High Impact Practices (HIPs) have been getting a lot of attention recently. And why not? With data linking them to increased retention, persistence, and course satisfaction (Kuh, 2008) HIPs seem like a guaranteed ticket to academic success! However, rallying behind one or more HIP can seem like a daunting task when it comes to online education. Many faculty who are passionately dedicated to high impact practices in the classroom give these up when faced with online courses, sensing that strategies that work in a face-to-face setting often don't carry over into a digital environment (Strait & Nordyke, 2015). As online courses are a popular option at Tulsa Community College, we decided to see if we could find ways to overcome many of the perceived barriers to blending high impact practices with online education. In this presentation, we share our positive experiences with various digital service-learning methods and models we encountered, along with some lessons we learned along the way.
We pay particular attention to how adding service-learning improved our ability to meet Quality Matters Standards 5.1 and 5.2, standards that help ensure quality assurance. We have become firm believers that students who take online courses for the flexibility and convenience they afford should not be marginalized in their access to high impact practices.
We will interact with our audience throughout the presentation. In addition to surveying our audience about their knowledge of high impact practices, distributing sample projects and assessments, and demonstrating of a fully online service project, we will answer any questions our audience has throughout the presentation.
