Russell adds that almost 50 percent of her clinical laboratory science students are distance-learners, and “Tegrity has just really been a life-saver for our distance program for the faculty.� The sentiment is echoed by officials from Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Ala., who say they plan to use Tegrity to help teach their booming population of immigrant Hispanic students.

“ESL students are our fastest-growing student population. We have an increase of about 124 percent over the last two or three years,� says Jimmy Duke, the college’s distance-education coordinator and the chairman of the division of health and natural sciences. “We have considered using Tegrity in sort of an innovative way, where once you create one of these recordings, you can actually dub over the instructor’s voice. We would like to consider, for some of our courses, over-dubbing with a native Spanish speaker.�

Calhoun’s Dr. Theresa Hamilton, vice president for instruction and student services, says retention is a particular problem at Calhoun and other community colleges. Many of their commuter students have full-time jobs, families to support and a myriad of other adult responsibilities that prevent them from graduating, she says. At Calhoun, Tegrity has helped the students integrate classwork into already-hectic schedules, and take classroom lectures wherever life takes them.

“Previously, if a student would move in the 10th week of a 15-week course, you’d have to drop out of Calhoun Community College,� she says. “You can take it with you now. So, you can continue that course, not lose your time or your money. If it’s a babysitting issue, again, you have that flexibility. If it’s ‘I’m just not getting it,’ we can show them how to access it and replay and replay and replay.�

Check out Tegrity on the Internet at www.tegrity.com.