OATdb Archive

2014 - 2015

SHSU Online

Goal
Support Desk Operations
Provide high quality Technical Support through the SHSU Online Support Desk for Faculty and Students at SHSU, focusing primarily on the teaching and learning needs as they relate to distance education.

Objective
Response Rate For Incoming Incidents
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the SHSU Online Support Desk will respond to 100% of support desk incidents within 24 hours.

KPI
Tracking Mechanism For Support Desk Incidents
The SHSU Online Support Desk collects incident information with every call, email, or chat request that comes through the help desk ticketing system. These metrics are captured periodically and systematically utilizing GoToAssist software for support.

The expectation is that all incoming support deks incidents by way of email, call, or chat, will be responded to within a 24 hour time frame.

Result
Tracking Mechanism For Support Desk Incidents
During the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the SHSU Online Support Desk responded to 100% of support desk incidents within 24 hours. These metrics account for all incident types, including email, voicemail, missed calls, received calls, chats and walk-ins.

Objective
Survey To Track And Measure Client Satisfaction
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Support Desk will launch a program evaluation initiative, issuing at least one round of surveys (100+) per semester, to track and measure client satisfaction.


KPI
Survey To Track And Measure Client Satisfaction
After a student has an interaction with the SHSU Online Support Desk, they are contacted to provide feedback about their experience.

It is expected that by sending the survey to a significant number of students, enough responses will be received to indicate general student satisfaction.

Result
Survey To Track And Measure Client Satisfaction
During the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the SHSU Online Support Desk developed and launched a program evaluation initiative.  The Support Desk sends out at least 200 surveys per month, to track and measure client satisfaction and garner feedback.

Objective
Chat Services Deployment
In the 2014-2015 Academic year, the Support Desk will offer chat services for faculty, staff and students of Sam Houston State University in order to broaden the scope and availability of technology support.


KPI
Chat Services Deployment
Success will be measured by the overall student, faculty and staff utilization of the chat support feature and the ability of the SHSU Online Support Desk to keep up with demand.


Result
Chat Services Deployment
During the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the SHSU Online Support Desk researched and successfully implemented chat support services for faculty, staff and students of Sam Houston State University in order to broaden the scope and availability of technology support.

Goal
Training And Development
Provide high quality training and development opportunities for faculty and staff at SHSU, focusing on best practices in online education.

Objective
Assessment Certification Online Course
In the 2014-2015 Academic year, the Course Development area will develop and teach a new series of online certification courses focused on Effective Student Assessment.

KPI
Assessment Certification Online Course
By providing an online course for instructors that focuses on assessment strategies, instructors will be able to learn about best practices in online assessment and will be able to provide students a higher quality online experience.

Success will be measured by the completion and implementation of the training course.

Result
Assessment Certification Online Course
During the 2014-2015 Academic Year the SHSU Online Training team developed and launched the Strategies & Practices for Effective Assessment online certification course. 

Objective
Student Engagement Online Course
In the 2014-2015 Academic year, the Course Development area will develop and teach a new online certification course focused on Student Engagement.


KPI
Student Engagement Online Course
By providing an online course for instructors that focuses on student engagement, instructors will be able to learn about ways to get students engaged in online classrooms.

Success will be measured by the completion and implementation of the training course.

Result
Student Engagement Online Course
During the 2014-2015 Academic Year the SHSU Online Training team developed and launched the Designing Engaging Content self-paced online certification course. 

Objective
Provide Face-to-Face Training
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Course Development area will offer a minimum of 100 face-to-face training sessions in the main, and the Woodlands campus.

KPI
Provide Face-to-Face Training
By providing face-to-face training opportunities, instructors have an opportunity to meet with people on the SHSU Online team and learn about tools and methods for online instruction.

Success will be measured by total number of formal face-to-face training sessions that are offered.

Result
Provide Face-to-Face Training
During the 2014-2015 Academic Year the SHSU Online Training team offered 116 face-to-face training sessions.

Objective
Inform Users About Blackboard Updates
In the 2014-2015 Academic year, the Faculty Development area will develop a series of training sessions that will cover the changes coming in the December Blackboard upgrade to facilitate a smooth transition for distance and correspondence education faculty and students.


KPI
Inform Users About Blackboard Updates
When there are changes in the learning management system, users must be kept up to date with the latest information about the tools.

Success will be measured by the completion and implementation of the training sessions.

Result
Inform Users About Blackboard Updates
During the 2014-2015 Academic year the SHSU Online Training team developed and launched the self-paced, completely online “What's New in Teaching & Learning for Blackboard April 2014 Release” course.

