Connecting to the larger world: Distance education in rural community colleges

Abstract

With their reputation for responsiveness, adaptability, and flexibility, one could easily assume that community colleges would lead the way in implementing and refining distance education offerings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education support this assumption. In the 2000-01 academic year, 90 percent (960 of 1,070) of public two-year colleges offered 55,900 courses through various types of distance education (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). This percentage is only slightly higher than at public fouryear institutions, where during the same year 89 percent (550 of 620) offered courses through distance education. Total enrollments in distance education courses at community colleges, however, represent 61 percent of total distance education offerings by both public two-and four-year institutions.In the mid-1990s, distance education was viewed as the future for rural community colleges (MacBrayne, 1995). Sink and Jackson (2000), however, were among the first to point to a "digital divide" between urban and rural community colleges. The authors found that urban community colleges were often better wired than their rural counterparts, preventing the rural institutions from providing their students with the same level of access to technological resources. Based on data from government reports, Katsinas and Moeck (2002) concluded that the urban and rural divide was actually widening. This chapter reviews literature on the status of distance education in rural community colleges, examining in particular whether there has been a narrowing of the digital divide.

Increasing Access to Higher Education Through E-Learning

“…Training for faculty for e-learning online instruction in higher education varies significantly across institutions [2,12,[40][41][42][43]. Faculty willing to accept the challenge, who are not overwhelmed by the expertise needed to both develop and then deliver a course in this manner, are often small in number [44]. Understanding rural students so instructors can teach in a culturally responsive way and improve the students' learning experiences requires another level of expertise [9,45,46].…”

“…Getting started in E-Learning can be challenging for rural or remote students due to possible insecurities about learning, potential disruptions to family life, and the financial cost of education [9,11]. However, a strong desire on the part of rural students to pursue higher education has also been reported [13,22,44,47], along with an understanding of the selfdisciplined and self-regulated style required by E-Learning and an appreciation of the access to qualified or specialized instructors. The partial anonymity offered in E-Learning can actually make participation easier for rural students [25,48].…”

A National Survey of Community College Baccalaureate Institutions

“…Offering online courses is aligned with the college's mission of providing access to higher education to those who might not otherwise attend, and it is particularly valuable for community colleges located in rural areas (Leist & Travis, 2010). Rural community colleges planning to offer baccalaureate programs online should be equipped to address the challenges these institutions often face in delivering online instruction (see Cejda, 2007;Leist & Travis, 2010). As the number of online CCB programs increases, it is important to know if there are significant differences in degree attainment for online students compared to students enrolled in face-to-face CCB programs.…”

Planning for online courses at rural community colleges

“…Murray (2007) noted that a rural faculty member often functions as the only instructor for a given discipline. Hence, these faculty members are often reluctant to participate in any form of distance education (Cejda, 2007). This reluctance is frequently exacerbated by a lack of technology support staff, who are essential to the development and delivery of online courses.…”

“…As used here, connectivity means the level of "quality and reliability of the connection for access to the Internet" (Page and Hill, 2008, p. 68). Connectivity issues (posed, for example, by the availability of only dial-up Internet service) place rural colleges and their students at a disadvantage for maximizing the use of NEW DIRECTIONS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES • DOI: 10.1002/cc technological resources (Cejda, 2007). To deal effectively with these issues, rural community colleges must commit to serious, deliberate planning for online courses.…”