Exploring Digital & Global Education Discovering Work and Learning Strategies for the New Millennium
SPJC's Model College of the Future

The model college describes the features and functions of the ideal college of the future. It incorporates responses to all the anticipated changes in technology, demographics and economics. It describes what our college will look like and how it will function when we successfully implement our strategic plan.

Features	Description and Benefits
Registration	Learners register by telephone, web form, email request and in person at kiosks in malls, workplaces or on campus. Registration is extremely quick and simple, requiring only the most basic information such as name, address, ss# and a credit card number for billing.
Payment of Fees	Fees paid by credit card by telephone and web form, by check and in person. Some courses & modules are take by subscription, some pay as you go, and some only paid after successful completion.
Educational Offerings	While courses are available in a semester schedule, most of the content and skills can also be learned in "Just in Time" modules which may be taken in various sequences, starting at any time. Modules include exercises for the learner, which may be supported with video, audio, print material, and samples or models. These can be obtained online as well as through the libraries and bookstores. Learners enrolled in modules can exchange email, and do live chat and desktop videoconferencing sessions with their fellow learners and faculty. A specific list of modules will satisfy the requirements for a credit course, and a single module may apply in more than one course.
Credit and non-credit	Learners may subscribe to modules as a workplace performance support system. The subscription gives them full access to the modules for a monthly fee. Completion of modules is recognized but not for credit. Learners may alternatively take modules for college credit. The credits apply toward certificate and degree programs. Modules are also cross -linked to regular semester-long courses so that a course credit may be recognized when a learner completes all the necessary modules. Learners may later transfer modules completed for non-credit by paying the credit differential fee.
Staff Development	Knowledge management helps to make the expertise and skills of faculty members researchable, accessable, and available to colleagues. The web-database allows anyone to search for SPJC experts in a particular skill, field of knowledge, software program, etc. Following the "each one teach one" principle, staff share their expert help with colleagues as well as gain expert help as needed in their jobs. The knowledge management database is supplemented with introductory and advanced modules in many subjects.
Faculty Support Center	The FSC is staffed by experts in instructional design, programming, measurement, graphic design, photography, videography and digital editing. The faculty submit requests (similar to duplicating/word processing requests), and the FSC provides the services. Services are billed to the departments, but somewhat subsidized by the general fund. As faculty collaborate with the FSC experts on these projects they also learn new skills. This knowledge & skill transfer means that faculty will be able to do more and more of the tasks themselves as they gain experience. The FSC staff also provide in-service Just in Time modules and classes to help faculty improve their teaching and learning.
Learner Support Centers	Similar to the FSC, the LSC is staffed by experts in software applications, research, photography and videography. Many students submit mulitmedia projects instead of the text-only papers common in the past. Experts in study skills and learning are on hand to coach and advise students in person and through the web.
Advising & Counseling	Advising and counseling is expanded to address the needs of working adults. It is focused on assessing skills, matching them to current or future job requirements, and directing learners to the particular modules and/or courses that fill the needs. Counselors focus on helping learners become more successful in their current jobs and prepare for advancement.
Credit for Prior Learning	Learners are able to take tests to earn credit for prior learning of skills from non-college sources such as on the job, business training, non-credit courses, etc. The skills tests are module by module.
Performance Standards	Every department and service area has measurable performance standards for its critical functions, and constantly solicits feedback from users to document that the performance is met. For example, the performance standard might be that the phone is always answered by the third ring. By the second ring, every employee should be headed toward the nearest phone. Client surveys and monitoring of the phone lines would indicate how well the standard is being met. Performance standards apply to educational services to learners, as well as to internal services provided by one department to another. The standards are written by the providing department, but are made public. Periodic evaluation of how well each department is doing in meeting the standards is also made public.

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