United States Distance Learning Association

Educational experiences can be categorized
within a four-part framework known
as Coldeway’s Quadrants. According to
Coldeway, the purest form of distance
education is asynchronous, in which learners
can access instruction at times and
places convenient to the learner (Simonson,
Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2006)
This work will explore experiences with
asynchronous online programs offered at
Thomas Edison State College.
BACKGROUND
According to Joe Guzzardo, TESC Director
of Communications, a Carnegie Commission
study in the late 1960s indicated that
the state of New Jersey needed to develop
educational resources for diverse groups of
people not served by the established educational
system. One significant group that
report identified as underserved by the
existing colleges were nontraditional adult
students. Based in part on that Carnegie
study, Thomas Edison State College was
founded in 1972. From its inception, TESC
was designed primarily to serve one group
of people: adult learners.
TESC is unique. Never envisioned as a
bricks-and-mortar institution, around a
specific geographic region, or a specific
academic discipline per se, it was developed
around a particular type of student.
Thomas Edison is a public college designed
for adults in New Jersey, and is one of the
oldest institutions dedicated exclusively to
adults in the United States. The college is
recognized as a national center of excellence
in the area of adult education and in
the area of assessing college-level learning
that has been acquired outside of the classroom.
Regionally accredited by the Middle
States Association of Colleges and Schools,
Thomas Edison students are assured a
high standard of quality. The college today
has around 13,000 students; around half of
those students are New Jersey residents,
while the remainder are from all 50 states
and over 70 countries. Additionally, a very
large number of active military personnel
are pursuing their degrees at Thomas Edison
State College. TESC is one of the largest
providers of higher education
programs to the U.S. military (2007).
FLEXIBILITY A KEY INGREDIENT
The core of programs offered at Thomas
Edison State College revolves around
when and where an adult student can
learn, unlike traditional colleges that have
programs that revolve around a specific
place and time that may or may not take
into account the needs of the adult. (J.
Guzzardo, personal communication,
March 29, 2007)
TESC uses Blackboard as its course management
system. Additionally, the TESC
MIS department has developed an online
portal called MyEdison, a very easy-tonavigate
system through which all students
and even applicants enter the college.
The MyEdison portal becomes the de
facto place where students go to class and
earn their degree—where they register for
courses, pay tuition, check grades, view
degree audits, get in touch with mentors,
e-mail other students. All aspects of going
to college can be managed through the
MyEdison/Blackboard portal.
Online classes at Thomas Edison are on
a 12- to 16-week asynchronous timeline.
Students generally log on when it is convenient
for them to post their responses to
readings and to post assignments for
review by faculty members—or mentors,
as they are called at TESC—who supervise
all courses whether they are online or
guided study. Taking an active role in
course discussions is required, unlike in
traditional face-to-face courses that might
enable the student to sit quietly and not
contribute to classroom discussion. Students
do not receive credit for just attending
class as might occur in face-to-face
instruction. Every student must participate
actively in discussions; individuals cannot
58 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4