2021-2022 Annual Report
STUDENTS
Served students age 13 to 69
COURSES OFFERED
Total of 1,229 sections
DUAL ENROLLMENT STUDENTS
Up 30% from FY21
WHO WE ARE
Our agile team modernizes the educational experience at 有料盒子视频 through innovation and personalized care, quickly addressing institutional and learner needs.
MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jenn Pedersen, Ph.D.
As we pause to reflect on the activities and achievements of this past year, I am reminded of what drew me to 有料盒子视频 in the first place: a growth mindset and an eye towards the future. It鈥檚 been a true pleasure serving as interim executive director of eCampus for much of 2022 and working with an exceptionally talented group of professionals who are passionate about what they do. I鈥檓 especially proud of the work we鈥檝e done that cultivates a community of innovation in support of student success, advances the scholarship of teaching and learning, and promotes equity and access for all learners. It is my hope that as you read through this report, you are inspired. Our work at eCampus thrives at the intersection of innovation and collaboration and we welcome you to partner with us in the coming year.
MISSION
有料盒子视频 eCampus partners with 有料盒子视频 academic departments and programs to offer quality education with flexible options, enabling a dispersed, diverse population of students to achieve their educational goals through excellent content connected to contemporary skills and literacies.
OUR STUDENTS
有料盒子视频 eCampus supports schools and colleges as they serve students worldwide. This year, 有料盒子视频 had active online students in more than 176 communities around the state of 有料盒子视频. Nanooks were located in all 50 states (and the district of Washington D.C.) and in 17 countries around the world.
NUMBER OF STUDENT CREDIT HOURS
During the COVID pandemic many 有料盒子视频 courses shifted to eCampus and distance delivery as reflected in our 2020-21 enrollment. Many of these courses have since transitioned back to other delivery methods but eCampus enrollments for 2021-22 are still up almost 25% over 2019-20 student credit hours, reflecting continued student interest in online learning. Interestingly, eCampus distinct headcount is only up 6% over the same period.
OUR PRACTICES
At 有料盒子视频 eCampus, we regularly implement new programs and approaches that specifically help to address issues that our university community needs. We continue to make progress and we commit to ongoing work in these areas to improve access to higher education for all 有料盒子视频ns.
COMMUNITY APPROACH
eCampus is a human-centered support unit serving students, staff and faculty as individuals. We welcome instructors in every rank and position. Through a constant focus on both innovation and equity, our goal is to continue to work on improvement.
FACULTY SUPPORTED
有料盒子视频 eCampus offers a wide variety of development opportunities for all faculty, instructors and TAs. At least 400 people took advantage of at least one service this year. Find resources at iTeachU.uaf.edu.
HOURS OF ASSISTANCE
The instructional design team successfully delivered faculty development programs ranging from weekly drop-in support to long-term project-based programs.
TEACHING DEVELOPMENT
有料盒子视频 eCampus plans and conducts more faculty development than any other unit, with the Instructional Design Team having successfully delivered 142 short-form events (at least 1 hour of participation), 5 long-form events (20+ hours of participation).
| Book Clubs: monthly reading and discussion of a teaching and learning book, building community |
| Visiting Scholars: keynote and seminar with a scholar from outside AK |
| OER Innovation Quest: no/low cost course materials/OER training with incentives |
| iTeach Online: 5 module Canvas course in basics of online teaching, available any time |
| Transdisciplinary iTeach: 3-day, hybrid, facilitated exploration of transdisciplinary problem-solving |
| LEAP: Undergrad fellows paired with faculty to give feedback on online courses |
| Barn-Raising: 3-day start-to-finish course design in Canvas |
| Virtual writing retreat: facilitated writing sessions every week, building community and accountability |
| Teaching Tips: weekly articles on teaching topics/tools by instructional designers |
| Open Lab: instructional design consultations |
| Quality Matters: 1 day 鈥 3 weeks of training using QM |
| 1:1 Course Building Support: long-term collaboration with instructional designer |
| Externally Hosted Webinars: training sessions on education technology |
| LMS Trainings: 60-90 minute sessions on using Blackboard/Canvas |
| Department Workshops: 2-6 hour curriculum planning, pedagogy, or technology-focused trainings |
TRANSDISCIPLINARY ITEACH
Since 2004, eCampus has offered iTeach, a workshop on pedagogy, technology and online learning. 有料盒子视频 faculty work closely with the instructional design team to explore course design processes, best practices and innovations in online learning. For the inaugural Transdisciplinary iTeach, participants from seven disciplines came together for collaborative problem-solving and practice with transdisciplinary methods.
