College of the Redwoods

Location:

College of the Redwoods is a public community college located on the north coast of California. Serving Del Norte and Humboldt counties, parts of western Trinity County, and coastal Mendocino County, CR has one of the largest service areas in California. Home to nearly 280,000 residents, the district covers almost 10,000 square miles. With a population of more than 27,000, Eureka is the largest city in the service area and is home to CR’s largest campus. Eureka’s nearest metropolitan neighbors are more than 260 miles to the south (San Francisco) and 420 miles to the north (Portland, Oregon).

Academics:

Devoted to the success of each of its students, College of the Redwoods offers over 1,000 different classes. These courses and programs cover a broad range of topics and subjects in everything from plant science, bookkeeping, computer science, woodworking, and dental assisting, to game art and animation, early childhood education, restaurant management, manufacturing technology, and nursing. The College offers A.S. and A.A. degrees, as well as numerous certificate options.

2009-2010 Statistics:

• Enrollment: 43,531 total, Online Enrollment= 4,134


• Unduplicated Head Count: 10,764 total, Online=1,840


• Men: 49% total, Online=30%


• Women: 51% total, Online=70%


• Largest student demographic age: Age 18-24 all students 42%, Online=25-29 at 23% and 30-39 at 20%


• Success Rates (earned A, B, or C grade): 68% face-to-face, 59% online


• Retention Rates: 89% face-to-face, 84% online

Sakai Implementation:

College of the Redwoods replaced their Blackboard LMS with Sakai in Summer 2009.  They are running the rSmart CLE and are hosted by rSmart. The implementation is managed by a combination of IT staffing and Distance Education personnel. The implementation involves automatic creation of a course shell for every course each term, along with auto population of registered students and faculty of record in each course. Faculty teaching face-to-face classes determine how much they will use Sakai to enhance their couses. Over 85% of face-to-face faculty use Sakai in some way for their courses.  Faculty teaching at a distance receive full support from the Distance Education department for instructional design, multimedia development, and faculty training.  The extent of support is dependent on faculty needs and requests.

Currently, College of the Redwoods offers over 110 courses online.  Assuming accrediting body approval, by Fall 2011 College of the Redwoods will offer up to 10 full degrees and 6 full certificate programs completely online.