Frequently Asked Questions about MSBA Online Consortium

MSBA Online is an initiative of MSBA in cooperation with the College of Education at the University of Missouri, and MOREnet and established for the purpose of providing high quality online learning resources to Missouri’s public school districts. Resources are being developed by Missouri public school districts, Missouri institutions of higher education, and selected private-sector partners and are available to consortium members through MSBA Online.

By leveraging the resources of its members, the consortium has the ability to provide high-quality K-12 online courses that are developed and delivered by Missouri educators; tied to Missouri standards for curriculum and instruction; and aligned with Missouri assessments.

The MSBA Online Consortium enables Missouri public school districts to access:

• online courses for K-12 students;
• professional development to develop and/or evaluate online courses;
• policies and regulations involving the use of technology; and
• evaluation tools and resources.

The MSBA Online Consortium acts on behalf of members to obtain preferred pricing, discounted pricing, bulk purchasing opportunities, and/or other resources from other partners.

The MSBA Online Consortium provides input into the development of resources by Missouri institutions of higher education and provides marketing for:

• online K-12 courses developed by the institution;
• dual credit and college credit courses for Missouri K-12 students;
• professional development to assist K-12 districts in creating online courses and incorporating technology in instructional practices; and
• a facilitated transition from secondary to postsecondary education for students.

MSBA District Membership ensures access to MSBA Online with no additional fees. Districts must submit a signed MSBA Online Consortium Agreement, available on the MSBA website, prior to participation as a Consumer of courses for its students and/or Provider of courses for students in other MSBA Online member districts.

MSBA Affiliate Membership with annual dues of $3600 ensures access to MSBA Online. Colleges and universities must submit a signed MSBA Online Consortium Agreement for IHEs, available on the MSBA website, prior to serving as a Provider of courses and/or professional development.

No, MSBA membership ensures access to services.

The advantages are discounted pricing with preferred pricing through MSBA Online. You may enroll through other means, but MSBA Online is committed to having the lowest prices available for member districts.

There is an emphasis on the development and delivery of high quality K-12 courses, which are developed and taught by Missouri educators, tied to Missouri standards for curriculum and instruction, and aligned with the Missouri assessment systems.

A district will find information and resources related to development, evaluation, and delivery of online learning in one place.

The College of Education at the University of Missouri is supporting the development of high quality online K-12 courses through its “Mizzou K-12 Online” program.

Courses running from 6/11/12 to 8/7/12 are:

• Anatomy and Physiology Honors
• Medieval Studies
• Music Appreciation
• Healthy Living (Personal Health)
• Government in the United States (American Government)

Courses running from 8/27/12 to 12/21/12 are:

• Anatomy and Physiology Honors
• Medieval Studies
• Music Appreciation
• Healthy Living (Personal Health)
• Government in the United States (American Government)
• Communication Arts/English I
• Communication Arts/English II
• Communication Arts/English III
• Communication Arts/English IV
• Algebra I

Plans are underway for the development and availability of several foreign language courses as well as courses in personal finance and other social studies, mathematics, communication arts, science, and advanced areas. High school courses are the primary focus with plans for middle school courses by 2014 and elementary courses by 2015.

As an initial partner of the MSBA Online initiative, the College of Education at the University of Missouri has designated significant resources to the development of high quality K-12 online courses to provide the foundation for the MSBA Online Course Catalog.

Discussions are underway with Missouri school districts and other institutions of higher education for the evaluation and inclusion of courses to the MSBA Online K-12 interactive course catalog. More courses will be added in July for the upcoming school year.

The information is available at http://online.msbanet.org. Please click on “K-12 Courses” to access information about K-12 courses and the course providers.

MSBA is committed to offering high quality K-12 courses to school districts with preferred pricing available through MSBA Online. As an example, “Mizzou K-12 Online” offers its courses at the discounted rate of $280 per student per semester per course through the MSBA Online interactive catalog for MSBA Online members. The fee for non-members is $350.

The course catalogs for K-12 courses and for professional development related to course development and delivery are located at http://online.msbanet.org, where "K-12 Courses" and "Professional Development" are available.

Select a course, enter the number of district students to be registered for the course, enter district contact information, and submit. These steps calculate the costs to your district; revise the number of seats available for other districts; and send notification to the course provider of the district’s registration. Similar processes are used for professional development.

After receiving the notification, the provider will contact the designated district contact from the registration form. Your district will be billed by the course provider.

The course provider will also make arrangements for the enrollment of students, the hardware and connections needed to deliver the courses, and how grades will be reported to the district.

No money or personally identifiable information about district students or teachers will be handled by MSBA. Financial and confidential information will only be shared between the district and the course provider.

Most districts will purchase stand-alone courses for which the district retains responsibility for the supervision of students.

However, some course providers may provide content only, at a fee less than the stand-alone course fee, for delivery by a district teacher. This enables your students to engage in interactive activities with learning objects embedded in the course to enhance learning and understanding. It gives a teacher interested in online learning an opportunity to experience the potential for instruction without having responsibility for the design of the course until they are more at ease.

"Stand-alone" means that the direct instructional processes occur between online instructor and student through the learning space designed and overseen by the online instructor. Students and instructor interact in that learning space.

