REASONS AND RATIONALES, CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES

CUNY’S HYBRID INITIATIVE

George OtteUniversity Director of Academic Technology

CUNY’S HYBRID INITIATIVE(a case study – or a study of cases)

Key Points

• Standards vs. standardization• Definition as a range, not a point (but not a

garden of forking paths either)• Shared motives, goals• A transparency to the process

A LITTLE CONTEXT(just a little)

Some Facts about CUNY

• The world’s largest urban university

• 23 campuses (with half a million students)

• Everyone commutes

• Real estate is expensive

What Motivated the HYBRID INITIATIVE(things you’ve probably already guessed but deserve to have confirmed)

• Maximizing scheduling flexibility for the students’ sake

• Conserving classroom space during a time of enrollment spikes

• Getting “21st-Century” about teaching and learning

• Getting return on our investment in a University-wide LMS

• Getting faculty to talk about and collaborate on pedagogy

• Taking advantage of a generational shift in the faculty

What Realizing Such Motives Would Take(also inferable but worth unpacking)

• Consistency and Definition• Commitment (from the administration, faculty -- all

stakeholders really)• Leadership• Investment (not a lot, but “skin in the game”)• Development (faculty and other…)• Organization (logistics)• Impact (short-term and long-term)• Dissemination (ROI)

What the RFP Actually Said(since there are kinds and degrees of transparency)

“Parameters”• Definition of hybrid as 33-66% online

• Commitment to making online instruction

interactive and substantive

• Regularities in scheduling (standardized

expectations)

• Team approach (bringing together tech staff,

teaching staff, admin, etc.)

• Identified campus leader

• Faculty development as core element

• Enhanced learning as key goal

More on What the RFP Actually Said(since it said a lot for such a short document)

“Criteria”• Impact

– Number of faculty, number of sections,

number of students

– Conservation of classroom space

– Improved learning outcomes

• Capacity to serve as a successful model

• Potential of scalability and sustainability

• Demonstrable campus commitment

The Result(and the winners are….)

Another Result(they talk to each other)

Yet Another Result(they share a blog)

Next Steps for the HYBRID INITIATIVE(you didn’t think it was over, did you?)

• A second RFP has resulted in 6 more campuses joining• All 15 will meet in early April for a general debriefing• Funding for the 2010 is through FY 2011 (the first 9)• Funding for the 2011 is through FY 2012 (the next 6)• And then we’ll see about dissemination, cross-

fertilization, all that good stuff