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The authors describe relationships among infrastructure, student outcomes, and faculty satisfaction at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The model focuses on developmental process that progresses from courses with some Web presence to those that are driven by ALN. Faculty receive support for online teaching in the form of release time for training and development, upgraded hardware, and complete course development services. Students receive assistance in the form of orientation, around-the-clock help services, a Pegasus Connections CD-ROM, and a learning on-line Web site. The results of the impact evaluation at UCF indicate that faculty feel that their teaching is more flexible and that interaction increases in the ALN environment. On the other hand, they are concerned that on-line teaching may not fit into the academy culture. The authors argue that faculty satisfaction and student outcomes are strongly related and that their interaction is the most important outcome. Finally, the authors conclude that faculty satisfaction is both a dependent and independent variable that is nested within colleges, departments,and program areas.

The authors make the case that implementation of a successful blended learning program requires alignment of institutional, faculty, and student goals. Reliable and robust infrastructure must be in place to support students and faculty. Continuous evaluation can effectively track the impact of blended learning on students, faculty, and the institution. These data are used to inform stakeholders and impact policy to improve faculty development and other support structures necessary for success. This iterative loop of continuous quality improvement is augmented by faculty scholarship of teaching and learning research. The evolution of blended learning at the University of Central Florida is used as a model and research collected over sixteen years illustrates that with proper support and planning, blended learning can result in positive institutional transformation.

PurposeThe paper aims to present a strategic model for online program success in higher education and to discuss the implications of web‐based teaching for learning assessment and program evaluation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses an analytic approach to deconstruct a successful online program to identify necessary elements for the initiative to become apart of the institutional culture.FindingsThe paper traces the evolution of online learning in higher education over the past decade, poses the necessary strategic planning questions that must be answered, identifies critical success factors, argues that that the broadening scope of evaluation will have to encompass emerging constructs such as information fluency, and hypothesizes online learning as a systemic initiative.Research limitations/implicationsThe study intends to stimulate case study research at other colleges and universities using the template of this paper to assess whether or not the model constructs and elements are robust with respect to institutional context.Practical implicationsThis paper outlines a planning and assessment protocol that may be used for establishing successful online programs and assessing the outcomes of the initiative in terms of the original objectives as well as unanticipated side effects.Originality/valueThis paper unifies many heretofore disparate components of online learning as they effect student populations, faculty development, necessary support services, program accountability, infrastructure issues, and new models for evaluation.

Student growth patterns in Web-enhanced and on-line courses lead the University of Central Florida (UCF) to expect large populations for both categories. The authors describe the UCF process for implementing and evaluating Web-based instruction. The office of Course Development and Web Services supports faculty in preparing and delivering their on-line courses. Additionally, faculties are given support for the transition through a semester-long course in Web-based teaching. The Center for Distributed Learning provides administrative and registration services in addition to coordinating and marketing interactive television, video, and Web-based courses. The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning provides additional support for faculty as they work with the new technologies. Finally, UCF is conducting a comprehensive impact evaluation of distributed learning including differential success, demographic trends, impact on teaching, and impact on students with differing learni ng styles. The model used at UCF...

The authors discuss the transformational potential of blended learning and the importance of alignment with strategic initiatives of the institution. They show that key elements for student and faculty support result in numerous positive outcomes, including increased access and the ability to manage growth effectively. Research findings with very large student samples show the impact of blended learning on student achievement, identify predictors of student success, and illustrate correlates of student satisfaction with blended learning when ambivalent feelings mediate student perceptions of the educational environment. By illustrating these principles through a case study in a large metropolitan research university, the authors contend that strategic alignment and evaluation results inform each other in an incremental, transformational process.

The authors describe the distributed learning program (Online@UCF) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) that serves a number of adult learners. They present outcomes from several years of research collected by the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness on adults enrolled in online courses. Paradoxically, most educators in online learning focus on millennial generation students, their learning styles, and preference for Web 2.0 technologies. However, research at UCF confirms that online education resonates with adult students because it responds to their lifestyle needs, provides more active learning environments, and empowers their learning beyond classroom boundaries. This chapter examines the strategic elements required for successful adult online programs and explores components of online student satisfaction. The authors conclude by considering the opportunities and challenges for adults in online distance education.