While the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the short-term use of online courses, colleges' experiences with COVID-era online course delivery may also affect the way that they offer and approach online courses going forward. We draw on interviews with 35 distance education leaders from the California Community Colleges system to provide insights into…

On Friday, March 13, 2020, at 12:25 PM, on the eve of midterm break, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty and staff at a Midwest Florida Community College were notified by email that the college would extend midterm break and terminate all non-essential operations for an additional week; however, most college operations and course…

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, much still feels the same, though in some important ways thinking and behaviors may be shifting in anticipation of longer-term changes in the ways lives are structured and how places and spaces are shared. In higher education, these shifts may reflect an evolution from short-term "emergency" or…

It has been argued that Open Educational Resources (OER) present opportunities for innovation in education. However, there has been a lack of retrospective analysis of the forms of innovation that can emerge through OER, and the processes and challenges these entail. This paper presents a post-project analysis of the diverse uses and impacts of…

The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and its 16 members work collaboratively to expand educational access and excellence for all citizens of the West. By promoting innovation, cooperation, resource sharing, and sound public policy among its members and their institutions, WICHE strengthens higher education's contributions…

The lingering economic downturn has affected virtually every American institution--perhaps none more significantly than the nation's higher education system. These days, facing significant revenue shortfalls that are widely recognized as the "new normal," state-supported colleges and universities are looking, sometimes desperately, for…

This pilot study was conducted in order to explore factors that facilitate and inhibit the teaching of online courses from an administrative perspective. A random sample of community college and public and private universities was selected, and administrators working closely in online education were invited to participate. A qualitative…

People do not want to know the history, minutiae of policy, or operations, or even the political intrigues of a virtual consortium. People want to know if the consortium has value, whether it can help them, and if it is a threat. In this article, the author focuses on the operating principles and policies that have proven successful in the…

This researcher examined the five attributes of Rogers Diffusion of Innovation. Perceptions of the degree of the infusion of technology and distance education were analyzed using Rogers (1995) five attributes. A survey was used together with the data from faculty and administrators of a community college with a distance education program that has…

Community colleges face a variety of challenges as they seek to expand innovative and effective uses of technology. This chapter discusses questions that must be answered as colleges move into the next phase of distance education.