Why the The Ripple Effect?
The Ripple Effect represents the phenomena that occur when expanding ripples of current develop from a singular point of origin. When the paradigm of The Ripple Effect is applied to economics, sociology, education, or any other context of human interaction, we witness the emergence of transformative and expansive energies: from the center of an innovative idea, or the root of a nourishing source, or the invigoration of one determined mind - the circles widen to affect change, to refresh vision, and to lead into new potentialities.

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College has selected the paradigm of The Ripple Effect as the representative model of its Quality Enhancement Plan. Focused upon student success in distance learning as the “singular point of origin,” The Ripple Effect represents the unbound and fluid movement of transformative energy that will filter into the full breadth of the College, affecting students, faculty, administrators, and academic programs. Through assessments of student readiness, the delivery of a distinct student orientation to online learning, and through development of faculty skills in the pedagogies and technologies of distance learning, the transformation of our distance learning program will eventually broaden its reach into other instructional programs and classrooms.


The Ripple Effect: Transforming Student Success in Distance Learning, One Student & One Instructor at a Time focuses upon three areas in order to significantly impact distance learning at the institution:

The Ripple Effect and FIPSE [Back to top]
In the fall of 2009, the College received a three-yeargrant totaling $400,602 from the United StatesDepartmentof Education’s Fund for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE). In addition to supporting The Ripple Effect goals of student readiness, student orientation and faculty training for distance learning, efforts funded through the grant will specifically target displaced workers and adult learners seeking educational opportunities and retraining for career goals. The FIPSE grant also helps to fund the research and dissemination of the efforts of The Ripple Effect.

SmarterMeasure [Back to top]
SmarterMeasure, formerly known as the READI, is the tool the College has chosen to measure how prepared students are for online learning. SmarterMeasure evaluates learning styles, technical skills, on-screen reading rate and recall, typing speed and accuracy, and individual attributes such as motivation and willingness to ask for help. New students registering for fall classes, regardless of whether or not they are registering for distance learning or traditional classes, will now be required to take the SmarterMeasure assessment in addition to other required admission assessment.



Are you interested in taking Distance Learning courses at JSRCC?  Take our assessment to see if you are ready for online learning.
The assessment will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. To take the assessment,

1. Be sure that you are already admitted as a student at JSRCC
2. Have your Student ID number on hand
3. Go to http://reynolds.smartermeasure.com/
4. Select the current semester as your Username.
5. Type in Reynolds as your Password

John Sener, external evaluator for The Ripple Effect [Back to top]
FIPSE requires the hiring of an external evaluator for The Ripple Effect implementation, and the College has named John Sener, a well-respected expert and researcher in online education and student learning assessment. Read John's full bio here.


Related Links [Back to top]
The Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA) is a partnership between
J. Sargeant Reynolds and John Tyler Community Colleges serving the economic development and workforce needs in four cities and 12 counties of Central Virginia. The organization provides non-credit training, customized instruction, consulting, skills assessments and educational programs.

The JSRCC Center for Distance Learning provides the option to take courses in a variety of settings and through alternative delivery methods that allow access to instruction from the home, office, off-campus sites throughout the state, and from a desktop or laptop computer wherever there is Internet access.

The Ripple Effect Documents [Back to top]
• The Quality Enhancement Plan: The Ripple Effect
• The Ripple Effect Video
• An Introduction to READI
• The Ripple Effect Dispatch Newsletter - May 2010

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