Leadership & Organizational Studies

University of Southern Maine’s

Lewiston-Auburn College

Attending classes in your PJs? Taking two courses instead of one because both classes meet only every other week face-to-face? Developing a network of peers that extends outside the community, the state, and the nation? These are just a few of the benefits found as a result of web-based and other technologically enhanced educational opportunities now becoming commonplace even at traditional universities.

Some of the drivers of online course delivery include student demand for flexible scheduling, opportunities to compete with sub-standard quality programs that provide little interactivity or student feedback, resource limitations, rising commuting costs, the desire for increased student and faculty diversity and global exposure, and the need to improve student retention.

There is a four or five-fold increase in courses being offered either online or in a “blended” format at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College. Blended classes meet 50% online and 50% on campus, making it possible for more than one class to be scheduled in the same time slot as long as course schedules are coordinated.

Nationally, students are increasingly opting for blended (or hybrid) classes as a way to combine the benefits of flexibility with those of the interpersonal community developed with faculty and peers in a face-to-face classroom college experience. The advantages of a blended or online format include increased opportunities for less extroverted students to participate in online discussion or group “meetings.”

Additionally, all students have an increased chance to reflect on course material and the postings of their peers or instructors, as a record of everyone’s contributions remains available online for further comment or questioning at any point in the semester. In addition, the ability to “meet” online, “snow days” are fast becoming a thing of the past. If the physical campus closes, instructors expect their students to join them online that day.

To develop increased capacity, USM is partnering with six other universities in the New Century Learning Consortium funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and affiliated with the Sloan Consortium. The founding members in addition to USM include Oakland University, Southern Oregon University, California State East Bay, Louisiana Tech University, Chicago State University, and the University of Illinois Springfield.

Together, these universities are beginning to share faculty and administrative development resources, with a view toward exchanging course offerings among their programs and departments. All partners are committed to the Sloan Consortium Effective Practices which emphasize quality educational experiences.

In online or blended classes, faculty serve as the designers of the educational experience. They are also the facilitators and co-creators of the social and learning environment, as well as the subject matter experts. Students learn from seeing each others’ work regularly and the quality of each discussion and assignment improves over the semester.

I have a chance to coach each student’s participation at any point-their writing, their thinking, how they relate to others. It’s a wonderful opportunity particularly for non-traditional working students. At the same time, we must adhere to the Sloan Effective Practices and keep class sizes reasonable, or we lose all the potential benefits.

For more about online learning, please visit usm.maine.edu/eap/profed/online.html.