TCC Connect recently received an award for Outstanding eLearning Support for Faculty or Students from the Instructional Technology Council (ITC). The award recognizes institutions of higher education that have an organizational unit that has “built a solid reputation for outstanding support and service for their faculty or students.”
TCC Connect President Carlos Morales thanked Director of Academic Affairs/Operations Kristen (Kelton) Kirkpatrick for her efforts that resulted in this honor. “I want to applaud Dr. Kirkpatrick for her phenomenal work in establishing the TCC Connect quality assurance measure, the eFaculty Coaches! She took an idea I proposed and made it into a nationally recognized program.”
The eFaculty Coaches serve as the primary quality assurance and compliance lens for fully online and hybrid environments. With student preference for online courses increasing, TCC Connect is now serving more than 15,000 students. Currently, there are close to 600 faculty members teach 37 fully online programs, 350 course titles across 1,200 sections.
Services provided by the eFaculty Coaches include viewing courses, collecting data and collaborating directly with instructors to identify strengths and areas for improvement based on quality management standards for communication, interaction and support.
According to information from TCC Connect, since 2018, eFaculty Coaches have observed more than 1,000 sections. Data collected from observed sections show an increase in success and retention rates for instructors that have participated in coaching. As the number of sections increases, the need for online observation also increases.
Instructors participating in eFaculty coaching in Spring 2022 demonstrated a 7.4% average increase in student success and a 2.65% average increase in student retention rates per online section.
Regarding the award, Kirkpatrick said, “On behalf of the Connect Campus eFaculty coaching team, I am honored by ITC’s recognition. Our team is dedicated to supporting online faculty and empowering them to continuously grow and improve in a non-punitive, collaborative environment. Collecting data and applying it in clear, positive and timely ways is a powerful tool.”
Expressing her appreciation for Campus and District leadership and the “stellar distance education faculty,” Kirkpatrick continued, “We have a great foundation but recognize the need to continuously improve and innovate.”