Dr. Furst-Bowe is the Academic Vice President at Chippewa Valley Technical College, Wisconsin Technical College System. Julie holds a doctorate in Work, Family and Community Education from the University of Minnesota. Prior to her current position, Julie served as Vice Chancellor and Provost at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and Chancellor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Moving a Technical College Online: Successes and Lessons Learned
When Wisconsin went into “lockdown” due to the Covid 19 pandemic in March of 2020, Chippewa Valley Technical College began immediately delivering instruction remotely. The college, located in northern Wisconsin, serves more than 18,000 students annually through its programs.
Remote instruction, supplemented by open laboratories in specialty areas, has continued throughout the summer and into the fall semester at the college. Over the past six months, the college has learned a great deal about remote teaching and learning and retaining students and faculty members in a virtual learning environment. Important factors include student and faculty access to appropriate technology, student and faculty training, and appropriate policies to support the new learning environment. Prior to the pandemic, about half of the college’s degree programs required each student to have a device, typically a laptop or i-Pad; there were no technology requirements for the remaining programs. Because the college serves students from rural areas, often internet access was lacking. Faculty also had issues relative to having appropriate hardware, software and internet access in their homes. The college addressed these issues through purchasing devices for faculty and students (through special government funding and donations), providing devices that could be checked out of the learning center, providing mobile “hot spots,” and expanding internet access in parking lots and public areas. In addition, each program director identified a required device for every degree program beginning in the fall semester.
Prior to the pandemic, each faculty had been trained in the use of the LMS (Canvas). Further virtual training was provided during the spring and summer, and the number of e-learning specialists was expanded so all students could receive training and assistance. College policies that addressed issues ranging from remote work to the use of open educational resources were developed or updated to support the new environment. The college’s course success rate for the spring term of 2020 was 84 percent compared to 83 percent in the spring term of 2019.