Exemplary Academic Outcomes

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The University of Cincinnati

A Higher Calling

An interview with Edward Latessa, PhD, Professor and Director, School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati and Nelson Vincent, EdD, Associate Dean, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services University of Cincinnati

INTRODUCTION

It does not matter what brand or style or delivery mechanism that is associated with education. Nearly every organization has a foundational regard for student academic outcomes that is central to its mission.
Sometimes that regard is only rhetoric; in this case it is real. For the #1 ranked Criminal Justice Faculty in the nation located at the University of Cincinnati, the rigorous commitment to student learning outcomes is very, very real. What follows is a dialogue about how the Criminal Justice Program at the University of Cincinnati integrated their award-winning reputation and attention to academic quality indicators into their faculty-developed distance learning rubrics, online course delivery plan, digitally enhanced pedagogy, and intensive student mentoring. Two distinguished faculty members at the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Edward Latessa and Dr. Nelson Vincent, were instrumental in the implementation of the online learning programs starting in 2001 and their operation since. They both have important insights and advice about how program faculty members can lead the transition of academic programs to more successful and innovative models of online delivery. Compass Knowledge Group is proud to be a partner in the nearly-nine year history of success with the marketing and delivery of University of Cincinnati’s nationally ranked Criminal Justice program.

INTERVIEW

COMPASS KNOWLEDGE GROUP (CKG): Gentlemen, what are some of the early issues you faced when establishing your programs?

DR. EDWARD LATESSA (EL): Our programs began in 2001. Like most, we had a fairly traditional faculty; there were no distance learning courses anywhere. A colleague and I put together a proposal for faculty, and as expected, some were very hesitant and concerned. There were a lot of sleepless nights initially…we had no idea if we would hit our enrollment targets. But the university was supportive, and finance really liked the model. Despite our nervousness, our initial program took off, and even our initial critics have found it extremely rewarding. It has changed how we view students, and really, how we view education. There are a lot of great stories here.

DR. NELSON VINCENT (NV): We only chose programs where we thought we could successfully reproduce the high quality outcomes of the campus-based delivery in an online student learning platform. And we still have that self control and reflection as we continue to expand our online program offerings. But let’s get right to the heart of the issue with respect to the development of these programs in the early days. When you get to this point, technology, delivery, and pedagogy are all important—no question. But the foundation of our success was whether the program faculty was as a group ready to transform the program in an online environment and go beyond the quality that they established in their conventional programs. In our case, the faculty was ready. And it wasn’t easy. We agreed that we did not want to settle for student learning outcomes that were anything less than those demonstrated in the more conventional models of program delivery. We were initially surprised at the consistent strength of the student learning outcomes in the online programs and then we started to assess why students did so well with online pedagogy.

ACADEMIC OUTCOMES

CKG: Some folks in education still subscribe to the myth that online academics are lesser than their face-to-face counterparts. How do you react to that?

NV: Online delivery is now starting to inform face-to-face pedagogy, in terms of how to teach in the 21st Century. It’s not easy; it’s hard work to integrate this level of change in an academic program. What is happening in distance learning is a harbinger of what is happening across the board in higher education. It’s really about how we think about the delivery of academic programs, provide services to our students, and find new ways to meet the new opportunities of modern workforce development. If your university isn’t thinking in a student centered way and linking program delivery decisions to 21st Century learning skills, then you’re not going to sustain over time. The tables have been turned. Our students tell us repeatedly that they work very hard to complete their academic and applied work in the online programs. Students aren’t prepared for how hard they have to work and the consistency of effort that is needed to be successful in an online learning environment. The quality of the distance education pedagogy that our students say that they experience is inspiring—certainly our students are quick to tell us that an online module or rubric is not working! To listen to our students’ stories, is to come to understand that their access to the highest quality online learning is transforming their lives…this is their gateway for different career options and even higher levels of personal self fulfillment. And that’s our job, to provide value-added service and innovative academic programs to the modern “digital” community of learners. And while it’s distance learning, it’s remarkable how collegial the experience is for each cohort of students. I often run into our students and all across the US students share very personal stories about how the program resulted in a major life transformation. I have a theory that our students have a deeper and more sustained relationship with us and their fellow students than we see on campus. There’s great one-on-one interaction and it’s in part because of the interactive technology, new pedagogy, and intensive mentoring. It’s also because of the effort we expend to duplicate some of the strengths of the face-to-face programs. In an online delivery environment students try harder to make personal connections. Our layered approaches to digital collaboration reinforce such positive student learning behaviors and increases student retention.

