ONLINE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Charge
The Online Education Committee is authorized and charged by Provost Nicolle Parsons-Pollard to realize Georgia State University’s vision for excellence in distance education for students of all backgrounds at all levels:
Georgia State University is one university where faculty may achieve excellence in teaching and students may achieve excellence in learning—in any modality. The university’s academic strategy considers where we can best make use of online teaching and learning modalities to enable our students to meet their academic, career, and life goals.
The Committee is tasked with coordinating online education efforts across units, both academic and non-academic. The Committee will recommend ways to address the distinctive requirements of online programs and online students while ensuring that online education is integrated into all academic and student support services and all appropriate academic units.
Focal Areas
- Set strategic direction for the university’s online growth and development. The Committee should develop distinct strategies for different student levels (e.g., associate, bachelor, and graduate) and populations (e.g., students with some college and no degree, adult learners who are upskilling or reskilling, military veterans, students in core courses).
- Develop a five-year strategy for identifying new online programs and course opportunities. The strategy should take into account explicit criteria, including, among others:
- Projected student demand;
- Employer and market demand;
- Georgia State uniqueness and competitiveness in the discipline;
- Appropriateness to student level;
- Availability of resources (e.g., faculty, staff, technology, facilities, etc.);
- Ensuring that proper procedures are in place so that faculty can effectively carry out the policy on credit for prior learning.
- The committee should consider where the Atlanta campus can best offer online bachelor’s completion programs for highly enrolled online pathways at Perimeter.
- The Committee should prioritize online growth at the graduate level, in
particular at the master’s level. This has several components:- The market research of a professional consultant (e.g., EAB, Hanover, UPCEA) as well as the USG’s data on market and employer demand. Online programs should meet the same goals as on-ground programs: high student and employer demand, adequate university resources, and competitive in the higher education market.
- Consideration of whether the intended student population for the program is suited to an online modality. (For example, new online courses should not be aimed at most lower-division undergraduates. Some new offerings might be particularly focused on the GSU employees in the TAP program, or the adult learner market).
- What is the appropriate format for such an offering? Is it a degree program, a concentration/minor, or a short-form credential such as a certificate?
- The Committee should work with existing quality assurance processes (such as assessment of student learning, instructional design and instructional development, and academic program review) to ensure
that all fully online programs and courses are consistently well designed and well delivered and that students have a high-quality experience online.- Recommend changes to existing offerings (e.g., new types of offerings, changes to existing offerings) to the Senior Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, who will bring relevant recommendations to the attention of departments, colleges, and the University Senate.
- The committee should focus on how to increase student pass rates in Core and other lower-division online courses and programs.
- Recommend improvements to the student experience of taking courses and programs online.
- The Committee should recommend a baseline set of expectations for all students with regard to the frequency and types of instructor engagement, learning platforms, communications with students, and basic requirements regarding successful online course design, and regular and substantive
interaction (RSI), consistent with federal and accreditor expectations and GSU policy. - The Committee should work with CETLOE to undertake regular, deidentified studies of faculty and student engagement in the learning management system and associated tools to understand the levels of engagement already in place in online courses.
- The Committee may wish to undertake surveys of students to learn more about their experience of various online approaches, courses, and programs.
- The Committee should recommend a baseline set of expectations for all students with regard to the frequency and types of instructor engagement, learning platforms, communications with students, and basic requirements regarding successful online course design, and regular and substantive
- Recommend improvements to scheduling, advising, registration, reporting, financial aid, and admissions, as needed.
- Recommend necessary forms of academic and student support e.g., in advising, registration, financial aid, learning tools, etc.) tied to particular student populations or initiatives.
- Recommend appropriate incentive structures for faculty to develop online Core courses, degree programs, and other credentials.
- Recommend online readiness orientation and preparation for students.
- Recommend appropriate training and instructional development for faculty.
Members
| Student Success | Allison Calhoun-Brown |
| Public Relations & Marketing Communications | Andrea Jones |
| Graduate School | Lisa Armistead |
| Interim Director for Georgia State Online | Nancy Byron |
| Deans’ Designees | John Medlock |
| (Rotating in 2-year staggered terms) | Cynthia Searcy |
| Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Online Education (CETLOE) (alternating between) | Julian Allen/Laura Carruth |
| Perimeter College Online | Andrea Hendricks |
| 3 Faculty Program Directors | Ritu Lohtia |
| Rotate (2-year staggered terms) | Tim Flemming |
| Undergraduate Admissions | Scott Burke |
| Financial Aid | Aria Simmons |
| Registrar | Tarrah Mirus |
| University Advising Center | Carol Cohen |
| Office of Institutional Effectiveness | Erik Lauffer |
| Student Engagement | Michael Sanseviro |
| Learning Environments | Lee Webster |
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