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Center for Distance Education updates committee on enrollment, ASU dual-credit option, AI tutoring and staffing pressures
Summary
Alyssa Martin, state director of the North Dakota Center for Distance Education, reported a small enrollment decline, partnerships that include a paid ASU dual‑credit option, a 91% pass rate goal, use of AI tutoring and video materials, revenue to date and concerns about retaining full‑time temporary teachers without paid leave.
Alyssa Martin, state director of the North Dakota Center for Distance Education (NDCDE), briefed the E & E Committee on enrollment trends, dual‑credit partnerships, student outcomes, technology investments and staffing.
Martin said NDCDE remains the state’s only statewide virtual school and supports districts by expanding access to specialized and on‑demand courses. She reported a slight decline in total enrollments driven partly by fewer out‑of‑state students and cited strong growth in elective courses, CTE programs and dual‑credit demand. Martin said the center’s current pass rate sits at about 91%, above the 85% national aspirational benchmark for this modality, and that the center is refining completion and proficiency calculations to be more rigorous.
On dual credit, Martin explained the center added a paid, low‑barrier Arizona State University (ASU) option where students pay $250 per course directly to ASU; the center acts as a facilitator and is not sending state payments to ASU. She said Arizona State’s model allows students to try courses with an option not to transcript them, reducing risk for students; NDSU remains a state partner but cannot provide the same asynchronous catalog of courses.
Martin also demonstrated NDCDE’s new tools and said the agency uses AI‑generated video content for outreach and an embedded AI tutoring/chat tool ('Busy Bee') to support students. Committee members noted the videos' lifelike quality and asked about provenance; Martin confirmed the videos and some avatars are AI‑generated and said the center will continue to disclose that fact and monitor academic integrity concerns.
On finances and staffing, Martin said the agency has collected about $1,256,000 in tuition revenue to date and expects to utilize previously granted special spending authority as planned. She raised a retention concern: full‑time temporary teachers are ineligible for paid leave, which has driven turnover; converting certain temporary positions to permanent status could reduce costs (she estimated a potential $80,000 savings) and help retention, but members recommended pursuing the regular session for personnel changes unless attrition becomes acute.
Ending: Martin stood ready to provide more granular finance, dual‑credit data and follow‑up analysis; the committee requested additional details on ASU enrollment, out‑of‑state students and refined pass‑rate comparisons once Infinite Campus integrations are completed.
