In 1998, several leaders of the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) came together in collaboration to develop a program that would increase the quality and availability of online learning. This program became known as the Virtual Learning Community (VLC). The VLC has provided a means by which all 58 colleges in the NCCCS develop and gain accesses to courses, materials, student, staff, and faculty support as well as technical assistance in offering distance education opportunities for students. While working in collaboration through the VLC, each college has been able to maintain individual autonomy in providing students with degree programs directly. Over the course of its existence, the Steering Committee of Presidents from the NCCCS has expanded the VLC to play a more active role, including not only developing course content and materials but also brokering course content for telecourses and video conferencing courses offered through the North Carolina Information Highway (NCIH). As an integral component of the NCCCS, the VLC has played a vital role in the sustainability of distance education.
The Virtual Learning Community is a digital library of ready-to-go and easy-to-adapt online courses. The VLC contains credit and noncredit courses that could be tailored to the specific needs of each college. Courses have been developed to carefully correlate to the Combined Course Library description and education objectives which provide colleges a large repository of course options. The VLC concept was ahead of its time in 1998, when it began as an idea to collaborate in developing online course content for all 58 community colleges in North Carolina. This concept provided a process to reduce costs of development and editing of courses while enhancing the quality of courses through collaboration of content experts throughout the community college system. Online courses and web materials developed by VLC course development centers become shared property of all colleges within the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS). The VLC library currently consists of 248 curriculum courses and 38 continuing education courses that complete 33 online degrees, with an additional 25 courses being developed in the 2009-10 fiscal year.
In 2008, the scope of the VLC expanded to include support centers addressing distance learning quality and assessment, professional development, and technology. The Quality and Assessment Center, located at Surry Community College, ensures that the distance learning objects, modules, courses, and programs are pedagogically sound and that resources are being used in the areas of greatest need. The Professional Development Center, located at Wake Technical Community College, assesses professional development needs of faculty and instructors and develops learning resources to enhance abilities in distance learning instructional design and use of the statewide North Carolina Learning Object Repository (NCLOR). The Technology Center, located at Fayetteville Technical Community College, develops and researches new and interactive methods to enhance learning and transform educational environments of distance learning courses. The VLC development and support centers are funded through grants and state appropriations by a Request for Proposal (RFP) process open to all 58 community colleges.
The Virtual Learning Community (VLC) celebrates its 10th year. From the 1998-99 school year to 2008-09, the VLC has been part of the impetus within the NC Community College System that has allowed for unprecedented growth in distance learning. The concept has proven itself through the longevity of the program. From year to year, the processes, involvement of the colleges, and the quality of the products have improved.
By any measure the VLC has been a rousing success because its fundamental concept continues to be powerful. The "VLC concept" is built upon:
- Efficient use of centralized funding to broker development of high-use online courses;
- Enrollment of experienced community college instructors, Distance Learning (DL) administrators, instructional designers, and university faculty to develop these courses;
- Selection of community colleges to host Development Centers or Editing Centers via competitive RFP process;
- Freely sharing newly developed courses among all 58 NCCCS institutions;
- Timely update of high-use online courses; and
- Targeted development of online courses to provide complete associates degrees.
From a practical perspective, the VLC reduced development costs in the form of funds and talent, yet magnified benefits to all colleges. In addition, a unique spirit of collaboration was also born of the VLC process.