Mapping the Landscape of Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Services in Communication Centers

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore

The study examines how communication skill centers adapt services for diverse metropolitan-university clients and an expanding online student population. After piloting asynchronous (submit-and-respond) and synchronous (real-time video) mediated offerings, the authors investigate how similar centers engage online services to support learners’ needs. The paper reviews key literature on the evolution of distance and online education, clarifies the role of communication centers in this shift, and outlines a methodology to report and analyze study results.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Literature Review

Online Education

Role of Communication Centers

Methodology

Results

Discussion

Mapping the Landscape of Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Services in Communication Centers Kristen McIntyre University of Arkansas at Little Rock Alexandria Hall University of Arkansas at Little Rock Centers In our Communication Skill Center we are dedicated to adapting our services in order to best meet the needs of our clients. Considered a metropolitan university, the majority of our students are working professionals, parents, older students, and/or transfer students. Recently, in addition to our regular online course offerings which allow students to move between traditional face-to-face courses as well as online courses, our campus launched an online only degree track for students. Given the diverse nature of our clients as well as our growing online student population, we felt it was necessary to explore how our center could offer and support online mediated services. For the past two years we have incrementally developed and piloted our asynchronous (submit and respond) and synchronous (real time video) online service offerings. It was through our experience of building online mediated services that we were motivated to learn more about what other centers around the country are doing to meet the needs of their clients. Consequently, through this study, we hoped to learn how our fellow centers are engaging in online mediated services. In this article, we first explore briefly the relevant literature. Second, we present the methodology for the study. Third, we report the results. Finally, we analyze the results in the discussion section. Literature Review Communication centers have served an invaluable role on our respective campuses as early as the 1940s (Sapolsky & Byrd, 1986) . With the increase of online learning, it is understandable that communication centers must wrestle with how best, if at all, to accommodate these new types of student needs. In the following section, we first briefly review the evolution of online education. Second, we explore the existing literature related to the role communication centers currently play in the online landscape. Online Education Bower and Hardy (2004) as well as Lease and Brown (2009) beautifully chronicle the evolution of distance learning. Distance learning “has at its base the ability for students to receive instruction away from the traditional classroom”(Lease & Brown, 2009, p. 415). Beginning as early as 1728 with correspondence work via postal mail, distance learning became extremely popular toward the end of the 19th century (Bower & Hardy, 2004) . Correspondence learning transitioned from the problematic mail system to the emerging technology of radio and telephone in the 1920’s and then television in the 1950’s (Lease & Brown, 2009) as various universities broadcast courses over channels. With the onset of two-way live transmissions in the 1980’s, we began to see the availability of asynchronous form of distance education in video conferencing. In 1989 we were introduced to the personal computer (Lease & Brown, 2009), what we currently know asthe World Wide Web (Perry & Pilati, 2011), and, consequently, what we conceptualize as online learning. Moore, Dickson-Deane, and Gaylen (2011) provide a synthesized understanding of online learning as “access to learning experiences via the use of some technology”(p. 130) . With the rise of the personal computer and World Wide Web, the field of higher education slowly began to adopt online learning in the 21st century,“In 2002, over 1.6 million postsecondary students were enrolled in online courses, and six years later, this number had almost tripled”(Perry & Pilati, 2011, p. 95) . 2010 reported a 17 percent growth rate for online enrollment, which exceeded the 1.2 percent growth rate of the overall student population (Allen & Seaman, 2010) . In 2014, 5.8 million students were enrolled in at least one online course (Friedman, 2016) . In 2005, at our own institution, students were enrolled in 51,32

FAQs

Why did the communication center explore online mediated services?

The center needed to support a growing online student population and diverse client needs, including an online-only degree track alongside existing course options.

What online service formats were piloted over the past two years?

The center incrementally developed asynchronous services (submit and respond) and synchronous services delivered via real-time video.

How does the article frame the evolution of online education?

It traces distance learning from early correspondence work through radio, telephone, television, and later two-way transmissions, personal computers, and the World Wide Web, leading to modern online learning.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore