WNCC 2010 Self-Study Report - Western Nebraska Community ...

area at the Alliance and Sidney campuses, as discussed in the Federal Compliance section, page
36. The Dean of Administrative Services serves as the College Security Officer and annually
submits data to the Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education; the
reports are available on the Office of Postsecondary Education’s Campus Security Statistics site.
Multiple Learning Environments
Student learning success is enhanced at WNCC through the availability of multiple learning
environments like face-to-face, online, ITV, and blended courses. Individualized instruction occurs
via directed studies, self-paced independent studies (at the ILAC), and HATC workshops and
training. In the 2008-2009 academic year, WNCC offered courses in the following ways:
Table 7-38 2008-2009 Class Sections by Instructional Method
Instructional Method
Number of
Sections
Percentage
Application (nursing) 110 10
Blended (½ online, ½ face-to-face) 39 3
Dual-credit classes 68 6
ITV Delivery 57 5
Directed Study 36 3
ILAC Independent Study 9 0.8
Internships 21 2
Lecture (traditional structure) 594 53
Occupational (aviation, automotive) 88 8
Online 108 10
Total 1130
Traditional face-to-face classes accounted for only 53% of the class offerings, which breaks the
sometimes too familiar myth that college instructors only “lecture.” Considering that 80% of the
classes incorporate some form of web enhancement and that all classrooms at WNCC contain
technology aids of some type, the stereotype is further exploded.
The majority of instruction (76%) is done by full-time faculty members, providing consistency and
better contact availability for students. Although research in developmental-level education
demonstrates that students succeed better when full-time faculty members are the instructors, it is
easier to find adjunct instructors who are qualified to teach lower-level courses, since the
requirement is either a discipline-specific master’s degree or a master’s degree and eighteen hours
of subject-area graduate coursework to offer transfer courses. Unlike urban areas, there is no
surplus of qualified instructors in the community.
Western Nebraska Community College Page 115