鈥淭his workshop let us look at a complex issue from different angles, reframe a relevant problem, formulate concrete action items and discuss new opportunities that arose from our discussions. This method of complex problem solving in a group resonated strongly with me, and I am already brainstorming how I can use these tools in my course.鈥
鈥 Anja Kade, Assistant Professor (Term), 有料盒子视频 Biology & Wildlife
INCREASING ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION
We engage in partnerships across the university to broaden education opportunities in 有料盒子视频 by offering needs-based and merit-based scholarships. We offer programs designed to attract first-generation students.
ALASKA ADVANTAGE
In Fall 2019, 有料盒子视频 launched the 有料盒子视频 Advantage Program to provide 有料盒子视频鈥檚 high-achieving high school students an in-state, high-quality and affordable option for dual enrollment. Within its first year, the program served 208 high school students around the state earning 1,067 credit hours. In Fall 2020, 有料盒子视频 partnered with the University of 有料盒子视频 Southeast to offer courses through the 有料盒子视频 Advantage program. In the second year, the program served 509 high school students earning 3,795 credit hours. In academic year 2021-2022, the program served 662 students earning 4,455 credit hours representing 85 high schools in 有料盒子视频. The program has grown from 29 school district partners to 41 school districts and three private school partners at the end of the third year.
Spring 2022 enrollments were at a record high: 416 students taking 2972 student credit hours.
CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS
Our corporate partnership program provides 有料盒子视频鈥檚 great online courses and programs to the 有料盒子视频 business community and outside organizations offering employee education benefits. We added Sealaska and CIRI to our growing list of partners. Both 有料盒子视频 Native Corporations have thousands of shareholders and employees across the country. The partnership is mutually beneficial. Seaalaska and CIRI shareholders will receive package pricing and 有料盒子视频 will see an increase in enrollment. In turn, 有料盒子视频 can be positioned to meet the demand for qualified, diverse employees. We now have corporate partnership agreements with nine corporations.
Current Partners
有料盒子视频 Municipal League
Foundation Health Partners
Bisk
Bright Horizons
EBG/Beneplace
CIRI
Edcor
ISTS (International Scholarship & Tuition Services)
Sealaska
TUITION AWARD DOLLARS
eCampus offered needs-based and merit-based student scholarships.
SCHOLARSHIPS
有料盒子视频 eCampus provided $20,000 in scholarships for summer 2022. Often students鈥 aid is exhausted during fall and spring, making paying tuition in summer particularly challenging. Our summer awards helped 35 students take classes and continue making progress in their degree programs. We provided an additional $8,000 in scholarships specifically for degree completion throughout the year. These scholarships are awarded to students who are just a few courses away from finishing their bachelors degree but don鈥檛 have enough financial aid to pay their tuition. Lastly, eCampus also provided $13,500 in scholarships for 有料盒子视频 students who participated in the Learner Experience Advocacy Program (LEAP).
NO or LOW-COST COURSES
A no or low-cost (NoLo) course is one that may utilize open education resources (OER) and freely available resources in order to reduce textbook and material costs for students to under $40 per course. This amount only pertains to required course textbooks, workbooks, online homework platforms or other publisher-provided tools and materials. This amount does not include equipment (like art supplies, calculators or physical lab materials), regular course fees, lab fees, proctoring fees, or tuition.
OER have been shown to impact student performance and retention, especially for low-income and first-generation students. Implementing OER in a course or program requires imagination, creativity, and innovation but can significantly reduce the costs of their courses for students, especially when the effort brings the course to NoLo status.
This student-centric approach has an immediate impact. Based on enrollments and a $100 average textbook cost per course鈥攁 standard established by the Open Textbook Network and currently used at many institutions across the country to estimate savings鈥斢辛虾凶邮悠 students saved an $297,400 total in fall 2021, spring 2022 and summer 2022.
