach in blended or online environments and the time and resources to plan, design, create and deliver the courses.
- Provide incentives for faculty to teach online and blended courses as well as on campus.
Goal 3: Strengthen our financial situation.
- Enhance recruitment and retention through innovative credit and noncredit programming.
- Explore development of Weekend College.
- Continue to seek out and develop ways to reduce costs and improve efficiencies through creative approaches, including greater use of technology and coordination among campuses.
- Use technology to enhance campus curriculum; utilize different delivery modes.