Off-Campus Degree Programs: Lessons from Florida's Experience

NACTA Journal, Jun 2004 by Martin, Michael V, Cheek, Jimmy G

Graduates from our partnership programs are regarded in the job market or by graduate programs as co-equal with those who graduate from Gainesville campus-based programs. all reports suggest the partnership program graduates have succeeded in their graduate programs and are succeeding in their careers and communities.

One special case deserves mention. A student who completed our undergraduate program at Ft. Lauderdale, went on to earn a doctorate at Yale University and has since joined our Ft. Lauderdale faculty. Still-, the successes we've experienced have come with a few set backs and have yielded a number of lessons.

Results and Discussion

Based on experiences at UF-IFAS-CALS, we offer the following observations and recommendations to institutions considering or planning to launch off-campus degree programs.

1. Find committed, adaptable partners. The quality, responsiveness and cost effectiveness of offcampus programs depend heavily on the strength and cooperation of the partners. There must be a willingness to modify courses to meet the needs of students in the off-campus majors. This may involve modifications to course curricula, offering additional sections of some courses and adjusting the course offerings to fit the schedules of non-traditional students. In some cases, our partners provide office space, facilities and support for UF-IFAS-CALS faculty.

2. Ensure the availability of high quality technology. Because some courses are offered via distance delivery it is essential that dependable technology be in place. Also, competent technological support personnel must be available. A breakdown in distance delivery technology costs valuable teaching time and gives rise to frustration and dissatisfaction among students and faculty. Many of the off-campus students are older and pursuing a degree in addition to working and/or raising a family. They become particularly impatient when they feel their time and money is being wasted. Likewise, to attract faculty to develop and offer courses for distance education, technological failures or glitches must be held to a minimum.

3. Fully assess the long-term population of potential students. For off-campus programs, "build it and they will come" simply does not work. It is extremely important that planning for an offcampus program includes a projection of population and demographic dynamics in the service area. Because these programs attract a relatively large proportion of non-traditional students, it is possible to use up the available supply rather quickly. Initial enrollment will be quite encouraging but then may taper off to non-sustainable levels.

4. Adopt a phased-in approach. Rather than deploying all necessary resources to offer a complete major at the outset, it is preferable to take a phase-in approach. This may mean that some potential transfer students may not be able to immediately enter the program or complete their degree as rapidly as they may desire. But our experience suggests that it works best to grow the curriculum as sufficient numbers of students grow with it. Clearly it's most cost effective to start with majors that require minimal fixed infrastructure investments. Agribusiness management or agricultural education majors are less expensive to start up than majors that require specialized equipment, teaching laboratories, or greenhouses, etc. Still, degree offerings must fit local needs. Moreover, taking a phased-in approach avoids the problem addressed above. That is, if enrollment peaks and then declines, underutilized faculty resources will not be in place.