Penn State Digital Learning Cooperative

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the Digital Learning Cooperative?
    • The Digital Learning Cooperative is a seat reservation system used by schedulers at Penn State campuses. Via this seat exchange, campuses can schedule courses for students in residence at other Penn State Campus locations. Seats in courses that are offered by campuses or colleges can be made available so other locations can add the course seats to their location. Each campus controls the schedule of courses made available to students at their campus. The Digital Learning Cooperative is the place where seats are made available to other campuses. Campuses can reserve seats in courses they would like to make available to their students.
  2. How is the Digital Learning Cooperative useful to my shared academic program?
    • Shared academic programs must have a multi-semester course offering plan that identifies the courses to be shared by campuses. The Digital Learning Cooperative allows programs to map out the course sharing across multiple semesters. Registrars at each of the campuses will know which courses must be added to their campus schedule. Chief Academic Officers and Program Coordinators can use the Digital Learning Cooperative to find partnership opportunities as well as share capacity for courses that would not be otherwise viable with campus enrollment.
  3. Who is responsible for the operation of Digital Learning Cooperative courses?
    • Courses listed on the Digital Learning Cooperative are administratively handled the same way as other courses. Courses offered on the Digital Learning Cooperative are offered under the academic authority of the local campus delivering the course. Quality and support of the courses, as well as student complaints or issues are the responsibility of the offering campus or college. The Digital Learning Cooperative is not a program, it is a system that makes it easy to share and reserve seats in courses across campus locations.
  4. Who provides technical support for Digital Learning Cooperative courses?
    • Courses offered on the Digital Learning Cooperative are supported by the campus or college offering the course. Technical contacts for the course must be identified in the course listing. Technologies such as the learning management system are centrally supported by Penn State, so many courses make use of centrally supported services. Local technical support contacts must be listed on the Digital Learning Cooperative or have a link to current campus or college technical support contacts.
  5. What instructional modes can be offered on the Digital Learning Cooperative?
    • The Digital Learning Cooperative is designed to share seats between campuses. Courses of all types may be listed on the Digital Learning Cooperative. Asynchronous and Synchronous courses may be offered on the DLC. The Instructional Mode must be clearly identified for the course as campuses will need to identify the appropriate courses for their students. The Digital Learning Cooperative allows for the sharing of seats, regardless of the instructional mode. Video courses, hybrid courses, flex courses, and other delivery types are permitted. Courses that require physical presence, travel, or specific technology capabilities should be clearly identified in the course listing so that receiving campuses can choose the courses that work for their campus.
  6. Are campuses or colleges offering courses required to charge the $65 per credit hour Digital Learning Cooperative fee for seats?
    • No, but they may elect to charge the standard fee per credit per student.
  7. Are delivering campuses able to assign seats in a course to specific campuses?
    • The DLC allows campuses to allocate seats that they share on the Digital Learning Cooperative. The system has been designed to accommodate a wide range of course sharing agreements and shared programs.
  8. Which courses are centrally funded?
    • Each campus can have three seats in each of the following courses without incurring the standard eLearning Cooperative course fee: ART002, ART003, COMM160, EGEE101, EGEE102, GEOG160, ANTH146, GER001, GER002, GER003, LER136
  9. How are seats distributed on the DLC?
    • Course schedulers may submit courses to the DLC with seats pre-allocated to locations or they may leave the seats open to all locations. Pre-allocation of seats most often occurs when there are existing agreements between the offering location that schedules the course and the receiving locations. Sharing agreements are developed for many reasons. If a course is pre-allocated to another location and your campus or college need for the course, contact the scheduler at the host location for the course. You can view the list of submitters by clicking the “I” icon next to the “scheduling unit” listed in the course view.
  10. Is there a waiting list for seat reservations if the section is full?
    • Many of the courses on the DLC have the waitlist feature enabled. This allows DLC requestors to request seats over and above the existing seat capacity on the DLC. When waitlist seats are requested, the first requester for the seats will be allocated the seats when other campuses release unneeded seats. Please keep in mind that the waitlist function is not the same as the waitlist feature within LionPATH. Schedulers within Colleges or Campuses may also have local enrollment practices that may influence the release of seats locally.
  11. How do you market course or program offerings to other campuses?

    • The DLC is a seat reservation system. Listing courses on the DLC multiple semesters in advance allows schedulers to plan local scheduling decisions in conjunction with the DLC listings. Advisers often seek out course options for students, especially for entrance to major requirements. Developing a multi-year course sharing plan and distributing this list to advisers and schedulers will raise awareness about the options for students. Some programs have a rotational schedule that is shared by program coordinators at multiple campuses. Another approach is to send announcements about new course offerings, or the availability of minors or options to the DLC courses mailing list. This list includes individuals who are interested in DLC course offerings. Instructions and subscription information for the courses mailing list can be found on the following page: http://dlc.psu.edu/campus-contacts/
  12. What should I do if I find inaccurate or contradictory course information on the DLC?
    • If you find inaccurate or contradictory information, contact the users with the role “submitter(s)” for the course. You can see the current list of contacts by clicking the “I” icon next to the “scheduling unit” listed in the course view. If you continue to have problems, email dlc@psu.edu

  13. Are there other ways students may be added to a course besides the DLC?
    • The DLC is the preferred method for “planned course sharing” between locations at Penn State. However, there are situations that may require students to be added to courses unexpectedly. The Multi-Campus Registration process can be used to accommodate these needs. For information about multi-campus registration, visit the following page: http://www.registrar.psu.edu/registration/multiple_campus_registration.cfm

  14. How do students register for courses listed on the DLC?
    • Students register for DLC courses just as they register for courses at their campus. The courses appear in schedule of courses in the same manner as other courses. Some locations have procedures in place that restrict access to courses, these courses often have a course note that describes the appropriate contact for these restrictions. Examples of restrictions may include decisions to limit course enrollment to students enrolled in a particular minor or degree program. Questions about course access should be directed to the appropriate College or campus contact.
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