Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive study is to examine the perceptions of California Community College administrators regarding participation in the California Virtual Campus - Online Education Initiative (CVC-OEI) and the effects their involvement may have on distance education and total enrollments. Theoretical Framework:…

The WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) has long been interested in multi-institutional consortia and systems that help their member institutions share resources with the goal of increasing the institutional capacity for technology-enhanced courses, programs, and student support services. WCET's Consortia Group has focused on the…

Over the past decade, online courses and entire online degree programs have been made available, serving millions of students in higher education. These online courses largely have been designed and taught using the theoretical concepts and practical strategies of Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN). During 2003-04, approximately two million…

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 chapter recounts Oregon community colleges' challenges and successes in developing a statewide distance learning consortium.

Traces improvements in broadcast technology and the increased use of satellites in providing education for previously unserved populations. Describes the concept of a Telecourse Channel that would provide college-level courses via satellite to any educational institution willing to pay the requisite fees. Urges educators to support the telecourse…

Describes the Sloan Consortium, called Sloan-C, as a non-profit consortium for higher education institutions that offers online programs that are regionally accredited. States that Sloan-C is a platform for collaboration, for information on what online programs are available, and for the development and spread of best practices in online education…

To respond to the needs of place-bound adult students, an increasing emphasis has been placed on off-campus credit activities in the state of Illinois. During academic year 1995, 52,609 off-campus courses were offered in the state, with the Illinois Community College System accounting for 78.6% of these offerings and independent colleges…

Each of the nine articles in this monograph demonstrates the use of a particular telecommunications technology, or a mixture of technologies and media at particular community colleges. Following an introduction by James Zigerell, the monograph presents (1) "Teleconferencing: The Homebound Project at Rio Salado College," by Helen Sprawls, which…

While most community and technical colleges individually offer courses by distance learning, they are increasingly challenged to provide the full range of instructional and student support services needed for expanding distance education programs. To address this issue, Washington and Oregon community and technical colleges formed distance…

Started in 1997, Washington Online Virtual Campus (WAOL) consists of a consortium of 34 community colleges around Washington State to provide asynchronous online learning. WAOL bears many of the features of a loosely coupled organization with its geographically dispersed frontline instructors, fragmented external environment, modularity of courses…

In summer 1986, the Instructional Telecommunications Consortium received funding for a 3-year project to collect data on the utilization of telecourses for college credit instruction. In particular, the study examined the different types of telecourses used, the number of courses offered each semester, telecourse producers, number of programs and…

Contends that new distance-learning technology creates a danger of dehumanizing students and instructors. Discusses the need for teachers to focus on culture and relevancy, and build relationships with their students. Offers suggestions from the Montana Consortium, an organization of three tribal colleges, for sustaining the human aspect of…

The authors discuss the joining of 12 Virginia community colleges from the Appalachian region of southwestern Virginia with Radford University to form the Regional Technology Education Consortium (RTEC), a three-year project funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education program and designed to develop articulation…

The Tri-State Agricultural Distance Delivery Alliance (TADDA) is a new distance education consortium. The three land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest (the University of Idaho, Oregon State University, and Washington State University) developed TADDA in cooperation with Eastern Oregon University and four of the region's community…