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Carter, Cheryl - Research Abstract

Non-Traditional Student Participation in Synchronous Online Workshops

Many community college evening students are older, working adults with familial responsibilities. Often campus resources are not available to this evening population due to budget restraints. The purpose of this project is to explore two questions:

• If synchronous online evening workshops were made available, would non-traditional students participate?
• If non-traditional students do participate, would these synchronous online evening.

Description

This project proposes to offer several synchronous online evening workshops covering college and career topics. CCCConfer a free web-based collaboration tool would be used to facilitate the workshops. Demographic information would be collected and a survey developed to obtain workshop evaluation, feedback and observation from all participants. Results would be analyzed and compiled into a written report.

Diablo Valley College (DVC) typically has 31% of its students enrolled in evening classes. Many are working full-time or are planning to re-enter the workplace. Often they are students who are older and may have familial responsibilities.

With the U.S. in economic recession, often there is an increase in non-traditional student enrollment particularly in community colleges. A component of the recession is the budget crisis in California, for community colleges that translates to reduction of services. At DVC, the Career Center closes at 5:00 p.m. meaning that evening students do not have access to the staff or services available to day students. Many non-traditional students may not even be aware of the on-campus resources that are available. “Evening only” students may feel disconnected from the institution impacting student retention. The purpose of this research project is to explore two main questions:

1. If synchronous online evening workshops were made available, would non-traditional students participate?
2. If non-traditional students do participate, would these synchronous online evening workshops promote a sense of community and connectedness to the institution?

This project proposes to offer several synchronous online evening workshops covering college and career topics. CCCConfer a free web-based collaboration tool would be used to facilitate the workshops; it does not require any special software. Demographic information would be collected and a survey developed to obtain workshop evaluation, feedback and observation from all participants. Results would be analyzed and compiled into a written report.

Flex workshops sponsored by the District would be used to discuss findings and possible implications of the research. A presentation proposal would be submitted to the 2006 CVC Online Instructional & Student Services eConference.

Most distance education programs involve enrollment in fee-based classes and the few online workshops that exist are usually asynchronous. This project would allow for real-time interaction between the counselor and students. Because CCCConfer is available to all campuses, the project has the potential to serve as a prototype for all colleges within the system. If this project is selected, it can demonstrate how technology can be used to not only educate but also encourage a sense of community.