The mission of DePaul University is "to make an extraordinary education accessible" to a diverse range of students. Across its schools, the different kinds of content knowledge and student bodies create different cultures and needs for pedagogy. These differences, in turn, have led to entirely different approaches to online learning. While departmentally-based online programs have been the norm rather than the exception in U.S. universities (Paolucci & Gambescia, 2007), the breadth of operational models and technologies is quite unusual. This presentation will describe the different approaches taken by four schools and colleges. The "TPAK" model (AACTE, 2008) stresses that online courses should be designed in an integrated fashion that combines technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge of the discipline. Our approach builds on these factors to address additional aspects of online operations that need to be aligned, including the centralization/decentralization of faculty and course decisions; approaches to instructional design and faculty training; and policy and practice issues such as course development procedures, standardization, course ownership and faculty autonomy, quality assurance practices, rules and policies and support structures. Misalignment can cause failure through lack of faculty acceptance, inconsistent course and instructional quality, or mismatch with student or university operating needs (Grandzol & Grandzol, 2006; McCarthy & Samors, 2009; Moore & Kearsley, 2005; Otte & Benke, 2006; Porto & Aje, 2004; Schauer, Rockwell, Fritz & Marx, 2005). These and other aspects of online operations were used to create an analytical framework, which the online learning leaders in four different schools at DePaul used to systematically analyze their online programs. This presentation will share the framework, and the resulting description of each program's operations and courses. Participants will be invited to use the framework to analyze their own online programs, and identify potential alternative approaches. College of Computing and Digital Media The College of Computing and Digital offers a wide range of graduate and undergraduate degrees courses in an online format. It has approximately 900 online course takers each term. The average student age is 31, and many work and attend school part-time. All are comfortable with information technology. The content changes quickly, so classes must be easily revised. The pedagogy is focused on developing skills through homework such as writing programs. Courses are offered in two parallel sections: in-person and online. The online section includes "captures" of the live class's audio, video, whiteboard and PC screen, offered through an internally developed learning management system (LMS). Together with the syllabus and asynchronous communication, they comprise the online sections, although some faculty also use other technologies such as wikis and webinars. Faculty design and teach their own courses without instructional design assistance; learning activities involve watching lectures and reading, with assessment through homework and closed-ended exams. Faculty are not compensated for developing courses, but receive additional compensation for each online student. Online course materials are owned by the faculty member. School for New Learning The School for New Learning offers a competence-based approach to learning for adult undergraduate students; the average student is 39, and most work and attend school part-time. Students vary widely in their technology skills. The curriculum is designed around competences that span the arts and sciences and professional fields; courses are interdisciplinary and complex, and involve application and reflection. SNL has approximately 800 online course takers each term. Because of the students' need for consistency, along with the complexity of the courses, courses are designed through a structured 4-step process using templates and help from an instructional designer. All courses are taught in Blackboard, and many course features are standardized. Faculty are compensated for course development, and other faculty can also teach the courses. The course materials are owned by the school and the faculty; after three years the rights to offer the course can be extended for an annual stipend. Most classes use readings, textbooks and asynchronous discussion, while some use other technologies such as wikis or synchronous webinars. Learning is assessed through discussions, projects and papers. School of Public Service The School of Public Service offers graduate degrees in managing public organizations. Students are young adults who work and attend school part-time; they vary in their technical skills. The courses are professionally oriented and emphasize both theory and skill development. The program is small, with cohorts of approximately 25 students beginning once per year. Faculty develop online courses after taking an intensive course in online course design offered by a centralized Instructional Design unit. This covers pedagogy and technology, and provides a stipend and laptop to develop the course to QM standards; faculty develop the course in collaboration with an instructional designer and co-own (with DePaul) the intellectual property of the course. Either the course author or other faculty may teach the course, and most elements are fixed. All classes require both asynchronous discussion and webinar-based synchronous class meetings, aimed at developing teamwork, presentation, case analysis and software skills. The course materials are offered through Blackboard, and involve reading online materials and textbooks, discussions, papers and final exams. College of Commerce The College of Commerce offers selected graduate courses online. Students are young adults, with families and jobs which often involve travel. They tend to be goal-oriented and intent on obtaining a degree efficiently. They are generally comfortable with technology but with a low tolerance for things going wrong. The courses cover the range of accountancy, economics, finance, management, marketing and finance. Courses are designed with the close support of an instructional designer. There is no compensation for course development; faculty own their intellectual property, and only teach courses they design. Most courses are offered through the Blackboard LMS. Most courses involve instructor-led asynchronous discussion, reading, and viewing lectures chunked into short segments with accompanying text. Some courses use other tools such as synchronous webinars and wikis. There are approximately 120 online course takers each term. Conclusion The different online programs at DePaul use different approaches to course design and management to best achieve each school's mission. These differences are evolving over time.
