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Option C

Option C Advantages:

Option C is the best choice for institutions who have been looking at distance learning for a while but have found the approval too daunting with their current personnel or too expensive or both. Option C is prefect for those institutions who know what they want but need help getting there and getting there in a hurry. Option C is for program approval as well as institutional approval. There are more choices and demands placed on an institution offering DL programs but there are significantly more rewards  Some of the more obvious benefits of the  Q-room are listed below and are shared with Options A and B.

• Administrative travel for meetings and training can be improved while cost due to less travel
• The classroom can benefit by injecting of more live guest speakers and potential employers
• A live conferencing area for grads and the placement department improves services and stats
• Improved training opportunities for all departments can be realized by bringing training in, instead of going out to get it.

Plus:

• Increased enrollments to levels that usually not attainable in a single campus
• Attract students and instructors from all over the country. It no longer requires branch campuses to expand,  expansion is done through additional advertising only
• Placement departments are no longer constricted to the localjob market. The bunching of graduates in the same market is no longer a problem.
• National recognition for an institution's programs are possible when program distance learning is offered
• Admissions people can work from anywhere in an online environment.  Managers can monitor admissions people live online as easily as they can campus personnel. 

Shown below is  a comparsion of activities and costs related to starting an accredited distance learning program.  Ultimately, what Quopax shows is, "it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel." The Quopax staff has been involved in career college distance learning since 1999 and understands how and why the accrediting rules were written and how to create an application that is guaranteed to past muster. 

Actions necessaryto apply and start  a distance learning mode of education in a career college by applying for institutional and programmatic approval	In-House Costs	Time Required	Quopax Costs	Time Required
Hire a distance learning consultant to assit in evaluating what the DL market offers in live web-conferencing that can be integrated into a  content management system (CMS)	$3000-$6000	30-60 days	Inclusive	0 days
Meetings to decide on both synchronous an asynchronous products and services, demonstrations and potential  training	$1000-$2000	Unknown	Inclusive	0 days
Conduct appropriate training throughout the institution that meets the requirements demanded by the accrediting body's approval application	$6000	60-75 days	$4700	30 days
Create the accrediting body application for institutional distance learning and programmatic approval along with all requirements and exhibits	$1500 x 20 courses = $30,000	60-90 days	$5000 for any 20 pre- constructed courses	15-30 days
Gain Approval	NA	Unknown	NA	Guaranteed
Acquire equipment identified in the application for approval, microphones and webcams	$75 per user's desktop	3 days	$75 per user's desktop	3 days
Contract for hosting of the web-conferencing and  content management systems (CMS)	Approx $45,000-$60,000 annually for 200 students	15-30 days	Approx $12,000 annually for 200 students	3 days
Request initial visit from the accrediting body	Unknown	Within the first 6 months	Unknown	Within the first 6 months
Quopax Service Fees	__	__	$10,000	__
Sub Total Required Time	__	160-260 days	__	45-60 days
Sub Total Costs	$85,000- $104,000	__	$31,000- $35,000	__
Totals	$85,000- $104,000	160-260 days	$31,000- $35,000	NA

Note, Gain Approval : Guarantee is exactly what it means. Quopax expects to be paid in two installments. The first half of the total sum of the agreement is due on the signing of the agreement.  The second half is due upon the intital approval letter from the accrediting body. If the accrediting body denies the distance learning application without recourse or ability to resolve concerns then Quopax will refund 100% of the first installment and will not expect any further payments.

Other more subtle reasons why Option C is an excellent choice.

Option C allows more freedom for an institution to assist its residential students. If a student is sent overseas or has to move outside of commuting range from campus, ( which is happening more and more even without moving) there is an alternative for them to stay in school through distance learning. Depending on how a school configs its environment students will be able to attend the exact same classes at the same time with the same teacher and fellow students, a very nice alternative for any student.

A few distance learning courses can be used as safety valves for the Director or Director of education. If students find themselves in temporary crisis that relates to transportation or childcare and they need a month or so to resolve their problems they can opt to take there courses live online and not have to come to campus. They get in one more class and the institution gets them closer to their 60% completion mark

The school can promote itself as being "Green" with an elective course created exactly for this purpose the "Advanced web-conferencing and content management administration" Offering this course introduces all the students to how your distance learning tools work while teaching them get new skills that are universally of value no matter what they are studying. This course is inclusive for those institutions choosing the B or C Option.

Offering the state-the-art in distance learning is always something a local paper would like to talk about,  especially gas at $4.00 a gallon.

Transferring credits to regional or other nationally accredited institutions is always easier when the distance learning environment a student is coming from is superior to the one they will be going into.

The Department of Education region IX/X has designated live online enviornment like the Q-room as residential courses and not as distance learning courses. This designation is very relevant when it pertains to Title IV funding.  There is no waiting until 25% and 75%  of the school year is completed to be eligible for funding distributions in the freshman year.  Under asynchronous distance learning the 25/75 rules applies.