10. Growth in E-Learning: The Early Years Statewide

A page from a Washington State Board survey of Distance Learning activity
(Based on data collected and submitted by individual community and technical colleges)
CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR AN EXPANDED VIEW

Consider reading this narrative in the order in which it was composed, starting with Post #1.

Ron Baker, Director of Distance Education for the Oregon Community Colleges, led the project to compile data on distance learning in both Oregon and Washington during the mid-1990s (e.g., 1994/1995, 1995/1996, 1996/1997).  This compilation was based on surveys completed by the distance learning operations at each community college.  By the time that I began as distance learning coordinator in Fall 1997, there was direct coding into the Washington State computer system that supplanted this survey approach.  These pre-coding surveys allowed us to capture what was happening early on, even though some of the final data we retroactively collected didn't always perfectly match up with the survey reports.  We owe Dr. Baker a great deal of gratitude for the "heavy lifting" that he and his co-workers provided as they foresaw that distance learning was not a passing phenomenon!

The voluminous survey results, consisting of hundreds of pages and charts, are archived at the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges.  My notes and a few sample pages (click on them for an enlarged view) indicate that Distance Learning was undergoing a significant modality shift across many Washington State community and technical colleges (CTCs) in the late 1990s at the same time as at North Seattle College.  The charts above and below were created from data submitted by each college's staff over three academic years: Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters of 1994/1995 through 1996/1997.  I believe submissions of college survey forms were discontinued after the 1996/1997 academic year or perhaps the following year because they became unnecessary.  At North Seattle College (and probably all other CTCs), we coded our various categories of distance learning classes directly into the State system rather than submitting survey forms at the end of each year.  

What do these early state data show?  As can be seen in the charts above and below, correspondence courses and telecourses were the popular distance learning modalities of the mid-1990s, in terms of both the number of classes taught and the number of students enrolled.  Use of the internet (categorized as "Online/Computer Conferencing") grew dramatically over these three years but still represented a minor component of the distance learning suite of modalities.  "Two-way videoconferencing" (later called "Interactive Television (ITV)"), with one college sharing a live class with other colleges with students able to join together via the "K-20 Network", was also gaining popularity during these years.  This "experiment" in live distance learning did not continue for much longer because of logistical co-scheduling challenges among colleges (even among the Seattle District colleges themselves).  In a sense, ITV revived much later in 2020 when live classes were offered across the internet via "Zoom" and similar synchronous conferencing technologies.

There are other features in these charts which are interesting but won't be discussed here.  Funding sources (state-, contract-, and self-support) are distinguished for financial purposes.  And early distance learning efforts included a range of now-expired categories such as "audiographic" (interconnection of graphic display devices at multiple sites) and "audioconferencing" (usually accomplished through standard telephone lines).  

Twenty-seven community and technical colleges participated in some form of distance learning during the 1996/1997 academic year.  Regarding student enrollment, distance learning accounted for about 2% of all system-generated FTEs ("full-time-equivalent "enrollments, a way of compiling all credits received by full-time and part-time students).  During these three survey years, the number of distance learning classes increased by 45% and the number of distance learning enrollments increased by 12%. 

Specific to North Seattle College, comparisons of distance learning enrollments for 1996/1997 show that NSC was eighth in the state in telecourse classes taught (38), with Spokane Falls (146), Skagit (97), Pierce (82), Spokane Community (72), Seattle Central (64), Bellevue (62) and Edmonds (39) colleges leading the way.  In "Online/Computer Conferencing", NSC was third in the state, with Skagit (38) and Edmonds (17) offering more such courses.  With respect to total distance learning activity, NSC was positioned eighth in the state in number of courses offered during the 1996/1997 academic year. 

My previous post showed how, at North Seattle College at least, the online learning modality grew dramatically in 1997/1998 and 1998/1999, and then far-surpassed telecourses by the 1999/2000 academic year in number of courses taught and number of students (seat counts) enrolled.  No doubt the same was happening at many of the other community and technical colleges in Washington State.  However, I do not have notes specific to this information.   

At the conclusion of the commentary accompanying the survey report, we find the following prescient statement, one that Ron Baker penned nearly 30 years ago and that has strongly guided our own philosophy and developmental approach for North Seattle College's distance learning operation throughout all these decades:

" Distance education as a 'separate initiative' of the Washington community and technical college system is evaporating.  Distance education technologies and methodologies are increasingly becoming fused with all forms of educational practice.  It may be more important and beneficial to the Washington Community and Technical College System in the future to focus on the continuum of distributed multimodal educational practices, rather than distance education as a singular adjunct activity."