Human Resources

Existing academic faculty and EUP and ETS staff are adequate to ensure that students can successfully complete their programs. Seven EUP staff, three ETS staff, and a quarter time Instructional and Reference Librarian are dedicated to distance education.

EUP has administrative responsibility for our distance education programs. Its staff of seven [9.5A and 9.5B] are responsible for

1. assisting appropriate academic units with program development;
2. identifying potential clients and products;
3. preparing marketing materials to promote distance education programs; and
4. assisting with program implementation, including faculty, student, and industrial partner assistance.

EUP has a Student Services Coordinator dedicated to distance education, and the Distance Education Technology Help Desk will expand its support services and hours as enrollment increases. The Assistant Director, Research Services (Library), coordinates electronic reference services in support of distance education, which promote off site student use of information and research resources. Within each college or school, EUP interacts directly with the Dean or his/her designee about distance education programs. EUP also currently interacts with 15 off-campus Site Coordinators. These site coordinators are required to have appropriate academic credentials and are approved by the relevant academic department offering these courses.

Academic faculty retain primary responsibility for and oversight of courses and programs in a manner comparable to that for on-campus programs. Regular full-time faculty normally instruct courses on an overload basis for extra compensation. A complete list of faculty who have taught distance education courses and their vitas are available in the Resource Room [9.5D]. Adjunct faculty teach off-campus laboratory components of the BSE under the supervision of the course instructor and serve as doctoral committee members in the PhD program [9.5E]. Mechanisms for monitoring and controlling faculty workloads as well as improving faculty delivery include:

1. procedures for overload compensation,
2. assistance with course adaptation and instructional design,
3. technical assistance in using and integrating distance education technology into the curriculum,
4. workshops that emphasize technology options to enhance effective teaching, and
5. practice sessions for using global distance-education technology.

ETS is responsible for the delivery systems and technical dissemination of distance learning programs. Three full-time staff are dedicated to distance education, but our programs enjoy the support of nine full-time professional staff, including the Manager for Education Technology, Media Production Coordinator, Videoconferencing Coordinator, Telecommunication Engineer, Telecommunication Technician, and other support staff for all aspects of global distance learning delivery systems [9.5A and 9.5C]. Facilities managed by ETS are discussed under Physical Resources.

Financial Resources

Distance education activities are expected to be revenue-generating. Therefore, delivery of programs to corporate sponsors requires a contractual commitment from the sponsor to provide adequate financial resources. Funding for administration of distance education activities comes from course fees paid by the students and their employers. Corporate partners also provide staff time and other cost share for off-site help and facilities.

Distance education programs at MTU are governed by existing University financial policies and procedures. Established programs are continuously reviewed by the Director of EUP and other University administrators. Proposed programs are reviewed by the appropriate University administrators. Contracts with corporate partners are reviewed and approved by University administrators and counsel in accordance with established University procedures. Projected program budgets documenting anticipated start-up costs and projected program income and expenses are included in program proposals.

Since 1995/96, program incomes have exceeded program expenses. Any surplus is available for further reinvestment in the program. Financial projections for the next three academic years indicate program incomes will continue to exceed program expenses. Financial projections are monitored and summarized on a quarterly basis and compared with expectations established in EUP’s business and strategic plan [9.7]. Surpluses are a result of broadening corporate partnerships, expanding product lines, and controlling administrative costs.

All students are provided with information on existing financial aid programs and access to on-campus financial aid staff. Relatively few distance education students choose to take advantage of financial aid, however, because employers pay their fees and sponsor 98% of the students.

Faculty compensation of distance education teaching is flexible [9.2B, Faculty Compensation Procedure].

Physical Resources

Physical resources for day-to-day administrative support, maintained by EUP, include:

1. a WWW site [http://www.admin.mtu.edu/eup];
2. a Distance Education Technology Help Desk to answer faculty and student questions about how to access and use;
   • MTU computer accounts (e-mail, PPP),
   • converting documents into web pages,
   • converting documents into Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF),
   • methods of distributing distance education course information electronically; and
3. a toll-free telephone line to facilitate student communication with staff and faculty.

Student access to on-campus resources, which include the career center, library, learning centers, bookstore, and counseling services, is maintained through electronic means where feasible, and through the personal interaction of EUP's Student Services Coordinator when necessary.

