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Show THE FORUM - FEATURE JANUARY 4, 2012 7 Online Classes Continued from Page 1 The tuition discount for summer classes is really exciting," said Chase, its an exceptional deal for students in comparison with both regular tuition and the tuition of other university and college summer and online classes. Summer undergraduate tuition has been reduced from $1,113 per credit hour to $740. Students are also not required to pay student fees during summer courses, which range from an additional $93 to $210 depending on the number of credit hours a student is enrolled. Student fees are required during Spring and Fall semesters for technology, facilities, student activities and publications. In addition, Westminster allows students to bank unused May Term hours to use toward summer courses. According to the Registrars Office, students who pay full-tifor Spring and Summer semesters earn two hours each, for a possible total of four hours of free May Term tuition, which can also be used for summer courses. However, in order to apply the free tuition credits to summer course work, students must be registered for a minimum of three credit hours per two banked hours, or six credit hours per four banked hours. Using banked hours can save students nearly $4,000 on summer tuition costs. In contrast, online tuition at Utah State University begins at $247 per credit hour. Colorado College, a private four-ye- ar college in Colorado, with me a similarly sized student body, charges upwards of $2,890 per four credit hours according to their website. Lewis and Clark College, liberal another private four-ye- ar arts and sciences college located in Portland, Oregon, also with a similar student body size, charges $818 per credit hour. Online Offerings The inaugural online summer term will offer eight courses (at the time of print). With the exception of one class, all online courses offered will fill general liberal education (LE) requirements. The online courses are a fingreat way for students to ish up any of their LE requirements, said Chase, especially if they are having a hard time fitting them into their Spring or Fall schedules. The LE courses currently offered include Art 110, Survey of Art; Chemistry 106, Chemistry and Society; History 213, Modern World History; Math 105, Elementary Statistics; Philosophy 100, Introduction to Philosophy; Psychology 105, Introduction to . Psychology, and Speech 111, Public Presen- tation. In addition, communication students will have the option of taking Communication 203, Writing for Mass Media, a degree requirement for the Communication Program. Although not physically in a classroom, the classes mil still remain capped between 20 and 28 students and will be waitlisted if they fill up. Philosophy professor Jason Goltz expects the classes to fill up, Im betting it will seem, for many, like a convenient way to satisfy an LE requirement or two while being away from Salt Lake for the summer, he said. There are currently no plans to extend the online program into the graduate program or into the Spring and Fall semesters, but the possibility is not being ruled out. Its not in the works right now, said Chase, but we will really just have to wait and see what happens with this program. Its an exciting path. Adjusting for the Web While the number of credit hours per online course will remain the same as typical Spring, Summer or Fall semester credits, the professor and students will have to make adjustments to their usual class routines and behaviors. You certainly have to adjust the way you plan and teach a course online, versus in the classroom, said Hikmet Loe, adjunct coordinator for the School of Arts and Sciences. Loe, who has never taught an online class, will be teaching Survey of Art online this summer. Usually, within the first few weeks of school, I can observe my students behaviors, how they take notes, how they interact in class, and figure out how to adjust my teaching to each student. Online, I cant observe e, so Ill have to that figure out how to do that. Goltz agrees that the online courses will require adjustments, The main challenge will be student engagement. When face-to-fac- I in a you arent classroom with your teacher, it is easy to get distracted and lose interest. But were working hard to brainstorm ideas for dealing with this, he said. In order to work through the potential challenges and issues, the online course faculty and professors have spent the last semester preparing themselves and their courses for the online change. Everyone teaching an online course has been involved in a learning community to help them adjust their courses for the Internet, said Chase. In addition, the online faculty and staff have been workface-to-fa- ce with Ben ing Neiswender, learning technology facilitator at Westminster, to learn how to tailor their syllabi and coursework to online one-on-o- ne learning. Neiswender has been leading the technological part of bringing classes to the Internet and incorporating new online learning technology and programs to the schools current systems. Weve all been working with Ben to understand the online component, said Loe of the faculty and staffs preparations with Neiswender. Hes helped me change my syllabus and look at it in a different way, not just for online courses, but for as well. on-camp- us, Its re- ally opened up my mind to different teaching method? and ideas. Many of the offered courses normally rely on lecture and discussion in the classroom, a learning tool that is challenged by online learning. traditionPhilosophy ally relies on having discussion, Goltz said of his classes. That cant be done easily in an online environment. So one big change will have to do with how these conversations are going to take place. Loe is already prepared to use every possible technology to create the ultimate online learn- ing experience. I may not be in the classroom with them, but Im right here, said Loe, pointing to a web-ca- m mounted on the com- puter in her office. I give an introduction every semester at the beginning of my class, and I plan to sit right here and do "Usually, within the first few weeks of school, I can observe my students be- haviors, how they take notes, how they interact in class, and figure out how to adjust my teaching to each student. Onso line, I can't observe that I'll have to figure out how to do that." face-to-fac- e, -- Hikmet Loe Adjunct coordinator for the School of Arts and Sciences the same thing for my online students. Loe also plans to lay audio tracks into her usual power-poi- nt presentations for her Survey of Art students. I show these slides as I talk to my students each class, she said, flipping through presentations filled with images, but when you see this online, it doesnt make sense unless you have the audio and my lecture. Additionally, while social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter may normally be seen as a distraction and often social media banned mil in turn be used as a learning tool for online course work. Loe is exploring the possibility of incorporating her students Twitter accounts into class discussions, using hashtags to search out the course discussions, as well as creating a Face-boo- k page for the class where students can upload pictures from museums theyve been to or images they would like to share and discuss. The chemistry course, which generally requires additional lab time and work, will have to make significant adjustments, due to the lack of access to a science lab. The solution? An lab set up in the students kitchen. Most of the experiments will be adjusted to require nothing more than standard kitchen appliances and few additional purchased materials. Online courses are available for registration with summer in-cla- ss, in-ho- me registration through Web Advisor and the Registrars Office. Summer registration beings Feb. 13, 2012. |