EL: We have a requirement that all distance students do a policy paper. I have read some of the absolute best papers this past year. When we had a similar requirement on campus, many of them struggled. Our distance learning students are getting them done on time, and with outstanding quality. They are some of the best papers I’ve ever read. If outcomes are any indication of the quality of the underlying delivery mechanism, the answer is clear to me.

CHALLENGES

CKG: I’m sure it hasn’t all been easy. What have been some of your challenges?

EL: As you can imagine, most challenges have been administrative…overcoming the bureaucracy, determining how to register students, trying to hook into financial aid availability, handling out-of-state tuition, and the list goes on. All of these things were challenging, but we overcame. And at the point in which enrollment started to grow, we had faculty buy-in. After about the third year, there was no turning back.

NV: Well, getting faculty over the hump of actually talking about marketing and recruiting plans was another challenge. At first, marketing was almost considered a dirty word and certainly thought to be outside the scope of their employment. We had to convince people that it was alright to talk about niche marketing, the recruitment pipeline, and other such terms. We are one of the first campuses to talk about performance based budgeting. We also look at branding challenges, not marketing, but long-term branding as we move into greater numbers of programs that offer 100% online delivery. We have to make sure we balance current promotional efforts with deep industry recognition and solid performance indicators. It’s a balancing act.

SURPRISES

CKG: Has anything about this experience surprised you?

EL: The overwhelming faculty and student response. Dozens of students have come to commencement and brought their families. I never expected that kind of university bonding with an online program. I do a lot of workshops around the country, and it’s rare that I don’t have one of our students there. I’m surprised how much this experience has meant to them.

WORKING WITH COMPASS

CKG: Please describe your experience working with your Compass team.

EL: Compass has been a very strong partner. They have recruited heavily and worked very hard to attract non-traditional students. Of course we make the decision in the end on admission, but Compass tries to find the very best students, and they do a good job.

NV: For us, Compass has served as a critical friend on the side—nipping at our heels and pushing us. We have been a ready partner, sometimes a resistant partner. Compass and our Criminal Justice program, for example, have negotiated on all the boundaries of our partnership, outfitting us to be successful. Scheduling, payments, online student support services…all of those things have meant changing the whole university….for the university’s overall good. Compass knows more about the idiosyncrasies of higher education than anyone I know. They have spectacular employees. They are not perfect, but they are good partners who represent an organization that is itself committed to lifelong learning. Compass constantly challenges us, and sometimes we challenge them back. And, we are both gracious about this critical dialogue and change process. That’s what real partners do.

FINAL COMMENTS

EL: Our faculty members do not compromise on any level. That is why we are successful.

NV: One thing sticks in my mind: a CJ faculty member, sharing a story about his first online teaching experience, shared in a public forum with his colleagues that he finally understood what it meant to have real learning objectives and identifiable outcomes. Had he not been explicit in his planning for distance learning, he would have failed. He then had this conversation with a group of School of Education faculty members. As I stated earlier, online learning is now informing our traditional models of course delivery. Online education is solidly part of our university culture and student expectations. It’s here to stay. And now the big names are coming into the online learning marketplace, and they are approaching their implementation with energy and new investments. They will be successful if their faculty subscribe and learn like our colleagues did. If transformation and innovation are not central values in your planning and implementation, the successful integration of online education may offer you many more challenges than you could ever imagine.