MEMORANDUM

Todd Parnell recently announced that Drury came in under our expense budget last year and that a portion of the savings will be distributed to staff and faculty as a cost savings incentive bonus.  I’ve been informed by Payroll that adjuncts teaching during the 2008/09 academic year will receive a prorated incentive bonus around September 18.  This bonus should not be confused with the first payroll installment scheduled for October 5.  

Please contact me at quas@drury.edu or (417) 873-7329 if you have any questions about the first payroll installment on October 5.

Barbara Quas

Operations Management Coordinator

College of Graduate and Continuing Studies

Drury University

900 N. Benton Avenue

Springfield, MO 65802

(417) 873-7329

(417) 873-7529 (fax)

bquas@drury.edu

Eugene Barnes • September 1, 2009 THIS ARTICLE IS COMPILMENTS OF THE SPRINGFIELD NEWS-LEADER

How many of you were like me and spent many evening hours sitting in a college classroom listening to lectures to earn a degree? I did it for the better part of three years working on my master’s degree. Finally, someone came up with a better idea: online classes.

Online education is one of the fastest-growing segments of college campuses. Colleges and universities are adding students they never would have had a chance to serve with online programs. I am currently an adjunct instructor for Drury and Harding Universities in their online departments. I have students from all over the country and sometimes out of the country. In my last Drury class I had a student in the military stationed in Korea, and this semester I have one in Anchorage, Alaska.

Taking a class online gives the student the freedom to work when they have free time. Most of my students have full-time jobs with families. I also have students of all ages. They do not have to take time to come on campus to listen to a lecture. As I have always said, “they don’t have to listen to a three-hour lecture I don’t want to give.”

Lectures are posted on the platform as well as the week’s assignments. The assignments are then submitted back through the platform. After grading the work, I post them to a grade book that students can access to monitor their progress. I also give exams through the system. I am able to set a time limit for the exam, and the system mixes the questions so no two students see them in the same order.

Contact with my students occurs through the platform. I respond to all of my postings and have discussions using this method. Students post a biography to begin class so they know who is in the class. All students are encouraged to read each other’s work and comment on it. This gets the students to interact with one another and see the ideas others have on the topics.

Last week, KY 3 did a piece on Drury University and its online program. Drury began online classes over 10 years ago. It has become a leader in online education and the number of classes offered. They offer both undergraduate and graduate classes. Missouri State and OTC also offer classes online. My daughter is currently taking an online class at OTC finishing up her associate’s degree.

Online classes are another great use of available technology. Most people have computers and Internet today and can now use them to attend class. If you have not tried one, give it a shot. I think you will be surprised.

Eugene Barnes, Springfield, is a member of the News-Leader Community Editorial Advisory Board.

On August 13, 2009, President Todd Parnell addressed the Drury CGCS Faculty at the Faculty Retreat. Hear him discuss the challenges Drury has faced this past year and the opportunities the University has this upcoming year to perform better than ever.

Listen to the speech (mp3)
or
Read the transcript (pdf)

Join us for our Back to School Virtual Faculty Meeting!

Date: Tuesday, Sept 1 at 7 pm

Location:  Second Life/Online Education Island

If you don’t have an avatar to join us in Second Life, please go to http://www.secondlife.com and create one.  It’s free.  Be sure to send your avatar’s name to either Steve (shynds@drury.edu) or Tessa (tessa@drury.edu) to gain access to our Online Education Island.

Highlights:

• Steve’s Beginning of Semester Report and Update on Blackboard/WebCT Co-Production
• Tessa’s Blackboard Training Plans
• Interactive discussion on learning effectiveness

And the usual fun and games….Come check out the meeting’s theme!  Be prepared for some fun.

See you in-world!

Hello,

I am pleased to announce that we have record online enrollments this fall. Unfortunately, we also have a record level of frustrated students who have not been able to access their classrooms this week. The Online Office and the Help Desk have been working diligently to resolve the issues that hundreds of student experienced with login credentials. An overwhelming majority of login issues have been resolved. Our best estimate is that less than 10% have not been able to login to date.

The call volume has decreased dramatically since yesterday but we are still getting calls. We have been reassuring the students that our instructors are aware of the issue. Please make every effort to work with the students during the first week. I ask that you give your extra time to complete week one assignments due to the login issues which are beyond the student’s control. I am confident that all of the login issues will be resolved by tomorrow. It is very important that we remain student centered on this issue so we can retain as many as possible. I would hate to see student postpone their educational goals because of the issue with logon credentials. The good news is that so far we are not experiencing a slightly lower than normal drop.

Be sure to update your course daily through this weekend to see if any new students have been added.

Thank you for all you do to provide a quality academic experience for Drury students.