Abstract
The Monroe County (NY) Health Alert Network (MCHAN) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) recently completed their second year of a Centers for Disease Control grant-funded project that offers a series of instructor-led asynchronous online learning courses. The courses are designed to enhance the workforce competencies of local and state health department staff and other nontraditional responders in planning for and responding to bioterrorism and other health emergencies. The project meets an important need for critical skills and knowledge training in this field and demonstrates how partnerships of higher education, government, and industry can deliver such training online. Contrary to the results of many e-learning initiatives, the vast majority (84%) of students involved in the program successfully completed the courses they started. Student and instructor evaluation surveys show high degrees of satisfaction and success; they also provide useful information on how to improve the courses. A critical element in the success of the courses was the employment of a program coordinator to manage course creation, instructor training, marketing, and registration. If one considers project costs relative tocompletion rates, this project has been highly cost effective despite the added cost of paying instructors. Overall, project results indicate that the asynchronous instructor-led online course model can be implemented successfully in many corporate and government e-learning initiatives.
Highlights
The Monroe County (NY) Health Alert Network (MCHAN) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) recently completed their second year of a Centers for Disease Control grant-funded project that offers a series of instructor-led asynchronous online learning courses
Courses taken through the Online Learning Department at RIT provide the same qualitative experience as courses taken on campus
A founding motivation of RIT’s distance learning program was to make sure that what was offered in distance would be accessible to students in terms of technology and, later, in terms of the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and this aim has contributed greatly to the success of distance students at RIT
Summary
The Monroe County (NY) Health Alert Network (MCHAN) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) recently completed their second year of a Centers for Disease Control grant-funded project that offers a series of instructor-led asynchronous online learning courses. At RIT more than 72% of all students enrolled in distance programs and taking more than 50% of their coursework online graduate within six years, and more than 95% of all students complete the distance courses they start [1]. A founding motivation of RIT’s distance learning program was to make sure that what was offered in distance would be accessible to students in terms of technology and, later, in terms of the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and this aim has contributed greatly to the success of distance students at RIT. Sener Learning Services focuses primarily on supporting the development of various forms of technology-enabled learning (online learning, e-learning, distance learning) and the diffusion of innovative learning designs and strategies
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