Summary, Findings, and
Conclusions
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1.
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The subject of this case study is a graduate
level certificate program in Human Computer
Interaction (HCI) that was added to Rensselaer's
Satellite Video Program (RSVP) during 1996 as a
cooperative effort between RSVP, Rensselaer's
Department of Language, Literature, and
Communication, and IBM Corporation.
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2.
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The program was designed for individuals who
work in computer industry occupations where it is
important to be aware of how people can interact
effectively with computers. The program consists of
four courses developed specifically for this
program and represent the most current thinking in
the critically important area of how people
interact with computers.
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3.
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The program features a "humanized" distance
learning model that incorporates significant
interaction during the synchronous broadcast
events. The instruction is designed so that
students regularly participate in class by
telephone, videoconferencing, faxed responses, and
computer presentations. The courses feature weekly
workshops in which students and faculty work
informally at problem solving. The coursework also
features significant asynchronous components using
videotape, course home pages on the World Wide Web,
computer conferences, and e-mail.
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4.
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The intent of the Benefits Scorecard, shown
below, is to provide a brief summary of the
benefits of the particular form of mediated
instruction compared to regular on-campus
instruction as it relates to this particular case.
In particular, the comparison scores can be
interpreted as follows:
- positive
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- the mediated instruction used
for this case provides more of the
benefit than on-campus
instruction
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- neutral
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- the results are equivalent
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- negative
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- on-campus instruction provides
more of the benefit
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Benefit
Comparisons
Learning Outcomes
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5.
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(a)
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For the HCI course evaluated, there was
little variation among final grades for
students enrolled in the three modes
(studio site, videoconferencing sites, and
videotape sites).
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(b)
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Students at the studio and videotape
sites rated the course overall between
good and excellent. Those at
videoconferencing sites rated it between
average and good.
[This
finding (1b) and the one immediately below
(1c) are qualified by two facts: (1) the
satellite transponder used by RSVP failed
very early in the course thus requiring
that satellite receive sites be converted
to either videoconferencing or videotape
delivery, and (2) the survey response rate
for the videoconferencing sites was only
14 percent, and for the videotape sites it
was 44 percent.]
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(c)
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Remote site students rated the course
somewhat below a traditional course.
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(d)
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Seventy percent of the respondents to a
survey of employees who had completed
courses in this program at remote sites
prior to spring 1997 definitely felt the
course materials were valuable to their
work and worth the investment of their
time. Sixty-six percent would recommend
that other employees at their company take
the course(s).
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Student Access
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6.
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(a)
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Rennselaer expects 200-300 more new
working professional students at remote
sites over the next five years as a result
of this program.
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(b)
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Seventy-seven percent of respondents to
the survey mentioned in item 5(d) above
indicated they would not have been able to
take the course if it had not been
delivered to their workplace.
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Institutional Renewal and Growth
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7.
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(a)
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The HCI certificate is an excellent
example of a business-university
partnership in which Rensselaer drew upon
one of its own strengths in teaching
technical communication to fulfill a need
for advanced training in the business
community.
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(b)
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The campus will add four new cutting
edge courses at the graduate professional
level. The objective of these courses is
to improve the human-computer inter-face
(the efficiency and effectiveness with
which people interact with their computers
and software).
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(c)
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Rensselaer faculty teaching in the
program indicated that working with
business professionals to design the
courses and interacting with employee
practitioners who were taking the courses
enhanced their own understanding of the
subject matter.
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(d)
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These same faculty also indicated that
using the technology in teaching the three
different student groups provided
opportunities and motivation to rethink
their own teaching strategies.
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(e)
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The success of the RSVP program in
reaching corporate clients has led
Rensselaer to begin a complete rethinking
of how such instructional activities can
be incorporated into its mission and
priorities.
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Social Benefits
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8.
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The objective of this program, to improve human
interaction with computers, has tremendous
potential to improve efficiency by improving the
quality of software and hardware documentation and
instructions thus reducing the time it takes
individuals to learn how to operate new software
and computers. Because of the nature of the topic,
the graduate professional level is the appropriate
level to address it. The program could not have
incorporated the working professionals, nor would
the incentive for corporate involvement have been
as strong without the potential for delivery to
several remote sites.
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Financial Considerations
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9.
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The RSVP program, of which the HCI certificate
is an example, has generated sufficient revenues to
pay its operating and capital expenses and to
provide additional funds to both the Institute and
its academic units.
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10.
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Typical graduate level RSVP courses are more
expensive than classroom courses until annual
course enrollments (as distinct from section size)
are in excess of 65-80 students; at larger annual
enrollment levels, the RSVP courses are less
expensive.
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Conclusions
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11.
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The HCI program appears to generate learning
outcomes at least equivalent to on-campus
instruction. The RSVP program has substantially
improved access on the part of corporate customers
to Rensselaer's instructional program. This in
turn, has improved access for the professional
level corporate workforce.
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12.
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Participation in the program has provided
important incentives for the Institute and for its
faculty to develop new courses and to become better
acquainted with the delivery technology.
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13.
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Tuition revenues more than cover the direct
costs of providing the program. Net revenues are
returned to defray Institute overhead, to
participating academic units, and to RSVP's
contingency and reinvestment fund.
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