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University of Louisville, College of Education and Human Development, Louisville, KY 40292
Phone: (502) 852-4727 | Toll-Free: (877) 372-2283 | Fax: (502) 852-3308
Email: [email protected] | Web: http://www.nrccte.org/
The availability of online education at community
colleges is growing. Two-year colleges have quickly
become the most dominant providers of online
education in response to community needs, and the
demand for such services is only growing. As the U.S.
economy continues to transition, employers need the
ability to tap into a workforce with the required skills to
meet new demands. Further, occupational education
is continuing to adapt to economic and workforce
development demands, and community colleges play
an especially important role in this process. Called
upon repeatedly in current economic recovery efforts,
community colleges provide flexible, low-cost, job-
specific, and high-quality opportunities for diverse
groups of students.
Community colleges also connect with their
communities by providing facilities for community
use, responding to employer needs, and providing
customized or technical training for employers.
This connectedness has led community colleges to
expand their focus beyond original emphases on
traditional academic or vocational credit-granting
education. Community colleges have also made
substantial contributions toward increasing access to
education and increasing overall social equality through
enhancement of individual opportunity. They provide
job-specific programs that allow students to enhance
existing skills or move directly into the workforce.
As community colleges seek to fulfill their missions to
contribute to workforce and economic development,
online education has emerged as an important
component that may contribute to that goal by
offering online credit, non-credit, and employer-
sponsored programs. Online learning is also becoming
an increasingly relevant component of fulfilling the
social goal of providing individual educational and
economic opportunities. Online courses provide
more convenient access to those who cannot attend
face-to-face courses, particularly working adults and
single parents. Credit-granting and non-credit online
programs provide students and employers with both
opportunity and flexibility.
Purpose and ObjectivesIn this two-phase study, Center researchers will
examine the current state of online occupational
learning in community colleges and explore issues
related to institutional and program characteristics that
influence the programmatic connection to workforce
development needs and organizational solutions to
online education challenges. This project is the first
national study that categorizes and inventories specific
types of online occupational programs in community
colleges. Case studies and cross-case analyses will
provide detailed evidence regarding the overall
organizational contexts of online occupational programs.
In the first phase of the project, a database was
developed using existing data from national, state, and
institutional sources. After compiling the database, data
were examined to understand (a) the extent to which
online occupational programs are offered in community
colleges and (b) the institutional, social, and economic
characteristics that increase the likelihood of community
colleges offering online occupational programs.
In the second phase, described below, seven case
studies will be developed and a cross-case analysis will
be conducted that will provide an understanding of the
curricular, institutional, and economic characteristics
that influence the prevalence of online postsecondary
occupational programs.
Phase 1 Site SelectionSites targeted consisted of the 1,081 institutions in the
database of the American Association of Community
Colleges (i.e., community colleges, technical institutes,
junior colleges). This population includes single-campus
colleges, multi-campus colleges, and colleges that
are affiliated with a university. For the sample, 321
institutions were randomly selected to participate;
complete data were available for 301 colleges. Of these,
47.5% (n = 143) offered online occupational programs.
The 143 colleges that provide online occupational
programs offered 1,201 individual programs with
an average of 8.6 online occupational programs per
college. Forty-five states were represented in the random
sample as well as one independent island nation (Palau).
Online Occupational Education in Community Colleges: Prevalence, Context, and Organizational Approaches
C u r r e n t P r o j e c t
Phase 1 Early ObservationsIn the first phase of the project, Center researchers
found that:
• Amongsampledinstitutionswithdata
available (n = 301), 47.5% offered credit-
granting online occupational programs.
• Although47.5%ofinstitutionsoffer
online occupational programs (50% or more
of coursework is online), previous Center
research found that 76.3% of institutions
offer credit-granting occupational courses
(Johnson et al., 2003). This finding illustrates
a need for colleges to build and promote
online programs in order to create increased
accessibility for students.
• Mostonlineoccupationalprograms
were in subjects that are more easily
taught online. In the sample, 43.6% of
all online occupational programs were part
oftheBusinessManagement/Administration
andMarketingfields.Althoughprograms
were available in skill-based fields like Health
Science, most programs were in areas such as
Health Informatics, which are more easily
taught online.
• PreviousCenterresearch(Bensonet
al., 2004) found that courses in skills-based
fields like Veterinary Technology and Funeral
Service Education can be successfully taught
online when integrated with face-to-face, lab,
or clinical requirements. The current study
found that such programs are rare, which
illustrates the need for institutions and states
to provide the resources necessary to develop
such programs, especially in high-growth,
high-need fields like the health sciences and
green technologies.
