Supporting Students in Distributed Learning An eToolkit SUMMARY REPORT Submitted to: Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, Government of Alberta Karen Fiege, MEd Authors: Russ Wilde, MDE Russ Wilde Contact: Director, Learning Resource Services Telephone: 403-410-1641 Email: [email protected] Date: August 31, 2011 Acknowledgements This eToolkit constitutes the second phase of two research studies conducted by the Office of Applied Research and Innovation at Bow Valley College: Successful Practices in Supporting Students in Distributed Learning and Meeting the Needs of Students Engaging In eLearning. The leadership of Dr. Rena Shimoni, Dean of Applied Research is gratefully acknowledged. The project management of Agnes Ray has been instrumental to the continuity and success of the project. Kate Beamer’s research assistance has been much appreciated. We wish to acknowledge the following individuals and their organizations for their generous support and guidance of the project by serving on the Steering Committee: Dale Unrau, AET Tricia Donovan, eCampusAlberta Alice McNair, Red Deer College Bev Moghrabi, Portage College Eleanor Frandsen, NAIT Glenn Mitchell, Northern Lakes College Jesal Odedra, eCampusAlberta Lynda Duval, Lethbridge College Lynn Connell, Bow Valley College Pamela Young, NorQuest College Pat Bidart, Olds College Russ Wilde, Bow Valley College The support of eCampusAlberta is gratefully acknowledged, in particular Tricia Donovan and Jesal Odedra for their input and guidance, and to Joanna Bossert for designing the student survey logo. Without the support of Anna Kae Todd, VP Learning, and Deborah Achen, VP Enrolment and Learner Services at Bow Valley College this project would not have been able to achieve its goals. Thank you both. The Learning Resource Services team at Bow Valley College that helped turn the vision of thee toolkits into a reality include: Russ Wilde Frank Yang Karen Fiege Stacy Zheng Lona Tarney Peter Steward Candace Cummings Sheila Swan Beth Brown Brenda Christians Finally, we acknowledge our funding partners, Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology of the Government of Alberta and eCampusAlberta, without whose support this project would not have been possible*. *This project was funded by the Innovation Fund, Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology of the Government of Alberta and the Learner Support Services Fund, eCampusAlberta. Table of Contents Admissions and Registration ....................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 Research Findings ....................................................................................... 2 Works Cited ................................................................................................ 6 Policy Considerations ................................................................................... 7 Samples and Resources ............................................................................... 8 Organizational Assessment ........................................................................... 9 Assessment, Advising, and Orientation ..................................................... 12 Introduction ............................................................................................. 12 Research Findings ..................................................................................... 13 Works Cited .............................................................................................. 18 Policy Considerations ................................................................................. 19 Samples and Resources ............................................................................. 20 Organizational Assessment ......................................................................... 23 Financial Aid and Services ......................................................................... 27 Introduction ............................................................................................. 27 Research Findings ..................................................................................... 28 Works Cited .............................................................................................. 31 Policy Considerations ................................................................................. 32 Samples and Resources ............................................................................. 33 Organizational Assessment ......................................................................... 34 Technology Support .................................................................................. 36 Introduction ............................................................................................. 36 Research Findings ..................................................................................... 37 Policy Considerations ................................................................................. 40 Samples and Resources ............................................................................. 41 Organizational Assessment ......................................................................... 42 Academic and Tutorial Support ................................................................. 44 Introduction ............................................................................................. 44 Research Findings ..................................................................................... 45 Works Cited .............................................................................................. 51 Policy Considerations ................................................................................. 52 Samples and Resources ............................................................................. 53 Organizational Assessment ......................................................................... 55 Bookstore Services and Information ......................................................... 57 Introduction ............................................................................................. 57 Research Findings ..................................................................................... 58 Works Cited .............................................................................................. 61 Policy Considerations ................................................................................. 62 Samples and Resources ............................................................................. 63 Organizational Assessment ......................................................................... 65 Library Services and Information .............................................................. 67 Introduction ............................................................................................. 67 Research Findings ..................................................................................... 68 Works Cited .............................................................................................. 71 Policy Considerations ................................................................................. 72 Samples and Resources ............................................................................. 73 Organizational Assessment ......................................................................... 74 Accessible Support: Diverse Learners ....................................................... 79 Introduction ............................................................................................. 79 Research Findings ..................................................................................... 80 Works Cited .............................................................................................. 85 Policy Considerations ................................................................................. 97 Samples and Resources ............................................................................. 98 Organizational Assessment ......................................................................... 99 Career Counselling .................................................................................. 101 Introduction ........................................................................................... 101 Research Findings ................................................................................... 102 Policy Considerations ............................................................................... 105 Samples and Resources ........................................................................... 106 Organizational Assessment ....................................................................... 107 Personal Counselling ............................................................................... 109 Introduction ........................................................................................... 109 Research Findings ................................................................................... 110 Policy Considerations ............................................................................... 112 Samples and Resources ........................................................................... 113 Organizational Assessment ....................................................................... 114 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported