New Multi-Institutional Collaboration Models for Supporting Online Students

Collaborative partnerships to support remote learners have existed in higher education for decades. But the age of online learners requires new thinking about these partnerships. Opportunities to leverage the strength of consortia and optimize options for students and faculty are greater than ever. The California Community Colleges' Online Education Initiative is pioneering new collaboration models for its 113 colleges and 2.1 million students. This session will highlight the initiative's accomplishments regarding course design standards, a common learning management system, a course exchange, and system-wide support services. The leadership role of faculty, a key success factor, will be discussed.

Participants will gain insight into new collaborative models to support online learners being developed by the California Community Colleges' Online Education Initiative, develop an understanding of new ways to include faculty leadership in planning and decision making for collaborative partnerships that support online learners, and be able to adapt the ideas and methods of developing collaborative partnerships for use at their own institutions.