Education Matters

E-Learning Team Supports Student Success at USFSM

By Ryan G. Van Cleave 

One of the more challenging issues colleges and universities face today is designing and delivering engaging online courses that meet the educational needs of diverse students. This is especially true for schools that serve both traditional students, who may be fresh out of high school or transferring from another college, and post-traditional students, who are returning to school mid-career, after serving in the military or raising families. 

Many students today are older, which means that they face the challenges of simultaneously managing the demands of work and family responsibilities and that they require flexibility in scheduling courses and completing assignments.

The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee embraces the fact that the average age of its student body is 26.2, and nearly half of its students (49 percent) work 31 hours or more per week. As a commuter campus, USFSM also recognizes that it’s simply more convenient and efficient for students to take certain courses online, yet these courses must be engaging for students to stay in school and persist to graduation.

In order to deliver robust online courses, USFSM has assembled a team of professionals in its Office of E-Learning Services who work with faculty to develop and support the dozens of online and hybrid classes that are certified by “Quality Matters,” an international organization whose mission is to promote and improve the quality of online education and student learning. Timi Hager has served as USFSM’s Director of E-Learning Services since 2015. The team includes another “techie,” Sarah Gentry, along with two instructional designers, Amber Lee and Heidi Schroeder.

“We really focus on three areas,” explains Hager. “We work to ensure quality of the online courses, provide professional development and training for faculty, and offer student support.”

The E-Learning team helps students become acclimated to distance learning early in the college experience by participating in USFSM’s recruitment and orientation process, as well as hosting information sessions at Open Houses and Week of Welcome events to familiarize students with their campus learning management system, Canvas, as well as other online resources. USFSM’s academic advisors also work hard to ensure students take advantage of their learning options to stay on track toward earning their degrees as quickly as possible. Perhaps most important of all is the thought, creativity, and innovation a faculty member brings to bear when designing an online course. That’s what it takes for students to feel a true sense of belonging in a virtual classroom environment. Anything short of that and the students are more likely to tune out, falling prey to one or more distractions, digital or otherwise.

The E-Learning team invests a considerable amount of time with a faculty member to design an online course. Schroeder says, “We partner with faculty for a full semester. We meet regularly for 16 weeks, really getting to know them so we can pair them up with the right strategies and tools for learning. The goal is for the faculty member to be able to teach comfortably.” When a faculty member finally says, “I feel at home here!” about their Canvas class site, then that’s when Schroeder and her colleagues know the class is primed for success.

Jane Govoni, the USFSM English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) coordinator and a Spanish instructor, has found nothing but success in running distance classes. “The students in Spanish seem to like the videos of myself speaking in Spanish to allow them to feel more connected to me as the instructor, and to the Spanish language,” she says. “In addition, students seem to like the flexibility in schedule, as many post their assignments in the late evenings. They have also commented on the immediate support they receive from E-Learning staff if they have a technical issue.”

Govoni adds that “I thought that my courses were pretty well designed and interactive; however, I enrolled in Quality Matters training and learned about so many other tools, techniques and strategies to support students. My course ‘came alive’ based on the feedback and guidance of E-Learning. They showed me how to design courses that are student accessible, dynamic, interactive, and engaging. Through E-Learning, my courses now reflect ways for students to demonstrate their comprehension of the materials, application of readings, and ways to synthesize and evaluate their own work. The courses were brought to a whole new level of cognitive thinking based on the guidance of the staff in E-Learning. I can’t express how fortunate we are to have such a team at USFSM.”

Shawn Ahearn, Director of Communications and Marketing, says “It’s entirely possible that the first impression someone has of USFSM is an online course. It’s important that we do things well.”

That’s particularly true for Florida residents. Since every high school student in the Sunshine State is required to take at least one online course before graduation, they have some sense of how online courses work. Those retuning to college who have never taken an online course should be pleased with the quality of their experience at USFSM.

As the USF System consolidates its three campuses into “One USF” by July 1, 2020, more students will have the ability to take courses seamlessly at any USF campus. More course offerings are likely to emerge at USFSM, many of which will be online, providing an opportunity for USFSM and the E-Learning team to serve some of the 45,000 students in Tampa and 5,000 students in St. Petersburg.

Thanks to the E-Learning team at USFSM, a model of success is in place for developing online courses, training faculty to deliver those courses in a user-friendly manner, and assisting students in their academic journey when needed. Because after all, quality matters.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, please visit www.usfsm.edu, or call 941.359.4200.