The Ohio Learning Network was established by the Board of Regents in 1999 to
help Ohioans find educational programs and to assist colleges and universities
as they use technology to improve teaching and learning. A consortium of 81 member
institutions, OLN is respected by its members. In a survey of its member institutions,
96% found OLN's resources helpful to daily work, 86% believed OLN is a successful
organization, and 72% believed that OLN is a catalyst for change.
In the past eight years, OLN has:
- created an online catalog of 211 degrees and certificates
and 4100 courses used by more than 350,000 Ohioans annually
- jump-started 2500 adults into online learning with E 4 ME, an online course with no fault,
no fail guarantees. Ohioans who complete the course are assigned an E Guide to
assist with transition to college and can use their certificate of completion
for reduced admissions or enrollment fees at selected Ohio colleges.
E 4 ME has received three national awards.
- funded nearly $6 million in grants for collaborative course and degree
development resulting in 28 new programs available at a distance
- supported 1490 Learning Communities of more than
3000 individuals from 49 institutions that provide authentic faculty and staff
development, are transforming practices on campus and improving learning environments
- developed a web-based clearinghouse of teaching and learning and student support resources used by more than 1000
faculty and administrators
- created a quality quality framework for faculty
to self review on-line courses ensuring Ohioans have high-quality courses
- worked with hundreds of students to help them find a college "home"
- piloted a shared CMS hosting service on
commercial and open source platforms
- sponsored an annual statewide conference attended by 400 faculty,
staff, and students and consistently rated by more than half of the participants
as "the best conference I attend"
- provided statewide discounts up to 25% off the original cost of educational
technology software, saving campuses more than $117,000 annually
- aggregated services to provide a 35% discount in cost for online tutoring
(Smarthinking), allowing institutions to offer 24 x 7 tutoring to distance learning
students
- designed a best practices review
for services provided to students at a distance ensuring that accompanying student
services are of equal high quality
- helped Ohio higher educational institutions improve their Web-based
student services through use of the
WCET CENTSS Audit
