You Don't Have to Go the Whole Distance

The Distance Learning Center at Troy State University is learning that you do not have to go the whole distance to reach an increasing number of learners. Troy State University is the third largest university system in the state of Alabama and has served Alabama teachers for over 11 decades. Teachers in the Troy service area are largely in rural parts of the state and are one to two hours away from any college or university that provides graduate or continuing education. Because of work and family obligations, these teachers find it hard to attend classes to advance and stay current in their professions. Finding the Need Superintendents throughout Troy's service area told the College of Education that they needed help immediately. Four hours round-trip on a weeknight was too much for teachers or their families to endure over a long period of time. Also, the teachers who spent long days at school during the week preparing lessons and supervising extracurricular activities found it hard to give up their weekends attending university classes for several years to earn advanced degrees. Troy's Distance Learning Center reacted and has worked with the TSU College of Education to provide high quality educational programs "enhanced by distance learning courses" to these teachers. As a result, class attendance time was cut by one-third in their degree programs. The process was started when Dr. Anita Hardin, Dean of the College of Education, conducted a needs assessment in one county. The assessment showed the need for early childhood and elementary education degree programs. The goal then was to start a pilot program in one county that could be used throughout the Troy State University service area in Alabama. The decision was made; Troy State was going to do this for the teachers and the College of Education took an approach that should be applauded. Primary Considerations and Questions to Resolve Distance learning and related technologies were not the first considerations in the development of this new program to reach teachers. The first determination made was need, and then consideration was given to a reasonable timetable that would satisfy that need with the delivery of a quality program. Course outcomes would need to be the same regardless of the delivery methodology. Teachers would need to complete learning activities with time for reflection and attention to the higher level skills they must have. So these became the prime considerations in developing the program. What schedule of courses needs to be offered to enable teachers who work full-time to complete their degrees? The decision was made that teachers who commit themselves to completing a master's degree should be able to do so in less than three years. This provided the starting point for program development after completion of the needs assessment. The next questions to be answered were: What degrees should be offered and what is realistic progression for the course work? It was determined that a cohort group would be established to complete master's degrees in either early childhood or elementary education. A three-year completion goal was with the first round of courses offered over a two-year period of time. All of the above provided the foundation for the development of the delivery methodology for the program. Integrating Distance Learning To Complete the Course Next, the College decided to limit the time students were required to be on campus by providing as many of the courses as possible via distance learning. They reviewed the course progression for the next two years to determine what courses would be most appropriate for online interactive delivery. It was determined immediately that it would not be possible to asynchronously provide all courses needed. Based on course outcomes and faculty availability, a determination was made as to the methodology that would be used for each individual course. …