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Unit
10: Toward Needs-Tailored Distance Education
By Susan
Smith Nash, Ph.D.
Needs-Tailored, or,
Needs-Modified Approach: In
order to be responsive to economic development requirements and
to share resources and knowledge, universities favor following
a "needs-tailored" approach by modifying currently-existing university-generated
curricula and degree programs so that they meet rapidly shifting
requirements. "Needs-tailored" curriculum can be anticipated
by deciding to leave at least 20% of course content as customized
content, such as case studies or principles that deal with specific
needs of the cohort group or the track. Steps involve the
following:
1. Design curriculum so that 80% is standardized, so that
all students are assured of consistent course content, which will
allow them to succeed in exit exams and competency / board exams.
2. Conduct needs assessments and surveys at least one semester
ahead of time in order to determine what the specific needs are
within a cohort group, particularly if there is a theme or a specialized
degree track.
3. Research and find readings to help students with the information
they need. These can be case studies and additional online
readings.
4. Develop assignments and team projects that address the custom
content, and which ask students to synthesize core concepts, principles,
and apply them to the case studies or special problems.
Quality and Interactivity
Factors - the Rationale for Decentralization and Local-level Control:
While it may seem most effective
to provide a campus- or system-wide solution via an IT department,
usually these approaches do not work. The problems are as
follows: 1) departments lose control of the quality
of the course content, and faculty are alienated from the course
development process; 2) focus tends to be on the interface and
the technical aspects of implementation, rather than on the learning
that will be going on; 3) talent and knowledge usually exist on
a department level, and it is a great disincentive to subjugate
the local talent to a centralized bureaucracy; 4) a small, responsive
workstation approach is cheaper than a large office; 5) centralization
is effective, but only in the maintaining of servers which house
the course management software, or the large, cross-campus databases
and programs (such as PeopleSoft); 6) faculty are more likely
to be creative when they develop a close relationship with the
instructional technologist, the curriculum director, and the implementing
staff, and the rewards for risk-taking are greater; 7) individuals
can take ownership, departments can maintain quality, and a unique
presence or brand image can be developed, with resulting positive
impact on brand equity.
Once the programs are in place, universities and units within
universities will become centers of life-long learning, innovation,
and outreach. As such, they will provide much-needed training,
professional development, and higher learning to professionals,
traditional college students, women, government and non-governmental
organizations and associations, and all life-long learners in
rural and urban locations. Thus, one of the primary barriers
to economic growth - a lack of qualified human resources - will
have been eliminated, and economic development, democracy-building,
and civil-society support will be able to take advantage of new
human capital.
Strategic Elements for Building
Capacity:
Decentralization, with Department-
or Unit-level Control: How to Set Up an Online Program Center
at the Unit level
Put together a Critical Path with milestones
Select Curriculum Director
Select Technical Director
Set up Program Development Center, with workstations - select
technical assistants and instructional designer
Training of Faculty and Technical Assistants
Curriculum Review Committee
Template approval
Network and Technical Requirements Diagramming
Interface "Objects" Review, Interactivity Elements
Curriculum Approved, with course sequence
Putting it all together
SME - Curriculum Director interaction; timetable for course development
Student Support Services Plan
Courseware Interfaces evaluations
Online Resources Plan
Assessment and Evaluation Plan
Timeline for Implementation
Collaborative Partnership
Approach
The overall philosophy of
the approach is detailed in previous sections. In summary,
the approach is, above all, a joint venture, and involves a blend
of guiding, mentoring, train-the-trainer, apprenticeship, technology/knowledge
transfer, and the establishment of productive and ongoing public
and private-sector linkages. The larger unit will share
its experience and teach the smaller units' counterpart how to
design, implement, and plan for growth. The small units
will share lessons learned in the implementation and needs-tailoring
aspects of the program, resulting in a model that can be used
in future projects. The end result will be more effective
partnering between units, with approaches that integrate conflict
resolution, economic development, technology transfer, and appreciation
of cultural differences.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Plan
Specific Measurable Outcomes
The following assessments
and inventories will be conducted in conjunction with all activities
to provide the data needed for planning, curriculum development,
linkage development, strategic planning, recruiting, and site
locations. All instruments will be developed jointly, and
evaluation will be done as a team effort.
Evaluations:
Peer review of curricula
Students
Faculty training in technology and pedagogy
Independent third party subject matter expert review
Training on equipment // technical support
Number of innovative ideas and sustainable new programs generated
after implementation of program
Publicity and recruiting - number of inquiries and students enrolling;
number of companies encouraging students to enroll in new degree
programs
Needs assessments to develop "needs-tailored" solution
Benchmarks:
Programs designed and implemented
Number of library resources accessible via Internet
Number of faculty trained
Number of grants and scholarships donated to help students be
a part of the program
Number of students admitted to the new Master's programs
Attrition (student and faculty) rate
Graduation rate
Number of Linkages established between university and private
/ public sector
Strength of the methodology for monitoring and evaluating project
success; appropriateness and clarity of benchmarks for measuring
progress.
Listing of Key Strategic
Plan Events
·
Strategic planning and critical
path construction
· Train-the-Trainer
events
· Needs
assessments
· Impact
assessments
· Intensive,
hands-one short courses
· Degree
program with blended-solution approach implemented
· Faculty
exchanges
· Seminars
and workshops open to the public
· Publicity
and media review to disseminate information to general public
and to technical publications
· Program
design and modification
· Library
resources built
· Community,
business, government needs assessments to align curriculum with
human resources development objectives
· Transfer
of knowledge and technology to smaller units
· Use
of education networks
· Investigation
on the impact of the distance education
· Optimization
of the center
· Publications
in conjunction with center
· Technical
innovations
Expected End of Program Status (benefit to ultimate beneficiaries)
The most important legacy of this program is the establishment
of a new capacity to develop strategic plans and to implement
the development and deployment of "blended-solution" online-onsite
programs which can be continually tailored and customized to meet
the evolving needs and requirements of a society faced with urgent
needs for large-scale human resource development.
Following this approach will also leave legacies of infrastructure,
curriculum, course content, library resources, access to workshops,
and a philosophy of life-long learning which will help students,
faculty, and staff achieve their personal, academic and career
goals. Indirect beneficiaries include communities, both rural
and urban, as well as members of professional associations and
members of local and regional governmental and non-governmental
organizations dealing with human resource development. Women and
families will benefit because of skills that allow women better
access to the business community and which encourage entrepreneurship.
They will also benefit because of the downstream impact of the
proposed programs, which will mean better service in urban and
rural healthcare.
Finally, the business community will benefit, not only from the
skills and knowledge gained from the degree programs, but also
in the techniques utilized, which can be employed in corporate
training programs as well as higher education.
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