Some districts choose to use a computer or other device lab model with an adult mentor for any number of students enrolled in a single online course. The students are engaged with the activities and lessons designed by the online instructor while the mentor assists as needed.

Some districts choose to have a lab model with an adult mentor for any number of students enrolled in any number of online courses. For example, a single classroom may provide internet access and supervision/mentoring for a student enrolled in math, another in government, etc.

It is not required that the district employee, providing supervision and student assistance, have certification for the course. The course provider will ensure the online instructor has the required credentials to teach the course.

However, the district will want to ensure that the person supervising the online learning has the ability to provide help and assistance with the course work. The person must also have any certification necessary to supervise students in Missouri schools and to avoid liability issues about student safety.

There is much flexibility with online learning. Some districts allow students to access the courses from home, public libraries, and other venues where wireless access is available. Student work and progress is monitored weekly by the online instructor. The online instructor will work with your designated district contact for monitoring student progress, recording progress notes as needed by the district, and determining final grades.

If “access anywhere, anytime” is allowed by the district for a student to take an online course, compliance with the requirements for the administration of Missouri End-of-Course (EOC) examinations for any applicable course is required, such as on-site attendance for testing.

In 2009, Missouri enacted Revised Statute 162.1250, stating "the school district may offer instruction in a virtual setting using technology, intranet, and Internet methods of communication that may take place outside of the regular school district facility."

The district is not required to keep track of attendance. "For purposes of calculation and distribution of state school funding, attendance of a student enrolled in a district or charter school virtual class shall equal, upon course completion, 94% of the hours of attendance possible for such class in a non-virtual setting……Course completion shall be calculated in two increments, fifty percent completion and one hundred percent completion, based on the student's completion of defined assignments and assessments, with distribution of state funding to a school district…at each increment equal to 47% of hours of attendance possible."

According to RSMO 162.1250, "nothing in this section shall preclude a private, parochial, or home school student residing within a school district offering virtual courses or virtual programs from enrolling in the school district in accordance with the combined enrollment provisions of section 167.031 for the purposes of participating in the virtual courses or virtual programs."

Some districts have part-time and/or combined enrollment status available for students not enrolled full-time, such as home-schooled students, and allow access to the online courses provided by the district. State funding is available for online courses provided by the district.

The online instructor serves as the “teacher of record” for the district. His/her responsibilities are to facilitate the learning of the students; monitor progress; provide intervention when needed; communicate frequently with the student and the district contact person; and give progress reports as needed by the school district.

The MSBA Online recommendation is total course enrollment not exceed 25 students per online instructor for any one course.

Internet access and a device (desktop, laptop, notebook, or tablet) are required. The courses are listed by Learning Management System used by the provider, such as Moodle, Angel, Blackboard, etc., to ensure compatibility with district systems. Questions may be directed to the course provider about specific needs.

A district must be fully accredited by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to offer courses in the MSBA Online K-12 Course Catalog. Any open seats in courses developed and taught by district teachers may be submitted electronically to the MSBA Online course catalog for purchase by other member districts. Course fees are determined by the Provider.

Course fees are usually set on a per student/per course/per semester basis. The district is responsible for determining its own course fees, based on the costs involved in the development and delivery of courses.

MSBA Online will assess member districts a $15 per student administrative fee for any student enrolled in a course the district is providing. Unfilled seats will not be subject to this administrative fee.

MSBA Online requires "preferred pricing," which means the lowest price for any course is only available through the consortium as a member benefit.

A submission form is found at http://online.msbanet.org for use by districts. The district will be asked to review the course using the recommended standards for high quality courses available on the website. After submission and review by MSBA Online staff, the district will be notified of acceptance or need for revision for the course, prior to inclusion in the MSBA Online K-12 Course Catalog.

MSBA Online has partnered with the Quality Matters (QM) Program, as recommended by the MSBA Online Course Quality Committee and approved by the Advisory Board. The "Grades 6-12 Edition – QM's Rubric Standards (2010)" will serve as the basis of the course evaluation systems developed through MSBA Online. The standards are available on the MSBA Online website.

QM is a premiere accrediting system that has historically been involved in course development, review, and accreditation for postsecondary education in 575 institutions in over 45 states. The program is active in many of the Missouri institutions of higher education and has recently begun work in the K-12 realm of education.

Professional development will be offered to assist in the development of online courses by district teachers beginning with an “Online Learning Boot Camp,” hosted at the MOREnet offices in Columbia in partnership with MSBA and the MU College of Education. Two sessions are scheduled: July 9-12 and July 16-19, 2012.

In addition to professional development for course evaluation, QM provides course development training for member districts through webinars and on-site, if needed. MSBA Online provides access to the QM program with a 25% discount for services. To receive the discount, MSBA Online members must access the services through MSBA Online.

Missouri institutions of higher education have professional development events listed on the MSBA Online website to assist teachers and districts with online learning.

As a consortium member, MOREnet offers professional development targeted for the use of technology in online learning, technical advice and support for member school districts, assistance with videoconferencing software, and the provision of internet access.

An MSBA Online member districts must also be a member of MOREnet to access the services provided solely by MOREnet.