Beginning in June of 2013, the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) appointed the Task Force on Postsecondary Online Education in Florida to create a report to improve online learning services and programs within the state. The Task Force completed a strategic report that detailed its findings and recommendations for Florida’s future online learning initiatives. The report has been well received by the Florida Board of Governors and will be used to push education initiatives.
The report was introduced to the Board of Governors at its meeting on January 15, 2014 by Dr. Nancy McKee, Associate Vice Chancellor. She explained the membership of the Task Force included representatives from universities, colleges, the private sector, Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC), and the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). These Task Force members were asked to be a part of this initiative due to their various expertise surrounding academic affairs, student affairs, distance learning, technology, marketing, work force, and data collection.
Dr. McKee explained at the meeting, “We needed to approach this initiative by looking at it from several different angles, so the wide range of expertise was invaluable to the Task Force.”
The Task Force’s charge included reviewing 13 different areas and recommend strategies for better coordinating services and online programs in the post-secondary institutions to ensure state economic development needs and student demands are being met in an effective and cost-efficient manner.
The topics for review were distributed among three committees. Over the course of 6 months, the Committees conducted research and participated in roughly 31 meetings and conferences that resulted in the comprehensive and strategic report. The recommendations are the product of the Task Force members’ research, discussions, and best efforts in keeping Florida on the leading edge of online education. The report also keeps in mind the needs of students, faculty, and work force initiatives by recommending services that better data collection, information sharing, and online student involvement. Task Force Members identified major trends influencing Florida’s online learning initiatives such as open educational resources, adaptive learning software, and Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs).