Huntington Junior College Raises Distance Ed Retention with Second Life Mash-up

Online program leverages Campus Management's integration and support of Moodle

BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- While large public universities
and their ERP software vendors theorize how Higher Education can embrace
social networks and open source, a small but innovative junior college in West
Virginia is already delivering education through a one-stop-shop web portal
that integrates with Moodle and Second Life. Results so far suggest stronger
student persistence in its distance education programs -- and happier faculty.
In 2007, Huntington Junior College (HJC) teamed with Campus Management
Corp., a leading provider of enterprise software to Higher Education, to
participate in the company's CampusLearning early adopter program.
CampusLearning is a suite of services that provides for real-time, two-way
integration between proprietary portals and student information systems and
the Moodle open source course management systems. Users of Moodle, meanwhile,
have achieved a mash-up with virtual world leader, Second Life, to create
Sloodle, a three-dimensional interactive world for campuses and classes.
Nine other institutions are now using CampusLearning to complement or
replace proprietary learning management systems. The institutions are provided
24/7 helpdesk support for students and instructors, and they leverage the
company's fully hosted environment, including integration to Campus
Management's portals and student system, achieved using the company's
application programming interfaces (APIs). Most recently, another smaller
college, Huertas Junior College, is deploying the integrated system in both
English and Spanish, using Campus Management's support for Moodle's language
pack.
Achieving a truly virtual campus
Since the inauguration of Campus Management's early adopter program, HJC
reports a 16% increase in its retention of students in its online programs,
improving persistency to 80%. Faculty report a 50% reduction in administrative
workloads, courtesy of Campus Management's bi-directional links between its
CampusVue student administrative system and Moodle learning management system.
"The integration of Moodle through the CampusLearning program has
delivered on its promise of improving the academic and administrative
landscape at HJC," said Cathy Snoddy, Ph.D., assistant director at Huntington
Junior College. "The student information system has to let you understand and
manage your students. Campus Management recognizes the trends in education;
the people who work there are smart. They know students need 24/7 access to
their records and course information, so they developed the portal aspects to
CampusLearning that help facilitate interaction and keep people and
departments better connected. That's what makes this relationship work."
By creating a "social presence" using a mash-up of Second Life and Moodle,
called Sloodle, in coordination with Campus Management's student information
system, HJC has created a full-service virtual campus that enhances
faculty-student interaction while automating management of rosters, grades,
drop/adds, and other administrative chores. Students log in once to the
college's portal, and can leap into their Second Life campus, attend class,
and participate in online cafe conversations.
"We are trying to overcome the distance you feel in distance education by
being socially connected," Snoddy said. "You develop socially as well as
intellectually in college. That is the challenge for all educators.
CampusLearning helps make the relationship real between students and HJC no
matter where learning takes place."
This initiative has been so successful that Cathy Snoddy was recently
awarded the opportunity to submit a best practice session, Sloodle in the
Distance Ed Classroom, at the E-Learn 2008 World Conference on E-Learning in
Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education to be held in Las
Vegas, Nevada, USA, November 17-21, 2008. A case study on how Huntington
Junior College is raising distance education retention with Second Life
mash-up can be found at: www.campusmgmt.com/clients/customers_hjc.asp
About Campus Management Corp.
More than 1,100 college and university campuses worldwide rely on Campus
Management for efficient, scalable, and flexible administrative and academic
solutions to enhance institutional performance. Campus Management's One Campus
Ecosystem platform is a fully integrated, centralized administrative and
e-learning solution that unifies the management and reporting of traditional
and non-traditional postsecondary education programs.
Campus Management's award-winning technology addresses virtually every
aspect of the student and administrative lifecycle, including enrollment,
academics and e-Learning, finance, human resources, advancement and alumni
relations. Rapid implementation, robust and flexible software applications,
and responsive support are further enhanced by CampusNet's turnkey approach to
infrastructure security, continuity, support, and maintenance for all your
enterprise needs. Learn more at: www.campusmanagement.com.
About Huntington Junior College
Founded in 1936 as a private institution of higher education, Huntington
Junior College is a comprehensive, open-admission junior college located in
the easily-accessible urban area and serving residents of the Tri-State area
of West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. Huntington Junior College has been
granted accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission.
Huntington Junior College is committed to providing an equal opportunity
educational experience to ensure student learning, validate student outcomes,
and promote academic excellence through a qualified and dedicated faculty,
staff, and administration. The College provides quality education in seven
two-year associate degree programs and three diploma programs. While adapting
to the changing needs of society, the College has remained true to its mission
throughout its long history. For more information please visit
www.huntingtonjuniorcollege.edu or call (304) 697-7550 or (800) 344-4522.
Campus Management Corp., CampusLearning, and One Campus Ecosystem are
trademarks of Campus Management Corp., which may be registered in the U.S. and
other countries. CampusLearning functions independently from (and is not
bundled with or required to be used with) CampusVue. Moodle is a registered
trademark of the Moodle Trust. Campus Management is not associated with the
Moodle Trust. For more information, visit www.moodle.com.
SOURCE Campus Management Corp.

Lisa Patterson of Campus Management Corp., +1-561-241-2193,
lpatterson@campusmgmt.com