Acknowledgments

This report is one of a series from a project entitled Case Studies in Evaluating the Benefits and Costs of Mediated Instruction and Distributed Learning. The project is funded through a Field-Initiated Studies Educational Research Grant by the National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education with additional funding provided by Information Resources and Technology in the Chancellor's Office of the California State University. The project is jointly sponsored by the California State University, the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative of EDUCAUSE, and the State Higher Education Executive Officers.

Since 1994 two CSU campuses have been using the mediated learning system courseware for remedial mathematics developed by Academic Systems Corporation. In 1995 six additional campuses became involved. The CSU effort to evaluate the courseware originated in spring 1996 with a request from the Provosts/Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs. The evaluation effort was overseen by an ad hoc committee chaired by Margaret Hartman, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at CSU Los Angeles. The committee had representatives from each of the eight participating CSU campuses: Hayward - Kevin Callahan and Kathy Hann, Long Beach - Demos Arsenidis, Los Angeles - Marshall Cates, Northridge - Roberta Madison and Elena Marchisotto, Pomona - Richard Robertson and Donald Bell, Sacramento - Roberta Gehrmann, San Francisco - Newman Fisher and Bob Marcucci, and San Luis Obispo - Tom Hale and Glenn Irwin.

The project director gratefully acknowledges the efforts of the ad hoc committee chair and its members for their contributions to this study. Marshall Cates, Professor of Mathematics at CSU Los Angeles, provided a very useful paper on both the earlier implementation efforts and follow-up studies on the performance of students in later courses in mathematics that is incorporated as part of this report. Jack Fraenkel, Professor of Education at San Francisco State University, provided a report and the data that were used to summarize the performance of the students in the courses across the eight campuses. Support, assistance, and advice were also provided by members of the benefit cost project's Steering, Review, and Oversight Committee: Tony Bates, Director of Distance Education and Technology, University of British Columbia; Dennis Jones, President of NCHEMS; Jim Mingle, Executive Director of SHEEO; and Tom West, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Information Resources and Technology, CSU Chancellor's Office.

Summary, Findings, and Conclusions

Benefits: Comparative Learning Outcomes

Cost Comparisons

Background and Context

The Implementation of MLS Courseware for Remedial Mathematics at CSU Los Angeles

1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97

Follow-up Studies

Summary of Experience with Implementation at Cal State LA

Benefits of MLS - Student Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes, Results at Eight Campuses

Student Performance Across Sites

Costs of MLS Course Compared to Regular Classroom Costs

Summary