Objective
Provide Printable Training Artifacts
In the 2014-2015 Academic year, the Course Development area will augment the availability and variety of printable/downloadable training artifacts within the faculty training self-pace course, adding a minimum of 50 training artifacts.

KPI
Provide Printable Training Artifacts
Some users prefer to have downloadable or hard copies of training materials that supplement the instruction they receive from SHSU Online.

Success will be measured by the creation and distribution of training artifacts.

Result
Provide Printable Training Artifacts
During the 2014-2015 Academic Year the SHSU Online Training team augmented the availability and variety of printable/downloadable training artifacts within the faculty & student self-pace support organizations, adding 90 training artifacts.

Goal
Course Development Team
Provide high quality instructional design support for all courses that utilize Blackboard at SHSU, focusing primarily on exclusively online courses.

Objective
Increase Online Course Offerings
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Course Development area will increase online course offerings via new course developments by 10%.

KPI
Increase Online Course Offerings
Growth is required for continued success of online programs.

Success for this objective will be measured by growth in the total number of courses that are offered online, as well as the number of online course sections.


Result
Increase Online Course Offerings
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year the Course Development area of SHSU Online increased online course offerings in two different ways.

  1. The Online Development area oversaw the addition of 104 new online courses, or a 14% growth in courses developed over the 2013 – 2014 Academic Year.
  2. The Online Development area assisted in the delivery of 1,736 online course sections, up from the 1,366 course sections delivered online in the 2013 – 2014 Academic Year. This equated to a 27% increase in online courses delivered.

Objective
Support Instructional Methodologies
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Course Development area will support pedagogically-sound instructional design methodologies for all online, hybrid, and web-assisted courses in all seven of the University’s Colleges.  


KPI
Support Instructional Methodologies
The growth of online programs is dependent on the successful implementation of pedagogically-sound instructional methodologies.

Success in this area will be measured by the implementation of tools and training sessions that inform instructors about best practices in online education and how to utilize those best practices in relation to their course subjects.


Result
Support Instructional Methodologies
The Course Development area of SHSU Online supported the university’s efforts in pedagogically-sound instructional design methodologies in two different ways.

  1. A rubric for pedagogically sound course development was created by members of the Course Development team. This rubric is used to evaluate all courses eligible to receive a stipend, it is used when a course is newly designed for online delivery, and it is also used to assist in the process of course redesigns.
  2. All online instructors are recommend to attend training courses provided by the SHSU Online Training and Development Team.

Objective
Collaborate With Internal DELTA Teams
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Course Development area will continue to work collaboratively with internal DELTA Teams in support of external constituencies in the design and implementation of training portals, online professional development courses, and technology support.


KPI
Collaborate With Internal DELTA Teams
In order for DELTA to function as a cohesive unit and support external clients, internal teams must collaborate and look for new opporunities for growth.

Success will be measured by attracting external clients and creating course offerings for them.

Result
Collaborate With Internal DELTA Teams
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year the Course Development area of SHSU Online continued work with external constituencies as follows:

  1. For PJC Investments (Miracle Ear), SHSU Online developed a set of 11 courses used for training, disseminating information, and administrative coordination.  We provided training, support, and additional capability for videoconferencing.
  2. For the Region 6 Education Service Center, SHSU Online developed high school level course for Business Management, Computer Science I & II for Pascal, and Computer Science I & II for Java.  These are scheduled for deployment for the 2015-2016 cycle.  Training is underway for the prospective instructors.    
  3. For ENCRIPT, SHSU Online worked with CJ Online to develop 4 courses used for training and professional development. We also have 2 additional courses that have been developed and should go live in 2015. We provided training, support, portal setup and registration setup.
  4. For LCC, SHSU Online worked with CJ Online to develop 1 ongoing cohort course taught several times throughout the year for training and professional development. We provided training, support, portal setup and registration setup.
  5. For CJAD, SHSU Online worked with CJ Online to develop 3 courses of which two will go to a pilot run in the late part of 2015. Support was given on portal setup, training and registration process.
  6. For Forensic Commission, SHSU Online worked with CJ Online to develop 8 courses used for training and professional development. We also have an additional 9th course that has been developed and should go live in the late part of 2015. We provided training, support, portal setup and registration setup.

Goal
Systems Administration
Provide high quality systems and data support to ensure that the university's learning management systems operates optimally.

