College adds dean of online learning

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February 12, 2010 - 12:00 AM

Citing its continued growth of the college’s online programs, Allen County Community College trustees approved Thursday a reorganization of its administrative team.

The reorganization will include the addition of a new dean of online instruction position, trustees decided in their regular monthly meeting.

John Marshall, vice president for academic affairs, noted that more than half of the college’s students were enrolled in at least one online course this year, while more than 25 percent take online courses only.

“Online instruction has become its own entity,” Marshall said. “It makes logical sense, that in order for us to continue to plan for our online program’s future, that we add a dean’s position.”

The added revenue generated by having more online students enrolled justifies the cost associated with adding a dean tothe payroll, trustees agreed.

Meanwhile, the college’s dean of instruction will become the dean of the Iola campus, while the college’s dean of outreach instruction, Bob Reavis, will become the dean of the Burlingame campus.

The changes will take effect July 1, the official start of the 2010-11 academic year.

Also, Randy Weber, ACCC’s dean of student affairs, will become vice president of student affairs next year.

With the reorganization, trustees announced that they will not renew the contract of Joyce Fields, ACCC’s dean of instruction.

The college will advertise for the dean of Iola campus and dean of online instruction immediately, trustees said.

Marshall said he was uncertain whether the dean of online instruction will be based in the Iola or Burlingame campus.

“We don’t want to limit ourselves when considering candidates,” he said. “It could be at either place.”

Contracts for Reavis, Weber and Steve Troxel, vice president for finance and operations, were extended through the 2011-12 by a vote of 5-1, Trustee Jim Talkington opposed.

Talkington told the Register that he favored seeing all administrators work on a one-year rolling contract instead of two.

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