The document outlines a plan to implement an online continuing education program for insurance CE credits at Saint Joseph's University. The program aims to allow busy professionals more convenience in accessing continuing education. It will deliver online courses developed by Saint Joseph's faculty to students in Pennsylvania and other states. The 12-month implementation plan involves in-house development of course content and a delivery system with tracking features. Progress and student learning will be assessed throughout the year. The budget allocates funds for course development and a delivery system to make the program cost-effective and generate revenue.
1. Online CEDistance Continuing Education: Implementing an Online Option for Insurance CE Credits at Saint Joseph’s University Academy for Risk Management and Insurance By Kelly Anne Martin Saint Joseph’s University
4. Research says… Continuing education is valuable… …but is also a huge investment Time and money are at a premium for busy professionals Distance education allows professionals to access continuing education with more convenience
6. Implementation Deliver online learning developed by Saint Joseph’s university Deliver online learning for students in Pennsylvania and other states Online learning to be developed by the Center for Professional Development (CPD) Implementation team: CPD Staff Academy of Risk Management and Insurance staff and board representation ARMI Continuing Education program instructors Saint Joseph’s University Information Technology Staff Solution to be cost-effective, a goal of the program is to gain revenue Solution to be delivered within 12 months
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8. Outcome of meeting - narrow down possible course delivery options; approve prototype for both course content formatSeptemberPhase 1 – In-House course development
12. Course delivery system must incorporate features including proctored exam and content tracking.October – Phase 1 ongoing, Phase 2 – Delivery System development
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14. Changes and tests with live content of delivery systemNovember – Phase 2 ongoing, Phase 3 – Marketing
15. January – Phase 3 ongoing, Phase 4 – Launch March – Phase 3 and 4 ongoing Phase 5 – Assessment (first assessment) June – Phase 3 and 4 ongoing Phase 5 – Assessment (second assessment)
16. September – Phase 3 and 4 ongoing Phase 5 – Assessment (third assessment) January – Phase 3 and 4 ongoing Phase 5 – Assessment (final assessment)
17. Budget Requirements Adobe Captivate purchase - $800 for one user license Development of course materials – 40 hours for a 2 credit course - @$25.00 / hour - $1,000 Development of course delivery system – TBD after meetings with Saint Joseph’s University Information Technology team. Budget $5,000 for initial development.
18. Assessment Enrollment comparisons from launch vs. end-of-year. Benchmarks to be taken as year progresses. Student goals to be assessed through quizzes developed in course delivery system.
Editor's Notes
This presentation was created for the Distance Communications course in the Masters of Education in Instructional Technology program at Saint Josephs University.
I currently serve as the Web Designer and Instructional Design Specialist at the Center for Food Marketing in Saint Joseph’s University’s Haub School of Business. Our department has expertise creating professional development programs, both in food marketing and in other areas of business. A partnership has been formed with the Academy of Risk Management and Insurance (- the ARMI -) to develop and deliver Continuing Education courses for insurance professionals. Licensed insurance agents are required to take 24 credits of Continuing Education every 2 years, and SJU is positioned well to offer CE to these agents. As the ARMI seeks to grow this business, however, we have come across a few problems related to delivery. Classes are offered on campus, which means that course planning must be based around school breaks. Insurance professionals are busy! It is difficult for professionals to juggle their schedules around the times that we are able to offer CE courses. Additionally, the fact that courses are offered in a physical space means that the program has difficulty drawing students from outside of the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
The solution proposed by the team leading the Continuing Education program is the development of an online insurance Continuing Education offering.
Research has stated that continuing education is a valuable resource for professionals. As providers of CE, we have seen this firsthand from student feedback surveys – rarely do students walk out of a course without a specific mention of how they will be able to use the material moving forward. However, CE is a huge investment of both time and money. In 1996, it was reported that “employers spend over $50 billion per year on formal employee training and education” – and it is doubtful that this number has gone down. Additionally, the time required for CE is high – 24 hours each two year cycle for the insurance industry. That 24 hours does not include the time required to travel to and from the location, either. Distance education has been shown to be a valid alternative for traditional classroom-based continuing education, offering education in a more convenient method.
The goals of this program are two-fold. First, program specific goals include raising the enrollment of the CE program as a whole by 30% in the first year and to raise the enrollment of out-of-state insurance professionals, enrolling 10 out-of-state professionals over a six-month period. Gaining more students will allow the program to continue with its mission of offering not only quality education to insurance professionals, but also to raise money for scholarships for the undergraduate program. Second are course-specific goals. Each course will have different content, but within each course, it is required that students view all course material, and students will need to complete a post-test with 85% accuracy.
There are a number of steps required for implementation. Key assumptions for implementation include the following –The desire to deliver online learning developed by Saint Joseph’s University, for insurance agent students in Pennsylvania and other states. The online learning will be delivered by the professional development side of the Center for Food Marketing, otherwise known as the Center for Professinal Development. The implementation team will include the Center for Professional Development staff, the ARMI staff and board representation, instructors from the ARMI Continuing Education program, and the Saint Joseph’s University Information Technology staff.The solution will need to be cost-effective, as the goal of the program is to gain revenue.Finally, the proposed timeline for delivery of the solution is over a 12-month period.
Implementation will begin in September of 2010, with In-house course development. This stage will consist of the initial development of course materials, with the Instructional Designer from the Center for Professional Development meeting with course instructors, and initial stages of delivery system development. The delivery system is a large part of this project, and initial conversations will help the CPD to narrow down options and requirements before working with information technology to find or develop an appropriate option.
The delivery system will begin to be developed in October, with an ongoing content development. The Center for Professional Development will work with Saint Joseph’s University Information Technology department for this stage.
In November, the course delivery system will be completed, and tests of the content will be conducted to ensure that the course delivery system works as expected. Marketing will begin at the end of the month.
The first launch is intended for January of 2011. Marketing efforts will continue throughout the spring, to encourage new students. As the spring progresses, the Center for Professional Development will perform continual assessment of goals – ensuring that enrollment goals will be met and altering the marketing plan as necessary to meet these goals.
Assessment will continue through September, and in January of 2012, a year after launch, the program will be assessed as a whole.
Budget requirements for this program include the following:Purchase of Adobe Captivate, to create course materials.Development of course materials – time required approximately 40 hours for two coursesDevelopment of course delivery system, the cost of which is to be determined, but the budget for which should be set at $5000 for initial development.
Assessment of goals will be based off of numbers at launch versus end-of-year enrollment numbers.Student goals will be assessed through quizzes that are developed within the course delivery system.It is our hope that this online method will be an excellent option and a way for the ARMI to grow.