Virtual high school grows under Northwest guidance

Northwest is playing a key role this fall in providing virtual classes to thousands of high school students through the Missouri Virtual Education Program, or MoVIP, a new distance learning initiative administered by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Northwest serves as the vendor for the high school portion of the program, which delivers Web-based instruction via eCollege to more than 1,300 students in ninth through twelfth grade statewide.

Connections Academy of Baltimore, Md., is the vender for the k-5 portion. A middle school component is planned for next year.

Veteran educator Mike Hardy, a Northwest alumnus with 25 years' experience as a teacher, principal and superintendent, joined the University's Center for Information and Technology in Education on May 8 as the secondary instruction MoVip project manager.

Hardy said that, in spite of a few early glitches, MoVip is taking off, and that new students are registering daily even though classes have already started. Students can enroll in up to six courses a semester, a full load considered the equivalent of one "seat." So far, the current secondary enrollment has filled about 5,300 seats of more than 6,000 funded by the state.

If the maximum free enrollment is filled, additional seats can be provided on a tuition basis.

Young people and families are taking advantage of MoVip for a wide range of reasons, Hardy said. Some students want advanced placement courses, others are trying to make up credits after posting poor grades. Still others are home-schooled, homebound or interested in subjects not available in the districts where they live.

"We have 12 boys in one district who are taking Latin," said Hardy, who added that MoVip offers instruction in foreign language, Web design and personal finance in addition to core subjects like history, English, mathematics, science and social studies.

Currently about 40 instructors teach secondary MoVip courses from various locations around the state. The eCollege environment allows them to post video lectures, class notes, assignments, exams and other materials.

Hardy said most of the courses are team taught by a team leader, an instructor, an academic coach -- usually the team member who has the most contact with individual students-- and a teaching assistant, who grades assignments and provides feedback.

Since MoVip launched, Hardy said he has spent a lot of time on the telephone answering calls from students, parents, guidance counselors and others with questions about the program. Some need information about log-ins, passwords and tutorials. Others, he said, "ask the same questions I got when I was a principal" about course selection, grades and completing assignments.

"They're just parents or students seeking advice," Hardy said. "When I answered one parent the other day, they said, 'Thank goodness I got a voice (instead of a recording)' We try to give people that personal contact. I think that's something that Northwest has always tried to do."

One somewhat unexpected benefit from the University's involvement with MoVip has come from the fact that the courseware was built by eCollege, which also constructed the on-line learning environment used by Northwest students.

"We've actually had students say they're coming to Northwest because they're learning the course management system at the entry level," Hardy said. "They're getting a feel for Northwest, and they know they'll be comfortable coming here because they know what Northwest is going to be like."

For more information about secondary instruction through MoVip, call 866.401.7531 or e-mail movip@nwmissouri.edu.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone (660) 562-1704
Fax (660) 562-1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

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