Objective
Document Online Attendance
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Course Development area will collect, query, and provide metrics around online attendance for the purposes of student loan verification, issuing a minimum of 100 individual Course Activity Reports.


KPI
Document Online Attendance
In order to assist with student loan verification, student attendance reports must be created.

Success of this objective will be measured by the total number of Course Activity Reports that are created.

Result
Document Online Attendance
The Course Development area provided 129 reports of online attendance and activity to the Registrar’s office during the 2014-2015 Academic Year.

Objective
Upgrade Blackboard Learning Management System
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Course Development area will upgrade the Blackboard production server to better meet the academic needs of online teaching and learning space at Sam Houston State University.


KPI
Upgrade Blackboard Learning Management System
Periodically, there are updates to the Blackboard Learning Management system that must be applied locally for continued use.

Success will be measured by the implementation of such updates as required.

Result
Upgrade Blackboard Learning Management System
During the 2014-2015 Academic Year the system went through one major and five minor upgrades.

  • In September 2014 a minor upgrade was performed to Cumulative Update 11.
  • In December 2014 a minor upgrade was performed to Cumulative Update 12.
  • In December 2014, the system went through a major upgrade from Learn 9.1 Service Pack 13 to Learn 9.1 Service Pack April 2014, Cumulative Update 2.
  • In January 2015, the system went through a minor upgrade to Cumulative Update 3.
  • In April 2015, the system went through a minor upgrade to Cumulative Update 4.
  • In July 2015, the system went through a minor upgrade to Cumulative Update 5.

Objective
Integrate Third-Party Tools
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Course Development Area will add and manage at least 2 integrations between Blackboard and third-party tools to better meet the academic needs of online teaching and learning space at Sam Houston State University.

KPI
Integrate Third-Party Tools
Third-party tools are integrated into Blackboard to provide faculty and staff improved functionality and additional instructional options.

Success for this objective will be measured by the total number of new third-party tools that are integrated into Blackboard at SHSU.

Result
Integrate Third-Party Tools
During the 2014-2015 Academic Year, six new integrations were added to the production Blackboard server:

  • ProctorFree online test proctoring service
  • Barnes and Noble/Faculty Enlight online textbook adoption and purchase tools
  • SpringShare/LibApps online Library Guide embedding into Blackboard courses
  • TK20 LMS integration embedding assignments into Blackboard courses
  • ExamSoft integration syncing roster and course information from Blackboard courses to ExamSoft courses
  • Hawkes Course Sync tool to sync grades between Blackboard and Hawkes courses

Objective
Streamline SIS Upload Process
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Course Development Area will work with IT to add to and streamline the SIS upload process that loads information from Banner into the production Blackboard server.

KPI
Streamline SIS Upload Process
The SIS upload process allows applicable information that is entered into Banner to be transferred to Blackboard.

Success for this objective will be measured by increasing the functionality of the transfer process.


Result
Streamline SIS Upload Process
Yes, during the 2014-2015 Academic Year the Course Development team worked closely with IT to add the following to the SIS Upload process:

  • Add SAM ID numbers to all user accounts so that students could be identified and looked up by that information in Blackboard
  • Add course to corresponding node upon creation automatically using the SIS Upload process

Objective
Maintain Institutional Hierarchy Tool
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Course Development area will maintain and streamline the Institutional Hierarchy tool within the Blackboard server to organize and facilitate release of tools and information to different colleges and course departments on the production Blackboard server.

KPI
Maintain Institutional Hierarchy Tool
In order to be able to better service unique colleges at SHSU, an Institutional Hierarchy must be utilized within Blackboard to allow for actions that only affect specific groups.

Success for this objective will be measured by increasing the functionality of the Institutional Hierarchy.

Result
Maintain Institutional Hierarchy Tool
During the 2014-2015 Academic Year the Course Development team added the DVED and AMST nodes to the Institutional Hierarchy to account for new course subjects. The Course Development team also used the Institutional Hierarchy to allow department chairs and deans access to their colleges’ courses without allowing access to all courses, and used the tool to allow access to tools purchased only by certain colleges or departments to those colleges or departments (for example, ExamSoft is only available to NURS – Nursing).

Goal
Online Program Growth
Provide a full range of support services to promote online program growth at SHSU.

Objective
Add New Distance Programs
In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the Course Development area will add new programs to be delivered via distance education:

  • Add at least one new undergraduate program will be launched by 08/15
  • Add at least one new graduate program will be launched by 08/15.

KPI
Add New Distance Programs
In order to promote continued growth of SHSU Online, new online programs must be created.

