Grantees Focused on Breakthrough Models for College
Completion are developing new models for online and blended programs
that significantly improve postsecondary access, persistence, completion, and
affordability, without compromising the quality of learning outcomes. Applicants
were eligible for awards up to $1 million.
University of Washington (Seattle, WA; $884,000): UW
will provide a transformational online undergraduate degree-completion program
at a lower cost for Americans who have earned some college credits and want to
complete a baccalaureate degree, initially in humanities and social sciences,
but need an online format due to other life commitments. The UW will use MOOCs
to deliver the courses.
AT A GLANCE:
Program Name: University of Washington Online
Undergraduate Degree Completion Program
Targeted Degree Program: Interdisciplinary bachelor’s
degree
Opening Date: Fall 2013
First-Year Enrollment: 1,000
Anticipated Students Served in First Five Years:
13,488
Tuition Model: Credit hours at reduced rate of
$155/credit for this program
Geographies Served: US students, with primary emphasis on the
state of Washington
Targeted Students: Working young adults with some
college credits who are returning to school
DIG DEEPER:
Like other traditional research universities, the University
of Washington has historically served first-time full-time undergraduates and
graduate students as core constituencies. In this Next Generation Learning
Challenges program, they are breaking out of that mold to offer an opportunity
to working adults with some college credit who need an undergraduate degree to
advance their careers. Their numbers are substantial: nearly six million people
in the western states have at least one year of college but lack a degree, and
many of them also lack the resources to pay tuition at the usual rates, the time
to travel to campus to attend classes, or both.
UW’s program is being designed expressly to serve the needs
of this target population. The specific degrees offered are being selected based
on those likely to have the greatest economic impact. The degrees will be
offered at a reduced cost - approximately half the per-credit-hour cost of most
competitive programs - with free versions of the courses offered on Coursera, a
commercial platform on which universities offer massive open online courses
(MOOCs) that are available to anyone worldwide. The course will expand access to
resources and learning and will also give students the opportunity to sample a
course before enrolling. The credit-bearing versions of the courses, offered in
Moodle, will be instructor-led and will have additional assignments, projects,
papers and readings which will augment the materials on Coursera.
Since the program targets students who have some college
credit already, it will focus on upper-level courses. Fulltime faculty will
design and teach these courses, ensuring their depth and quality. The courses
will be designed around learning outcomes, and these outcomes will be described
at the beginning of each lesson to inform students explicitly of the required
concepts to master and skills to develop.
Faculty who teach in the program will receive comprehensive
training in online instruction to ensure their thorough familiarity with those
practices which encourage retention and course completion. In addition,
specialized online advisors/coaches will work with students, checking in with
them at least every other week in regard to their progress in current courses
and suggesting strategies for completion. Struggling students will receive
particular attention.
GRANTEE RESOURCES:
Application Deck: This video offers a snapshot of this
grantee’s breakthrough model in its early planning stages outlining the goals,
learning environments, and business model. It was originally created as a
narrated PowerPoint deck included in their application to the NGLC Breakthrough
Models grant competition.
Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC)
accelerates educational innovation through applied technology to dramatically
improve college readiness and completion in the United States. This multi-year
program provides investment capital to expand the use of proven and emerging
learning technologies, collects and shares evidence of what works, and fosters
innovation and adoption of solutions which will dramatically improve the quality
of learning in the United States, particularly for low-income students and
students of color. NGLC is managed by EDUCAUSE in partnership with the League
for Innovation in the Community College, the Council of Chief State School
Officers, and the International Association for K-12 Online Learning. Funding
for Wave III was provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
(www.nextgenlearning.org)
Posts
