NACCE in partnership with HP present the National Landscape survey findings for the usage of e-Learning at Community Colleges.

1. National
Landscape
Survey
Use of e-Learning
at Community Colleges
A publication of

2. The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship and HP,
commissioned the National e-Learning Landscape Survey of community college
faculty to explore 3 important trends and where they converge.
The national focus on completion of students' studies, Increased usage of
technology by faculty to reduce costs and present real-time information, and
students' desire to learn on their own time at their own pace. In addition, there is
an ongoing conversation on how community colleges can support
entrepreneurship and small businesses to grow local economies.
Overview

3. In Quarter 4 of 2013 the National Association for Community College
Entrepreneurship (NACCE) distributed the National Landscape Survey to
community college faculty across the United States. Pushed out widely through
many channels, 253 faculty participated on behalf of their colleges. The data
collection was headed by Eric Liguori, entrepreneurship professor at California
State University, Fresno. Liguori reports that the survey completion rate was
strong (44%), and that the sample was a very diverse representation of U.S.
community colleges.
Background on
Survey Methodology

4. SURVEY
FINDINGS

5. 47% of the teachers/administrators surveyed say their community colleges uses
online components in teaching. When asked to think two years ahead, there is a
slight increase (now 55%) in the online teaching modalities. This is primarily due
to foreseen increase in hybrid and purely online learning.
Use of e-Learning

6. Community colleges appear to be confident in the ability of online learning to
improve learning outcomes; 84% of the respondents confirm that e-learning is a
valuable educational tool.
Efficacy of e-Learning

7. More than half (56%) of teachers prefer to use teaching modalities that have some
form of online component: 38% prefer hybrid, 12% prefer primarily face-to-face
but with some online supplements; and 6% prefer purely online structures. Some
5% are okay with any modality.
Preferred Teaching
Modalities

8. Most respondents have no hesitations in incorporating new e-learning tools.
However, some of the most cited concerns are: doubts in capability/reliability,
acceptance of both students and teachers, and lack of resources such as time,
ICT access, and technical support. Moreover, about 10% have little control over
materials used in classes.
Barrier to Adoption

9. Increases access through location and time flexible learning1
2
3
4
More resources and information are available to students 24/7
Wide variety of tools and methods teachers can use for
teaching
A good supplement to F2F curriculum e.g. as additional study
materials
Top 5 Benefits Identified
5 It can lead to a richer learning experience if
integrated correctly, freeing up class time for
more engaging activities

10. When asked when online/hybrid classes best facilitate online learning,
respondents raised a number of features that are found in the HP LIFE platform:
1. Depends on the nature of the course (29%): Online learning works better for
more self-paced courses that tend to require students to work individually; for
more basic and introductory courses that are less applied; for teaching technology
skills; when supported with F2F – modules on HP LIFE are designed to fit different
delivery methods, can be a supplement for F2F and also for individual, self-paced
learning. Topics simplify complex concepts.
When Does Online/Hybrid
Learning Best Facilitate Learning

11. 2. Depends on the resources available to the online course, including its
format & features (23%): Need for teacher training, high quality content and
curriculum design, use in conjunction with real world problems and situations,
opportunities for student-student and student-teacher interaction, discussion
boards, collaborative team projects, activities (e.g. exercises, quizzes,
assignments, presentations), online simulations – HP LIFE content carries these
features.
3. Depends on accessibility (7%): Need for basic or adequate
technology skills (e.g. able to troubleshoot on their own).
One suggestion is to include a module on ‘how to succeed in
online and hybrid courses.’
When Does Online/Hybrid
Learning Best Facilitate Learning

12. Students generally have high access to technology for their e-learning courses
either in or out of school. Respondents estimate that 65% of community colleges
students have low to no difficulty in accessing online course content.
Student Access to
Technology

13. Other online tools/information suggested that
could increase effectiveness in entrepreneurship
classes include:
1. Other types of teaching/learning methods – e.g. flipped learning strategies
2. More teaching resources – e.g. social media, videos, case studies,
webinars
3. More collaborative activities – e.g. funded competitions, community
engagement
4. Broader content / topics – e.g. training for “soft” skills, info on start-up
funding
5. More school-wide resources – e.g. incubators, entrepreneurship clubs

14. Students generally have high access to technology for their e-learning courses
either in or out of school. Respondents estimate that 65% of community colleges
students have low to no difficulty in accessing online course content.
Use of technology for
teaching entrepreneurship

15.
"As part of the NACCE-HP collaboration that produced this survey, HP LIFE
has been integrated into the entrepreneurship curricula into over 55 NACCE-
member campuses," said Van Sickle. "Faculty tell us they are finding this form
of e-learning to be a great asset to their entrepreneurship students. They are
great supplements that give real life business examples. HP LIFE completion
rates are high because the students view them as fun and engaging. We
believe the use of such online learning tools will only grow in the coming years
not only in entrepreneurship programs but across the whole breadth of subjects
taught at community colleges.”

16. Additional
Statistics

17.
Among all 253 respondents, 91% are open to
considering alternative methods of teaching, and 83%
would be able to integrate an effective, free, e-learning
module that worked for their course.

18. Overall, 63% feel that it would be easy to incorporate
entrepreneurship-related curricula in their existing
courses.

19. 136 teachers of the teachers surveyed (54%) are teaching teach
business or entrepreneurship-related courses (54%). Of these
teachers, 75% say it would be easy to incorporate
entrepreneurship-related curricula in the classes they teach.

20. 38 (15%) of the teachers surveyed teach other technical courses
but are not specifically business/entrepreneurship courses (e.g.
trade courses, engineering, sciences, economics, IT). Of these,
53% say it would be easy to incorporate entrepreneurship-related
curricula in the classes they teach.

21. Despite the courses taught, teachers are still essential in
students’ entrepreneurial learning experiences. 49% say that
students regularly come to them for support in starting a business,
while some 45% say past students have similarly sought their
guidance.