VT eLearning - Facts and Figures

eLearning at Virginia Tech Overview

• Virginia Tech's Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning is responsible for providing leadership, coordination, management and support to the university's eLearning activities and initiatives.
• IDDL first proposed in December 1997 at the request of the Provost Office to provide one-stop-shop for distance learning at the university. In January 1999, IDDL was established and funded and is now an academic enterprise reporting to the Provost Office.
• eLearning is part of the 2006-2012 Virginia Tech Strategic Plan: Strengthen the role of distance and distributed eLearning in achieving the university's goals in learning, discovery, and engagement.
• VTOnline - Virginia Tech's electronic catalog features over 600 online and interactive videoconferencing credit and non-credit courses. Currently, 31 programs are offered through Virginia Tech Online--ranging from graduate degree programs, graduate certificates, undergraduate concentrations, and licensures.
• Virginia Tech Online has provided access to eLearners with over 100,000 credit and non-credit enrollments since Summer 1998.  During this time, over 3,500 courses have been offered.
• Over 60% of the students in the undergraduate class of 2008 have taken at least one online course.
• To date, over 700 different faculty members have taught eLearning courses.
• IDDL Enterprise Fund established through legislature and Board of Visitors approval as a mechanism to grow eLearning at the university through college departmental and IDDL entrepreneurial efforts.
• 88% of academic departments are currently engaged in the eLearning enterprise
• VTalumnNET - A presidential initiative of President Charles Steger to promote lifelong learning enrichment for Virginia Tech alumni, VTalumnNET currently offers 79 non-credit courses.

Enrollments/Courses

Spring 2007 eLearning Enrollment Numbers At a Glance
Undergraduate	3,470 eLearning course enrollments 63 eLearning course offerings
Graduate	2,629 eLearning course enrollments 242 eLearning course offerings
Noncredit	548 eLearning enrollments 85 eLearning course offerings

Quality Assurance

IDDL's holistic approach to quality eLearning is evident its practice of end-of-term course evaluation results. This level of quality is the result of excellent faculty and an academically focused organization providing high quality support.

Selected Results from Student Perceptions of Instruction:
Spring 2006 - Fall 2006

Percent of student respondents who agree or strongly agree:

"Class assignments were connected to overall course requirements" .........................................97%

"After completing this eLearning course I am more confident that

I can reach my academic goals"   ................................................................................................89%

"Overall course design enabled my learning"   ............................................................................90%

"The quality of technology and connectivity supported my learning"   .........................................93%

"I could access library services efficiently" ...................................................................................96%

"eLearning support services met or exceeded my needs" ...........................................................93%

"I am satisfied with this eLearning experience" ............................................................................88%

"I could only take the course because it was available online or at an off-campus location"

         * Spring and Fall Semesters 2006 .......................................................................................61%

         * Summer 2006....................................................................................................................74%

Current National and International Partnerships/Activities

• Arab Academy of Science and Technology (AAST) , Alexandria, Egypt
  • Ph.D. program in Engineering
  • Transferability of IDDL model to AAST

• Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program (Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University, and George Mason University)
  • Instructional delivery
  • Course assessment

• Institute for Advanced Learning and Research , (Danville Community College, Averitt University, and Virginia Tech)
  • Course and program delivery

• King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
  • Transferability of IDDL model to KAU
  • Consulting on eLearning
  • Faculty development

• NASA Institute for Aerospace (Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, Georgia Tech, North Caroline State)
  • Course development & delivery

• Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, Missoula, Montana
  • Online course development and delivery

• Natural Resources Distance Learning Consortium (Virginia Tech, Northern Arizona University, University of Idaho, University of Montana, Penn State University, Stephen F. Austin State University, U.S. Forestry Service)
  • Course development and delivery
  • Distance learning program models
  • Consortium website

• S.P. Jain Institute for Management and Research , Mumbai, India
  • Course development and delivery
  • Faculty support services

• Sloan Consortium
  • Hosted Sloan Semester to provide educational assistance to 13 students whose home institutions were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
  • Faculty members, representing five (5) of the eight (8) colleges, offered to teach more than 45 online courses, with 17 courses being accepted by the Sloan Consortium

• Virginia Consortium of Engineering and Science Universities (Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University, and The College of William & Mary)
  • Instructional delivery

• Virginia Tech - Wake Forest University School of  Biomedical Engineering & Sciences
  • Partnership offering joint programs for graduate  education in biomedical  engineering

Previous National and International Partnerships/Activities

• Appalachian College Association
  • Partnership to deliver online courses and to provide eLearning faculty/staff development to the association, comprised of 36 small, student-centered, private liberal arts institutions serving the Central Appalachian region

• Mzuzu University
  • Collaboration with Virginia Tech's School of Education to develop instructional technology professionals in Malawi Africa University of South Africa collaboration to develop faculty and instructional technologists and to offer Virginia Tech courses.

National and International Recognition

• Virginia Tech's Online Graduate Engineering program was ranked fourth in the nation for its enrollment by U.S. News & World Report (2005 and 2006 editions). Virginia Tech's Online Education Graduate program ranked 19 th in the nation was for its enrollment in the 2006 edition. The program encompasses the Master of Science in Health Promotions, Master of Arts in Instructional Technology, and the Career and Technical Education Teacher Licensure.
• Highlighted in The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of 10 higher education institutions that have successfully implemented distance learning. (2003)
• Selected by Fortune 500 companies, government and education leaders to receive international e-learning Success Stories Award for the collaborative approach to developing and delivering the VTMIT program. (2002)
• Four online degree programs identified by U.S. News and World Report as being among the best of 157 programs chosen from over 2000 institutions surveyed. (2002)
• IDDL web page nominated by Governor of Virginia, Secretary of Education and Secretary of Information Technology to represent Virginia in the higher education category of the national Best of the Web competition. (2001)
• eLearning Design Award for Online Master's in Political Science at 2nd National Online Instruction Conference (2000)