Success for this objective will be measured by the creation of new entirely online programs.

Result
Add New Distance Programs
BSN, Nursing (shows as only 26% of hours developed but accepted students last Fall –  only 3 took orientation course)

MA, Kinesiology Sports and Human Performance

EdD, Developmental Education Administration (5 courses missing but accepting students)

EdD, Instructional Technology has been approved but only two courses developed as of Fall 2015. Accepting students starting Fall 2015. Will count for 2015-2016 academic year.


Goal
Video Production Services And Support
Provide high quality video production services at SHSU, focusing on faculty video recording as well as non-academic projects across campus.

Objective
Increase Video Support
Increase video support of SHSU Online and the entire University at least 10% during 2014.

KPI
Increase Video Support
Video production and support covers all aspects of video production both academically and non-academically. This includes the creation of videos, assisting with the placement of videos in courses, and providing options to ensure that videos are ADA compliant.

Success for this objective will be measured by an overall increase in video support services when compared to the previous academic year.


Result
Increase Video Support
SHSU Online Video Team has increased support of SHSU Online courses and University wide events in all areas during 2014-2015. In this time we have created a new lecture capture studio housed in Templeton building to effectively give us two working studios (Templeton and Dan Rather) that can be reserved based upon type of recording.

SHSU Online Video Production and Course Development teams have increased the amount of courses that are ADA compliant by providing closed captioning and transcription services; Over 100 hours of video captioned in spring alone.

SHSU Online Video Production is helping to implement new broadcast systems in Athletics and Mass Communications. SHSU Online works directly with a Mass Comm Faculty member hired to lead student production teams to broadcast SHSU Athletic events. All equipment has been specified, acquired, and maintained by SHSU Online to help facilitate streaming production opportunities for not only the university but to help get students practical experience while earning their degree.


Goal
Marketing, Communication And Media Services
Provide high quality marketing, communication and media service production and support for SHSU Online and colleges at SHSU.

Objective
Increase Search Rankings
Continue increasing Google search referrals for queries involving SHSU Online Programs. Achieve listing on top 10 Google SERPs for existing programs by 08/2015.

KPI
Increase Search Rankings
An important step in attracting new students to SHSU and raising the awareness about online programs is ensuring that all of the programs rank highly when searched for using Google.

Success for this objective will be measured by achieving listings within the top ten search result pages for each SHSU Online program.

Result
Increase Search Rankings
All SHSU Online programs currently rank in the top 10 pages on search engines for key words and phrases.

Objective
Improve Web Optimization
Continue leading and supporting Web Optimization Project Advisory Committee to engage campus in continuous improvement on the Web.

KPI
Improve Web Optimization
As web standards change, it is important to keep all websites related to SHSU up to the level of the current standards.


Result
Improve Web Optimization
Our team has continued to collaborate with Enrollment Management, IT and the SHSU Colleges on the Web Optimization Project. We have launched several key projects including a mobile-friendly upgrade for the SHSU website and most college websites. In addition, the team continues to support a campus-wide digital marketing campaign designed to drive enrollment. Finally, the team continues to conduct a longtitudinal study of newly-enrolled graduate and undergraduate students to measure their perceptions of the university and college websites with respect to admissions and enrollment.

Objective
Provide Web Development Services
Provide quality web design and content development services to SHSU Online, Academic Affairs and the entire University. Complete landing pages for all SHSU programs by 08/2015.

KPI
Provide Web Development Services
The benefit of having a dedicated web team at SHSU Online is that projects may be completed for other entities at SHSU when needed.

Success for this objective will be measured by the completion of various web design projects for non-SHSU Online entities and by completing landing pages for all SHSU programs.

Result
Provide Web Development Services
In addition to hundreds of website updates, the SHSU Online web content team has completed 39 major web projects for campus this year with another 26 currently in progress. Of the 171 program landing pages needed, all but 11 (93.5%) have been completed.

Objective
Expand ITV Support
Provide quality multimedia and ITV support services for SHSU Online, Academic Affairs and the entire University. Add additional ITV and classroom support services by 08/2015.

KPI
Expand ITV Support
ITV is another tool that SHSU Online utilizes to deliver course content.

Success for this objective will be based on the expansion of current ITV capabilities and classroom support services.

Result
Expand ITV Support
The SHSU online team has supported 16 ITV classes and special sessions this year representing approximately 336 hours of direct classroom support. Since absorbing full support of ITV on campus, service levels to faculty have increased to include in-person live technical support on both the Huntsville and Woodlands side of each class. New equipment was installed in support of the Nursing Department and new video conferencing technology was implemented.