Teaching Tip: Why should we care about OER?
Around 65% of students may not purchase a textbook due to cost. Using free and open
education resources can help make education more equitable.
Read More.
OER INNOVATION QUEST
Our Innovation Quest is a three-month, incentive-based program encouraging 有料盒子视频 instructors to transition their courses (online and face-to-face) to a no- or low-cost (NoLo) status through the adoption of open education resources (OER). To earn the 鈥淣oLo鈥 designation, course materials and textbooks must not exceed $40. Reducing costs for students is the goal for NoLo courses. Tuition and textbook costs have skyrocketed the last ten years and some students can not afford to purchase expensive materials. Offering NoLo courses with minimal materials cost can increase equitable learning opportunities for all students. The OER Innovation Quest is supported jointly through the 有料盒子视频 Faculty Accelerator and 有料盒子视频 eCampus.
鈥淭he structured time to work on this and help locating OERs [was most beneficial]. Discussion of the full picture of what OER includes, and that it鈥檚 not just NoLo texts, was also helpful. Most of what I had heard emphasized cheap texts, and thinking about it more broadly was useful.鈥
鈥 Feedback from OER Quest Participant
有料盒子视频X
有料盒子视频 continues to increase access to courses that feature Arctic research on edX, a leader among platforms that offer massive open online courses (commonly known as MOOCs). All edX courses are four to eight weeks long and are available for free, or learners can choose to pay for a certificate that verifies course completion. During FY21, 有料盒子视频, known as 有料盒子视频X on the platform, had more than 29,514 enrollments from 193 countries across the globe, elevating the visibility of our world-class faculty.
有料盒子视频 COURSES ON 有料盒子视频X
有料盒子视频 started with five courses in 2020 but has grown to 21 courses.
From 有料盒子视频X course 鈥淐limate Change in Arctic Environments鈥
FOSTERING INCLUSIVE PEDAGOGY
We collaborate with leaders in trauma-informed pedagogy in an effort to create a radically inclusive education environment both online and on campus. We provide tools for faculty-led course assessment for diversity, equity, and inclusivity considerations.
DECENTERING WHITENESS IN ANTIRACISM INITIATIVES
有料盒子视频 eCampus and 有料盒子视频 Faculty Accelerator sponsored a public lecture titled 鈥淒ecentering Whiteness in Antiracism Initiatives.鈥 Dr. Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq, an I帽upiaq technical communication scholar and assistant professor at Virginia Tech, discussed the problematic orientation toward whiteness that pervades many antiracism initiatives in academia. Dr. Itchuaqiyaq spoke with over 300 有料盒子视频 community members and hosted private sessions with 有料盒子视频 researchers and Indigenous students.
COLLABORATION
We regularly reach across institutional boundaries in order to collaborate with other units, institutions and with the larger community. We strive to offer support and connection on a neutral ground where students, staff, faculty, adjuncts and administration work together on projects as a team where every voice is valued.
LEARNER EXPERIENCE ADVOCACY PROGRAM (LEAP)
The Learner Experience Advocacy Program (LEAP) is a new program where undergraduate students learn about course feedback strategies, and partner with participating instructors to observe and share feedback on course design and delivery. The goals of the program are to meaningfully improve the learner experience at 有料盒子视频, build community among instructor and student leaders, and provide professional development to students and instructors alike. We鈥檝e modeled LEAP program on success at other universities, where program leaders assert that the 鈥減edagogical partnerships affirm students鈥 rights and extend their responsibilities.鈥 The program launched in Spring 2022 with 15 student and 10 faculty participants.
The spring 2022 pilot program included a broad swath of disciplines, like Art, Engineering, Biology, and Social Work, with tenured, tenure-track and adjunct faculty.
鈥淧articipating in the LEAP program was an absolute joy. Although we already ask for course feedback from students multiple times throughout the semester, the perspective and extended conversations we had with the LEAP student evaluators were invaluable. 鈥 I was happy to read that the student evaluator鈥檚 felt comfortable being honest with any criticisms of the course and that they felt that their perspective was valued and their observations and ideas were taken seriously. I鈥檓 enormously grateful for the effort of the student evaluators and the LEAP team. It was a highlight of the semester. Thank you!鈥
鈥 Mareca Guthrie, Associate Professor, 有料盒子视频 Department of Art
鈥淎s I鈥檝e likely already said a million times or more, this was an excellent experience and gave me way more than I expected. However, I can also say I went in with really undefined expectations because I had no idea how it would go. I think this was so beneficial that I even contemplated requiring it of some of my newer/younger faculty (I鈥檓 dept chair and can do that kind of stuff 馃槉 ). But didn鈥檛 in the end. But I did highly recommend it and I think had at least 1 taker. I think it succeeded so well because of the mix of well-written templates for the students to use. It had to be undergrad students doing it to get the real test, but they may have struggled to be so comprehensive in the areas. I know I would have been. For example, I never even thought much about inclusive language in my engineering classes鈥
鈥 Rorik Peterson, Associate Professor, 有料盒子视频 Department of Mechanical Engineering
Student advocates represented many different majors, with experience ranging from first-year freshmen to post-baccalaureate, with students participating from all over 有料盒子视频, from Fairbanks, to Juneau, to Nome.
ACADEMIC INCUBATOR
eCampus has put together a dynamic team to improve the course development and funding process as well as to provide relevant data and marketing for programs that are transitioning their programs to online. Our goal is to use a data informed approach to help academic departments strategically develop programs where there is market demand from employers and students. We are also focused on promoting a modern, stackable range of learning opportunities that create multiple pathways to degree completion across the institution.
STUDENT SUPPORT FOCUS
We regularly work with students in an advising, course design, and testing capacity. In this work, we value an inclusive, welcoming student experience. We strive to accommodate each student in a way that decreases barriers to achieving success within university guidelines and actively seek opportunities to better respond to student needs.
有料盒子视频 EXAM SERVICES
During AY22, Exam Services provided 726 hours of seat time across 225 certification exams ensuring State journeymen electricians, boiler operators, linemen, plumbers, explosive handlers, and water and pesticide workers remain certified and promotable.
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TESTS PROCTORED FOR 有料盒子视频 STUDENTS
TESTS PROCTORED FOR FAIRBANKS COMMUNITY MEMBERS
INQUIRIES ABOUT 有料盒子视频鈥橲 ONLINE PROGRAMS
eCampus fielded 27% fewer eCampus program specific inquiries in AY22 but almost twice as many students were admitted and registered this year over last year. Of the 1,168 inquiries for students who indicated an interest in studying online and specified an eCampus program, Biological Sciences (BS) remains the most popular program for students to inquire about with 11% of total inquiries. Medical Coding (OE), Bachelor鈥檚 Degree Completion, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Psychology (BA) round out the top 5. A little over half of our inquiries (55%) don鈥檛 specify a program of interest.
NEW ONLINE PROGRAMS
This year, the 有料盒子视频 eCampus team helped academic departments onboard three new online programs: B.S. in Fisheries and Marine Sciences, B.A. in Social Work and B.A. in Anthropology.
有料盒子视频鈥橲 FULL LIST OF ONLINE PROGRAMS
Arctic and Northern Studies
Justice Administration
MBA (General Management)
MBA (STEM)
Security and Disaster Management
Special Education
Arctic Security
Business Continuity
Cybersecurity Management
Strategic Leadership
Accounting
Special Education
Accounting
Applied Management
Anthropology
Bachelor鈥檚 Degree Completion
Biology (B.A. and B.S.)
Business Administration
Communication
Fisheries and Marine Sciences
History
Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Justice
Political Science
Psychology (B.A. and B.S.)
Social Work
Applied Accounting
Applied Business
Associate of Arts
Associate of Science
Early Childhood Education
Information Technology Specialist
Paralegal Studies
Accounting Technician
Applied Business Management
Early Childhood Education
Health Care Reimbursement
Information Technology Specialist
Medical and Dental Reception
Administrative Assistant
Bookkeeping Technician
Content Creation
Financial Services Representative
Medical Billing
Medical Coding
Medical Office Reception
Nanny Caregiving
Supervision and Personnel Management