The Continuing Education Division

The 2003-2004 academic year was the first that the College's on-line course enrollments broke the 1000 plateau, with Fall '03, Spring '04 and Summer '04 enrollments totaling 1021. It is likely that total annual enrollments will exceed 1000 into the foreseeable future.

Fall to Fall comparison witnesses enrollments jumping from 283 in '03 to 401 in '04, which is a remarkable 42% increase in a single year. Spring enrollments should evidence similar growth, as the College will offer 23 sections of on-line courses, all prepared for delivery on the SUNY Learning Network (SLN) platform, as compared to 17 sections last year. Average class sizes in on-line courses have grown from 7.3 in Fall 1998 to 23.6 in both '03 and '04.

Full-time and adjunct faculty share the load in on-line instruction, with 8 full-time and 9 adjunct faculty members covering instructional duties during Fall '04. Five new courses are being developed for first time offering during Spring '05, with full-time faculty developing four of them.

According to Dean Baker, the frequency of technical problems and students needing one-on-one assistance with on-line courses has diminished greatly over the past two years. He credits Steve McIntosh, Director of SCCC's Instructional Technology Center, and the SLN Student Help Desk for implementing improvements which have made the on-line experience a good one for most students. As for total annual enrollment, he sees 1300 as an attainable goal for the 2004-2005 academic year.