• Asmallmajorityoftheonline
occupational programs in the sample
award certificates or diplomas (52.4%), rather
than associate’s degrees (47%). Other studies
have found that community college certificate
programs have declined in popularity since
1990 (Levesque et al., 2008). However,
online certificate programs provide convenient
and accessible options which lead to greater
results for some students. Occupational
certificate programs can provide students
from weaker economic and academic
backgrounds with the most opportunity for
economic mobility, when compared to
pursuing other degree options (Jacobson
&Mokher,2009).Thisfindingillustrates
that institutions are providing some valuable
online options for students from less
advantaged academic and economic
backgrounds.
• Institutionswithhigherpercentages
of White students are more likely to offer
online occupational programs. However,
other national studies have found that
students of color and White students have
comparable participation rates in distance
education(Flowers,Moore,&Flowers,
2008; National Center for Education
Statistics, 2003).
Future ActivitiesBuilding on the evidence generated in the first phase of
the study, Center researchers will conduct site visits at
five community colleges and generate five case studies
and a cross-case analysis that will (1) explore how state
and local economic and workforce needs affect which
online programs are offered; (2) understand successful
organizational approaches to online occupational
education challenges; and (3) investigate both the
successes and failures of online occupational programs.
The study team seeks to understand whether curricular
characteristics, institutional contexts, and workforce
development needs influence the adoption and
implementation of online workforce development
programs. The community colleges selected will
represent diversity in terms of prevalence of online
programs (upper and lower quartiles in number of
institutional programs that are online) and community
types (urban, rural, suburban).
By examining characteristics of high and low adopters
of online occupational programs, the study team
will develop an understanding of the minimal
conditions required for the successful offering of these
programs. Based on the findings from the previous
phase, particular emphasis will be placed on whether
institutions offer multiple online programs in hands-on,
skill-based fields of study.
SummaryResearch regarding online workforce development
has taken on increased relevance because it reflects
areas prioritized in the Obama administration’s
emphasis on community colleges: workforce
training and online education. As emerging policy
priorities are realized, institutions, policymakers,
and researchers will be called upon to help realize
the vision of workforce development as a central
component of economic development. This study
provides institutions and policymakers with national
data to influence future decisions regarding the
role of online education in the nation’s workforce
development efforts. Although the number of online
occupational education programs has reached
respectable levels, additional growth is needed in
key areas to more fully meet workforce development
needs. In order to promote additional availability and
accessibility to students, coherent online occupational
programs (fully or partially online) need to be offered,
rather than simply offering hodgepodges of online
courses.
Principal Investigators
Rod P. Githens
College of Education and Human
Development, University of Louisville
Fashaad Crawford
College of Education and Human
Development, University of Louisville
Kristin B. Wilson
College of Education and Human
Development, University of Louisville
Benson, A. D., Johnson, S. D., Taylor, G. D., Treat, T., Shinkareva, O. N., & Duncan, J. (2004). Distance learning in postsecondary career and technical education: A comparison of achievement in online vs. on-campus CTE courses. St.Paul,MN:NationalResearchCenterforCareerand Technical Education.Flowers,L.A.,Moore,J.L.,III,&Flowers,L.O.(2008).African American students’ satisfaction with distance education courses. Student Affairs On-Line, 9(3).Jacobson,L.,&Mokher,C.(2009).Pathways to boosting the earnings of low-income students by increasing their educational attainment. Washington, DC: Hudson Institute Center for Employment Policy.Johnson, S. D., Benson, A. D., Duncan, J., Shinkareva, O. N., Taylor, G. D., & Treat, T. (2003). Distance learning in postsecondary career and technical education. St. Paul, MN:NationalResearchCenterforCareerandTechnicalEducation.Levesque, K., Laird, J., Hensley, E., Choy, S. P., Cataldi, E. F., & Hudson, L. (2008). Career and technical education in the United States: 1990 to 2005 (No. NCES 2008-035). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). Participation in technology-based postcompulsory education (No. NCES 2004-020). District of Columbia.
University of Louisville, College of Education and Human Development, Louisville, KY 40292
Phone: (502) 852-4727 | Toll-Free: (877) 372-2283 | Fax: (502) 852-3308
Email: [email protected] | Web: http://www.nrccte.org/