The California Community College Online Education Initiative is piloting an online course exchange that will enable students from any participating California Community College to enroll in and complete a course at another participating college. The courses will easily apply toward completion of a degree at their home college. Ventura College was one of the selected pilots to test the exchange program, and a few specific courses are part of this exchange that started in the Spring of 2015. The Online Education Initiative (OEI) is a collaborative effort among California Community Colleges (CCCs) to ensure that significantly more students are able to complete their educational goals by increasing both access to and success in high-quality online courses.
The OEI is sponsored by the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, in partnership with the Butte-Glenn Community College District and its CCC Technology Center at Butte College as recipients of a $56.9 million five-year grant disbursed by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO). The Online Education Initiative represents a comprehensive and collaborative program that leverages best practices and technology to significantly increase the opportunity for higher education degree attainment in California.
The OEI also uses a course review process to ensure the quality of the courses that are offered in the exchange. Exemplary online instructors applied and were selected along with their course content to participate in the exchange. Eric Martinsen (English), Mark Pauley (Psychology), Allison Jones (Sociology), and Ara Khanjian (Economics) are currently teaching courses in the OEI exchange. It is important to note that an OEI course and the faculty member teaching that course is a state wide distinction in teaching excellence in online education at the California Community Colleges.
Students who would like to participate in the exchange must be registered students at Ventura College first. The exchange offers a limited number of seats to Ventura College students so you will want to register early. Students will need to use the Student OEI registration system to apply, but they must be in good standing with Ventura College first.