Four Years of CHLOE Data: What We've Learned About Online Learning Leadership

The CHLOE (Changing Landscape of Online Education) Survey has accumulated four years of data (2016 - 2019) on online learning practices across all sectors of U.S. higher education. Three annual reports have been published and a fourth will appear in April 2020. The survey covers a wide and expanding range of issues affecting the managment of online learning within institutions, including leadership, curriculum, pedagogy, technology, budgeting, quality assurance, student performance, competition and strategic planning. The data are gathered through an annual national survey of Chief Online Officers. Such officers hold a variety of actual titles reflecting their relatively recent creation, as online learning has evolved into a mainstream activity in the majority of U.S. colleges and universities. The CHLOE investigators believe that COOs are the best positioned individuals to grasp the big picture of online learning at their institutions, as captured in the list of CHLOE topics above. The CHLOE surveys have also gathered a good deal of information about COOs themselves. The proposed panel discussion among the CHLOE investigators will summarize the background, characteristics, duties, relationships, and judgments of these critical executives, on whom the success of online learning increasing depends.

Previous CHLOE presentations at OLC and other major conferences have focused on particular topics and presented survey data in detail through PowerPoint presentations. As a departure from this previous practice, the panel format proposed here will allow the investigators to summarize findings broadly to create a nuanced picture of the role of the COO, the challenges of the position, and how it impacts online learning practices, plans, and outcomes.