By Edmond Ortiz
Alamo Colleges District board voted unanimously on Oct. 28 to approve the creation of a School for Online Learning, which ACD officials said will unify the district’s 160-plus online programs under a one coordinated framework.
What you should know
According to a press release, combining all of the ACD’s online programs will help to shore up consistency, connection, and quality across the district’s five campuses. The move also helps working adults, student parents, and others seeking a more flexible path to a college degree or credential, district officials added.
Alamo Colleges District has seen a sharp rise in students enrolling in online programs over the past seven years. The district enrolled more than 7,000 online students in 2018; this fall, 18,320 students are enrolled entirely online.
According to the release, most online learners enrolled in fall 2024 were adult students balancing career, family, and academic pursuits.
Almost 5,000 of online students were student-parents, and almost half were considered economically disadvantaged, the release stated. The district aims to serve 25,000 fully online learners by fall 2029.
What they are saying
District officials said the School for Online Learning will build upon its current online learning system, which has produced new instructional design efforts, the expansion of micro-credential programs, and opportunities for students to earn credit for previous learning experiences.
This fall, Alamo Colleges became the nation’s first higher education institution to receive the Quality Matters Endorsement for Course Design Quality Assurance, recognizing high standards in online course design and student engagement.
“With the School for Online Learning, we’re creating a more cohesive experience for our students, one that reflects the same quality and support they would expect from any classroom across our colleges,” Mike Flores, ACD chancellor, said in a statement.
Aside from the School for Online Learning, the community college district is developing a School of Emerging Technology and a School of Nursing.
ACD officials said these two new schools will bolster partnerships with local industries to ready students for high-demand, high-opportunity careers.
These schools are partially supported by the ACD’s recently approved $987 million bond, which will fund new academic and workforce facilities districtwide.
