Corsicana — The Navarro College Board of Trustees heard positive news at its regular monthly meeting on Thursday about the consistent growth of online classes being taken by students, which now account for approximately 22 percent of all Navarro College enrollments.

An overview of how the courses have grown, including steps taken by the college to expand its capacity in online education and instruction, was presented to the board by Matt Miller, the Online Instruction and Media Integration Director.

Miller also briefed trustees on a full history of how Navarro College started and then expanded its online programs, and the changes that helped to make the progress a reality.

The college first began with 12 online classes for general education courses in 1999-2000 after agreeing to participate in the Virtual College of Texas, which provided a “sharing” venue for online courses among Texas community colleges.

“We started going through our catalog and we started noticing that many of our programs could be obtained online, at least 50 percent or more,” Miller told the board.

This expansion was realized when Navarro College received approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to provide 50 percent or more of its programs via online delivery in 2009.

Following the adoption of several online tools, including Net Library, softChalk safe assign and Live Homework Help, internet student and faculty options now allow for over 90 available online courses.

Currently there are 12 of the 63 degree and certificate programs offered by the college that are 100 percent attainable through online instruction. A significant amount of the courses, 43 of the 63 are attainable with 50 percent or more of the course work taken online.

Miller told the board that it was hard to pinpoint the exact reasons for the growth in online instruction, but suggested that some students prefer to take courses from the comfort of their own home rather than come into college. He also factored in the price of gas as a possible incentive to stay home rather than drive unnecessarily. Tuition fee costs at four-year institutions and an increase in online courses being offered were other possible reasons for driving the growth, Miller said.

He told the board that 74 percent of online enrollments at Navarro College were from the five-county service area of Ellis, Navarro, Freestone, Limestone and Leon counties. The increased course options have also allowed for more than 22 percent of students enrolled online being able to study at Navarro College from inside Texas but outside the service area, and for the remaining 3.6 percent to study at Navarro from outside of the state.

Female students accounted for 68.4 percent of online enrollments, he said.

With year on year growth, contact hours have grown from more than 400,000 due to online classes in 2005-6 to more than a million in 2009-10.

An Academic Council and Online Committee has also been set up specifically to monitor online courses, consisting of faculty, department chairs and administrative staff, Miller said.

The way for the future is also being set out, with preparation for increased online learning already in place. Factors such as providing additional orientation and skills development classes and state of the art resources are being continually monitored.

Assessment was briefly questioned by board members who were concerned that the person who is taking the degree may not be the person taking the final assessment. Miller pointed out though that this was just as much of a possibility on paper testing, with another person potentially being able to take the place of the person being assessed in an examination scenario on college grounds.    

Of the college’s growth between 2008-09 and 2009-10, online classes alone accounted for more than 30 percent of that growth.

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Oliver Sheehan may be reached by email at oliver@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Soundoff” on this story? Email: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com

NAVARRO COLLEGE MEETING BRIEFS

By Oliver Sheehan/Daily Sun Staff Writer



Consent agenda was approved

   A short consent agenda containing the minutes of the meeting of May 19 and additional policies to parking on campus was approved by trustees.



Tax abatement approved

   Following a presentation from Lee McCleary, the Corsicana/Navarro County Economic Development Director, on behalf of Russell Stover Candies Inc., the board approved a 50 percent tax abatement for 10 years on an investment of more than $1.3 million that the company is investing in its Corsicana plant. The investment, which is for machinery and equipment, is being made for a Flatback Rabbits Product due to be sold around Easter time. It will create an additional 27 new jobs. Identical tax abatement deals have been struck with the Corsicana City Council and Navarro County Commissioner’s Court.



May Financial statement approved

   Gettie Moreno, the Vice President for Finance and Administration, reported that the overall 2010-11 budget from the start of the financial year had been increased by $4 million from around $106 million to $110 million. Moreno also highlighted that the fund balance had been increased by approximately $4 million in comparison to this time last year.



Quarterly investment report approved

   Moreno reported in her quarterly investment report ending May 31, that the college held bank deposits of just less than $9.5 million, while investments that started with a market value of more than $5.7 million, ended with a market value of more than $8.7 million. Insurance deposits totaled $1.75 million and pledged collateral accounted for more than $44 million.



Deli construction in Waxahachie

   Board members discussed contracts submitted for the building of a delicatessen on the college’s Waxahachie campus. Bids from three construction companies ranging up to half a million dollars were discussed and scrutinized by the board, although no final decision was implemented on which bid to accept.  



NC baseball recognition

   Coach Whoa Dill, supported by assistant coach Mat Podjenski, told the board about his experience in Colorado following the college’s NJCAA Baseball National Championship triumph. He said he was proud of the behavior of his players and showed the board a short video clip of the players celebrating in the immediate aftermath of their victory.



Personnel report presented

   Marcy Ballew, the Director of Human Resources, informed board members of the appointment of Christy Taylor as a counselor on the Corsicana campus. She also informed them of the retirements of Mary Lou Percy and Linda Treibly.  



Calendar overview heard

   The latest college calendar sets dates of July 8 for Summer II registration and July 11-12 for summer orientation. Summer classes begin on July 14 while a budget and planning workshop is set for July 21 followed by a regular meeting of the board of trustees at 7 p.m. on the Corsicana campus.



Enrollment update given

   A brief enrollment report provided by Dewayne Gragg shows that final numbers of students enrolled for Summer I courses amounted to 4,000 students, a 20 percent increase on the same period last year. Gragg also reported that 53 percent of those students are taking at least one class online. Registration for Summer II is still ongoing, he said.



Construction updates heard

   Moreno then showed the board pictures of an ongoing construction project on the Corsicana campus for the Verda Gooch courtyard. She said the contractor was five days behind due to the demolition taking longer than anticipated. The courtyard would need to be raised to prevent the need to uproot the trees in the courtyard, she added. Dr. Tommy Stringer also told the board that work on the Cook Center is now progressing to the interior of the building, with expectations for the expansion project to be finished by the end of July.



Legislative update presented

  Dr. Harold Nolte, the president of Ellis County campuses who sat in for District President Dr. Richard Sanchez, reported that he had received positive news about the amount of money the college would receive from the state. He also reported that faculty and staff would be asked to pay a one percent surcharge on payroll for all eligible benefits to the state.



Other announcements

   Nolte announced the Budget and Planning Workshop will take place from 1 p.m. on July 21. He also announced that the Governance Institute for Student Success would take place from July 31- Aug. 2 and that the ACCT Leadership Conference would take place from Oct. 12-15.