Processes (P)

1P7 Building Effective Course Delivery Systems

Western develops program offerings and delivery methods based on student needs, feedback from accrediting bodies, transfer institution requirements, business and industry needs, assessment, and planning and budgeting processes.

To meet the needs of the majority of full-time day students, Western provides over 95 percent of enrollments in coursework during traditional class times. Some courses are offered on varied schedules to accommodate students who need classes at night or weekends. Online courses meet the needs of students who cannot come to campus for classes. Distance Education provides televised and online courses. For AY 2005/06, 1,253 enrollments in 101 course sections were offered in a distance education format or delivered off-campus. The effectiveness of distance coursework is evaluated from reports from instructional faculty and a special evaluation form completed by students in every course every semester. These evaluations have been positive.

Many on-campus courses use WebCT as a part of the instructional mix. Currently, over 250 on-campus course sections use WebCT.

Academic departments prepare the course schedules based on an analysis of past student enrollments and projected enrollments. Chairs, using this analysis, plan effective and efficient schedules for each semester. Deans of each college review the proposed class schedule to assure that student needs are met and that class schedules make efficient use of resources. Over 90 percent of the seats available for general education courses are filled each semester.