Objective
Increase Online Growth
Market and promote SHSU Online Programs by contribute to the increase of online enrollments for 2014-15 Academic Year. Collaborate with SHSU Online team and colleges to achieve at least 10% growth in online enrollments by 08/2015.

KPI
Increase Online Growth
Similar to the growth objectives in other aspects of SHSU Online, the marketing team must contribute by attracting new students to increase total enrollments.

Success for this objective will be measured by the total growth in online enrollments for the academic year.

Result
Increase Online Growth
Marketed SHSU Online programs via web, social media, television, radio, and traditional recruiting methods. To date, these efforts have resulted in over 2000 named prospective student leads and over 120 new students enrolled, a conversion rate of around 6%. Overall online enrollments for FY14/15 increased 24%

Objective
Foster Public Relations
Foster positive public relations with SHSU Online faculty, student and staff constituencies.

KPI
Foster Public Relations
In order for SHSU Online to effectively work with other departments at SHSU, positive relationships must be formed.

Success for this objective will be measured by the implementation of communication methods to inform other departments about what is going on at SHSU Online.

Result
Foster Public Relations
Developed/published an SHSU Online newsletter for SHSU faculty and staff. The newsletter, which is published via SHSU email and delivered through Blackboard, is published every month this academic year with strong readership as follows:
     - September, 1148 page views
     - October, 1,883 page views
     - November, 887 page views
     - December, 1022 page views
     - January, 896 page views
     - February, 682 page views
     - March, 1,172 page views
     - April, 451 page views
     - May, 527 page views
     - June, 669 page views
     - July, 576 page views

Objective
Student Community Development
Develop a successful online student community.

KPI
Student Community Development
One aspect of the university experience that online students generally miss out on is the interactions they have with other students outside of the classroom.

Success for this objective will be measured by the creation of a method for online students to interact with each other online, outside of classes.

Result
Student Community Development
Developed "Student Central," a student community in Blackboard.

Objective
Conference Attendance
Increase 2015 conference attendance by 10%.

KPI
Conference Attendance
The annual SHSU Online Teaching and Learning Conference is a great way to expose people outside of SHSU Online, both at SHSU and beyond, about teaching methods and how to foster outstanding online learning.

Success for this objective will be measured by increasing the overall attendance to the SHSU Online Teaching and Learning Conference.

Result
Conference Attendance
Increased SHSU Online Teaching & Learning conference attendance by 52%

Goal
Continuing Education And Correspondence
Provide high quality course offerings that allow workforce development in the community.


Objective
Ensure Fiscal Success
Take programmatic and fiscal action to ensure fiscal success of CE and Correspondence. Achieve positive net revenue for CE and Correspondence by 08/14.

KPI
Ensure Fiscal Success
In order for Continuing Education and Correspondence to continue functioning, there must be a positive net revenue.

Success for this objective will be measured by comparing total expenditures to total revenue.

Result
Ensure Fiscal Success
Both CE and Correspondence achieved a positive net revenue. As of 08/12/15, Correspondence stands to profit $16,398.77 and CE stands to profit $111,179.82

Objective
Implement Oil And Gas Industry Courses
Take steps to implement leadership and management courses for oil and gas industry during 2014-2015.

KPI
Implement Oil And Gas Industry Courses
Additional course offerings will lead to continued growth for Continuing Education.

Success will be measured by the creation and implementation of new leadership and management courses for the oil and gas industry.

Result
Implement Oil And Gas Industry Courses
Discussions with multiple companies were started and we were at a place where contractual negotiations were being made when the bottom of the oil and gas industry fell. Therefore, the companies decided to forego the leadership and management courses.

Objective
Increase Awareness
Continue to increase awareness of students about course offerings in Correspondence and begin to streamline process for effective registrations in both Continuing Education and Correspondence.

KPI
Increase Awareness
For Correspondence to be able to maintain itself and grow, students must be aware of what is offered.

Success for this objective will be measured by the increased efforts to notify students about course offerings.

Result
Increase Awareness
Through utilizing the Advisement Center, closed circuit TV, mass emails to juniors and seniors and other marketing avenues, we were able to communicate with students about Correspondence Coursework. 

With the removal of the Nell system for Correspondence purposes, we are having conversations with IT about what the new processes will look like and what will work best for our offices. Continuing Education’s registration is already online and simplified for students.


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Plan for continuous improvement