Physical resources at Michigan Tech which allow the delivery of global distance education are managed primarily by ETS (detailed information about ETS and its resources is available at http://www.ets.mtu.edu):

• Studio Classroom. A 50-seat broadcast quality studio classroom in the Electrical Energy Resources Center (EERC, Room B045) has an instructor's console with program monitors, teleprompter, graphics area, and clock. The audio system is wireless and all controls are operated by ETS staff in a separate control room so the instructor can concentrate on course content. The studio is equipped with a variety of input devices that include an overhead camera, computer scan converter, internet connection, world-standard videotape recorders, satellite feeds, digital slide projector, and other media. Classes taught in the studio are videotaped with a live class so the remote student receives the same lecture as on campus. Videotapes are then duplicated and sent to the remote sites. Programs can also be disseminated from this facility via satellite, compressed video, and cablecast.
• Satellite Earth Station. ETS operates the satellite earth station on the MTU campus. The uplink facility is used to transmit our courses to Michigan Information Technology Network and National Technological University affiliate sites throughout the nation. The system consists of a fully agile 7.0 meter Ku–band transmit/receive antenna capable of transmissions on all domestic Ku–band satellites. Three receive-only antennas are operated for both "C-" and "Ku-" band signals, bringing videoconferences and SCOLA to the campus.
• Compressed Videoconferencing Facilities. A centrally located videoconference facility in EERC (Room B11) accommodates both group meetings and desktop videoconferencing, and can be configured for a conference room or classroom. The console unit contains video cameras available to pan and zoom, four 27" video monitors, audio system, and videotape recorders. Multimedia input devices for presentations include a document camera, videocassette recorders, computer scan converter, internet connection and other auxiliary inputs. The operator's console provides touch screen interfacing into the global Sprint network over a T1 connection or PictureTel conferencing via ISDN and the internet. The system also integrates with the local K–12 fiber optic distance-learning network to eleven local school sites.
• Videotape Duplications Services, Network Operations Center (NOC), and maintenance facilities are also a part of the program.

Because the current distance learning facilities on-campus are well utilized, plans are being developed for additional studio classrooms in most of the academic buildings on campus. New building plans on campus have incorporated the studio-classroom design into several lecture halls. MTU's network infrastructure is designed to allow for program origination at a variety of sites on campus which can be routed to the central NOC. At the NOC, these programs can be disseminated via compressed video, satellite, cable, Internet, and, eventually, wireless technologies.

Off-campus facilities such as video classrooms, teleconferencing facilities, e-mail access, and laboratory facilities are normally provided on-site by corporate partners. Occasionally, laboratories and access to computers are provided at nearby academic institutions such as community colleges through the assistance of the partner. Faculty have oversight of laboratories selected.

Instructional Resources

Curriculum, admission, and degree requirements for distance education are the same as those for the rest of the University. Regular full-time faculty deliver our distance education programs, which are part of regular University-approved degree programs, and use the same materials as on-campus courses. However, the availability and frequency of course offerings via distance education is negotiated with sponsoring corporate partners. These partners have the primary responsibility for communicating the availability and sequencing of course offerings to distance education students through their own publications [see 9.4C, General Motors Technical Education Program (TEP) Schedule of Courses and Technical Presentations, and 9.4B, BSE Sequencing].

The faculty determines the achievement of all students through our regular assessment program (see above, "Assessment and Continuous Quality Improvement"). The institution uses the same policies and procedures to ensure integrity of student work and credibility of credits and degrees awarded for both on-campus and off-campus students. In accordance with University policy, credit courses have occasionally been offered to non-traditional, non-degree seeking students admitted as special students to allow them to demonstrate potential for success in degree programs.

Access by distance education students to the library and other on-campus resources is facilitated by EUP as documented in the MTU Distance Education Student Handbook [9.1A]. Library staff are part of the review process for proposed distance education courses and programs to ensure that the library core collection is adequate for course preparation and student use [9.2D]. The Assistant Director of Research Services in the Library is currently investigating copyright issues for electronic media [9.2D]. Technology assistance was discussed under "Physical Resources."

To help faculty make appropriate choices with regard to instructional design for distance delivery, EUP provides workshops and individual training and assistance to participating faculty [9.1C, 9.5F, and 9.4A]. EUP also provides support in preparing materials. EUP works with Site Coordinators so these members of the distance education team can help students use the technological resources available [9.1B].

For additional information, please see Distance Education Supporting Documentation [9], which includes

9.1 Handbooks

1. MTU Distance Learning Student Handbook
2. Site Coordinators' Guide
3. Teaching at a Distance: Faculty Handbook

1. Signature Sheet
2. Faculty Compensation Procedure
3. Faculty Evaluation Procedure and Admissions Procedure
4. Copyright and Distance Learning
5. Concurrence Sheet
6. MTU Board Policies regarding Distance Education
7. General Motors Technical Education Program (TEP) Quality Standard for Laboratory Selection and Set-up
8. EUP Distance Education Student Services Procedures
9. Technology and Distance Learning Procedures

1. MTU Evaluation Forms
2. Industry Evaluation Form
3. Complaint Card

1. Course Guidebooks
2. BSE Sequencing
3. General Motors Technical Education Program (TEP) Schedule of Courses and Technical Presentations

1. Organizational Charts
2. Extended University Programs Vitas
3. Educational Technology Services Vitas
4. Faculty Vitas
5. Adjunct Faculty Vitas
6. Faculty Workshop Outline

9.7 Extended University Programs Business and Strategic Plan

9.8 Extended University Programs Image Questionnaire Results

9.9 NCA Liaison Correspondence

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