Using eLearning To Build Workforce Capacity Among Business Professionals

Abstract

In the current evolving economic environment, developing and implementing effective processes to improve the skills and capability of employees are seen as central to improving individual, organizational and national performance and global competitiveness. Recognizing that universities and colleges are critical to their state's growth and economic prosperity, many governors and state policymakers have been considering how best to get more students to both enter college and get college degrees. A growing number of policymakers have come to recognize that higher education, including community colleges, four-year colleges, and research universities, cannot help drive economic growth in their states unless students' academic success is linked to the needs of the marketplace. For example, to address this need, the Louisiana GRAD Act (HB1171) was recently enacted to support the state's post-secondary education institutions in increasing their overall effectiveness. Institutions develop specific measurable performance objectives aimed at improving college completion and meeting the state's current and future workforce and economic development. One of the Act's student success indicators cites, "Increase the use of technology for distance learning to expand educational offerings." At all levels of education, online learning is one of the fastest growing trends in educational uses of technology (www.ed.gov). It is now commonly agreed on that educational benchmarks and expectations can be achieved equally well, and in some cases better, than with traditional face-to-face courses (www.ed.gov). Many faculty choose to combine multiple forms of synchronous and asynchronous online interactions. A successful eLearning experience will use a combination of the technologies most appropriate for the practitioner, the learner group, the course content, and course assessment.