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 EDUCOM, and the State Higher Education Executive Officers.

The project director acknowledges the assistance of Edmund Cranch, Senior Fellow at the New England Board of Higher Education, who first suggested this study; Karen F. Stackol, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Cleveland State University; and Linda L. Moore, Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Akron, for agreeing to undertake the study.

Special appreciation is extended to Maggie Jackson, Chair of the Department of Social Work at Cleveland State University, and Marvin Feit, Director of the School of Social Work at the University of Akron, who served as the case study coordinators. Their obvious dedication to the program is exemplary and their assistance with this case study is gratefully acknowledged. Susan Bray, President, New Vistas (providing consulting support for distance learning) and former Director of Distance Learning Programs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, drafted the case description section of this study.

Support, assistance, and advice were also provided by members of the 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.

Table of Contents

 

Summary, Findings, and Conclusions

 

Background and Context

 

Cleveland State University

The University of Akron

The Joint Master of Social Work Program

Course Sharing and Technology
Program Management
     Shared Governance
     Students
     Faculty Staffing
     Institutional Autonomy

 

Benefits of the Human Computer Interaction Program

 

Learning Outcomes

Student Performance in Classes

Enrollments and Graduates

Student Attitudes

Student Access
Institutional Renewal and Growth

 

Costs of the MSW Program