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2nd Place
Ruth Harper, Accounting Analysis & Decision Making
Marriam Jafar, Information Management
Marriam Jafar, Public Speaking
Alex Jaynes, Networking Concepts
Buchanan Lewis, Economic Analysis & Decision Making
Buchanan Lewis, Macroeconomics
Brittney Love, Computer Applications
Lani Manual and Allie Tatum, Desktop Publishing
Lani Manual, Justice Administration
Shawna Martin, Sports Management & Marketing
Melody Massey, Supervision
Sarah Mathews, Telecommunications
Alana Metcalf, Business Communication
Alana Metcalf, Medical Terminology
Charley Money, Body Language
Heather Patterson, Grammar
Megan Thrash, Strategic Analysis & Decision Making
Anthony Tisdale, Financial Analysis & Decision Making
Royal Ward, Accounting Principles
Celebrate Learning!
3rd Place
Veronica Adams, Retail Management
Michael Avile, Impromptu Speaking
Caitlin Ecomonou, Sales Presentation
Sterling Greg, Telecommunications
Sterling Greg, Word Processing
Julie Hildebrand, Business Law
Rachel Kiburn, Statistical Analysis
Buchanan Lewis, Medical Terminology
Brittney Love, Accounting Analysis & Decision Making
Charley Money, Marketing Concepts
Heather Patterson, Web Site Design
Jonathan Ramos, Project Management
Anthony Tisdale, Microeconomics
“Each and every student represented TCC to the best of
their ability. We are proud of our state winners and all of our
participants” said Vonn Goolsby, Co-Adviser. Local PBL President Sarah Mathews stated that the conference was an experience in several areas such as networking, leadership development and gaining ideas for future local chapter activities.
Does Quality Matter in Online Courses?
By Jennifer Campbell, Instructional Designer and
Lynnda Brown, Instructional Designer
Apparently quality in online courses does matter as there is
now an Oklahoma consortium for Quality Matters. Currently,
there are 13 institutions of higher education represented, including Tulsa Community College, Rose State College, Northeastern
State University, and Oklahoma State University – Stillwater.
This group meets periodically to collaborate on ways to enhance
the quality of online courses in the state of Oklahoma. Check out
the “Quality Matters in Oklahoma” website at https://
sites.google.com/site/oklahomaquality/quality-matters-inoklahoma. But before we discuss any more about the benefits of
being part of the “Quality Matters in Oklahoma” consortium, let’s
look at why we might be interested in studying online pedagogy.
For the past 10 years distance learning has seen tremendous
growth. A nationwide study conducted by Allen and Seaman
(2010) found enrollment growth in online courses is twenty to
thirty times higher than overall enrollment in higher education
courses. A survey of administrators of online programs at community colleges conducted by the Instructional Technology Council
(2009) found similar results. In 2010 29% of higher education
students report taking at least one course online (Allen &
Seaman, 2010). Flexibility and convenience make online courses
appealing. Distance learning removes barriers such as a need to
be in a physical location at a prescribed time, thus increasing
access to higher education. Despite the increased popularity,
there arequestions about online courses. A recent article in the
Chronicle of Higher Education (Brown 2011) highlighted the findings of a study sponsored by the Community College Research
Center at the Teachers College at Columbia University. This
study by Xu and Jaggars (2011) found that community college
students “online course completion rates were 8 percentage
points lower than face-to-face completion rates” (p.14). Xu and
Jaggar’s article raises the question of why fewer students are
completing online courses.
Jaggars (2011) reported that “Students in online courses
often complain of technical difficulties, a sense of isolation, a
relative lack of structure, and a general lack of support” (p. 5).
Students with low socio-economic status may sign up for an online
(Continued on page 8)