Educational Technology/Distance Education

Unit Survey Instrument

Dear [Recipient]:

You may know that in March, Provost Nancy Cantor appointed a task force to examine the wide range of activities currently taking place across the UM campus related to distance education. A subset of the larger task force, has been meeting regularly over the summer to examine the university's needs and priorities in these areas and how the various administrative entities participate in these activities. We would like to have opinions and perspectives from each of the schools and colleges, and therefore we ask your cooperation in filling out the following survey.

It has become clear from our discussions that "distance education" is a complex term, with many different connotations and ambiguities. For the purpose of this survey, we use the definition provided by the North Central Association:

"Distance education is defined...as a formal educational process in which the majority of the instruction occurs when student and instructor are not in the same place. Instruction may be synchronous or asynchronous. Distance education may employ correspondence study, or audio, video, or computer technologies" (Handbook of Accreditation, 1997, pp. 170-2).

At your earliest convenience, please e-mail your responses directly to Trelawny Thompson, Graduate Research Assistant to the Task Force. Include the survey questions with your responses inserted as appropriate. Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

Pamela Raymond
Associate Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs

Survey Questions

1. Please identify the unit (i.e. school, college, department, program, etc.) for which you are answering these questions.
   
   
2. Delivery of off-campus instruction.
   1. Please describe your unit's interest in, or current involvement in, delivering instruction (e.g. credit and/or non-credit/professional development) to individuals located off-campus, at a distance from Ann Arbor.
   2. Please identify the key groups and individuals (e.g. K-12 students, off-campus undergraduate students, adult or continuing education learners, alumni, etc.) who are the targets for distance education programs in your unit.
   3. Who are the targets for distance education programs in your unit, as projected in the next five years?
   4. How central to the mission of your unit is distance education?
      
      
3. Support for distance education initiatives/programs.
   1. What facilitates or encourages your unit to engage in such an activity?
   2. If your unit has already launched a distance education course/program, what kind of support (e.g. technological, administrative, policy making, financial, etc.) have you had from UM sources outside your unit (e.g. Academic Outreach, ITD, OVPR, Library, etc.)?
   3. What kind of support do you have from sources outside the university (e.g. foundations, corporations, federal agencies, etc.)?
   4. What kind of support do you have from your unit?
   5. What additional support do you need for your current programs?
   6. If anticipating future distance education programs, what kind of support would you/your unit need?
      
      
4. Impact of distance education.
   1. What impact does the increasing availability of distance education courses and programs offered by other institutions have on current traditional, on-campus students in your unit?
   2. What future impact do you foresee on your on-campus students?
   3. What are other implications (on instructors, curriculum, admissions, enrollment revenue, etc.) of distance education offerings (either those generated by UM or by other institutions)?
   4. What future implications of distance education do you foresee? The above questions related specifically to distance education offerings. The following questions concern the impact of evolving instructional technologies that are associated with distance education.
   5. How have you/your unit been affected by the new digital tools (audio, video and computer technologies) that enable distance education?
   6. What opportunities/challenges do you see?
      
      
5. In your opinion, to what extent should UM become more active in providing distance education opportunities and why?

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY/DISTANCE EDUCATION TASK FORCE