Needs to be Addressed and Learners to be Served
Throughout the 1990’s, there has been a tremendous shift in the way organizations are structured, human resources are managed, and work is performed. Technological advances, downsizing and outsourcing, and an increasingly competitive global marketplace have all conspired to make rapid change an everyday reality. As a result, the lifelong learning needs and professional development requirements of supervisors and team leaders are of paramount importance to both individuals and organizations as we move further into the Information Age.
This project seeks to develop SUCCESS NET (Supervisors Using Computers for Continuing Education Studies and Services). SUCCESS NET will be a series of seven one-credit undergraduate Internet-based courses that may be taken, for either academic or continuing education credit via self-paced modules, by supervisors, team leaders, and students interested in becoming a supervisor and/or team leader. The seven one-credit courses to be offered online are as follows:
- Supervisory Story Problems (a 100-level course)
- The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator & Leadership (a 100-level course)
- Team Development and Facilitation (a 300-level course)
- Violence in the Workplace (a 300-level course)
- Workplace Literacy and Work Ethic Issues (a 300-level course)
- Leadership Strategies for Customer Service (a 300-level course)
- The Leader’s Role in Planning for the Future (a 300-level course)
Each of the aforementioned one-credit courses has previously been taught in the traditional instructor-led classroom setting. Such courses are in high demand by both supervisors and/or team leaders working in practitioner settings, and also by students who are interested in moving into the role of supervisor and/or team leader upon completion of their studies. The Department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision (OLS) at IUPUI is able to expand its reach with SUCCESS NET by offering these courses to learners who are otherwise unable to attend classes in a traditional format and in a traditional setting.
Rationale for Choice of Course and Technology to be Used
In the last few years, the Department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision (OLS) at IUPUI has been offering focused one-credit courses on topics of interest to supervisors and students of supervision. The response to these courses, generally offered on Saturdays and focusing on content that addresses both theoretical and practitioner issues, has been overwhelmingly positive. Classes are generally at capacity, and student feedback indicates that the topics are relevant to our students’ practitioner lives, while the one-credit format offers students the ability to earn academic credit that can be easily distributed across the curriculum.
Previously, these courses have been offered under the umbrella course, OLS 399 - Special Topics. The Special Topics sequence enabled these courses to be offered without the requisite (and often lengthy) official academic approvals for a new course. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to these topics and courses, coupled with the forecasted continued need for such courses, the OLS department has created new 100- and 300-level courses entitled Rotating Topics in Organizational Leadership and Supervision. The Rotating Topics courses at the 100- and 300-levels will: (1) serve as the permanent umbrella to the tried-and-tested Special Topics courses; (2) provide variable credit (1-3 credits), depending on the type and scope of course offered; and (3) enable the department to ensure that the topics are offered on a recurring basis, as demand warrants.
Studies of adult learners increasingly indicate that time, money, transportation difficulties, and childcare responsibilities are factors that, in part, impede participation. This project seeks to reduce some of those barriers by placing both academic credit-bearing and CEU-bearing self-paced courses on the Internet.
In an effort to reach more academic credit-seeking students, and to increase the opportunity for supervisor practitioners to be able to earn CEU’s, the OLS Department is seeking funding to launch SUCCESS NET. SUCCESS NET will, initially, be comprised of the seven courses listed above, and will enable learners to receive either academic credit or continuing education units, depending upon the option they select. Ultimately, SUCCESS NET will be expanded to include other courses, both academic credit-bearing and CEU-bearing, that are of interest to emerging and existing supervisors and/or team leaders.
Institution’s Capacity and Commitment to Course Development Project
There is widespread campus support at IUPUI for placing both academic credit-bearing and CEU-bearing courses online. Indeed, this support is evidenced, in part, by the generous cost-sharing offered by IUPUI for this project (see budget and attached letters of support from the Department Chair of Organizational Leadership and Supervision and the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology’s Dean’s Office).
With respect to the physical and human resources available to support the creation and maintenance of SUCCESS NET, the University offers the following:
- IUPUI’s Continuing Studies Division has consultants to assist in the development, marketing, and evaluation of online continuing education courses, including the awarding and transcription of CEU’s.
- Purdue School of Engineering and Technology has its own Computer Network Center (CNC), which provides direct course development support to faculty of the School. The CNC is currently working with the Project Director to develop and implement the delivery of a 3-credit academic course, Labor Relations, through a web-interactive CD-ROM, which will be launched in Spring, 1999. It is anticipated that a CNC-based student technology consultant will be utilized in this project, and funds for such consulting are being requested (see budget);
- IUPUI’s Center for Teaching and Learning has the physical resources (i.e. authoring tools; video and audio production tools; graphic design tools) for the development and production of online courses. Equipment, studios, and consultants are available to assist with this project; and
- Finally, IUPUI’s well-regarded Copyright Management Center will work with the Project Director to ensure that all course materials are in compliance with the applicable copyright laws that govern academic endeavors.
Instructional Design Plan
Because all of the proposed SUCCESS NET courses have been taught in an instructor-led classroom-setting, the principal work to be accomplished in the instructional design plan centers on converting course materials into self-paced modules that can be accessed from the Internet. It is anticipated that each course will have video, audio, graphics, and text (or a combination of all or part of the above) to stimulate learner interest and to convey course content.
Another salient instructional design point centers on the differences, in terms of requirements, for learners seeking academic credit and for learners seeking CEU credit. The nature of assignments, therefore, will be different for each audience, with the appropriate scope and rigor of assignments geared toward the level of the course offered (i.e. 100- or 300-level).
Course Evaluation Plan
The evaluation of each course will take a two-pronged approach, focusing on both the learning outcomes of students, and the learning processes utilized by students. Each SUCCESS NET course will contain two types of online evaluation tools: (1) to measure learning outcomes of students, each course will have several multiple-choice and/or true-false quizzes to assess student learning; and (2) to determine student attitudes and reactions to the course format, each course will have an online survey asking learners to comment about the learning process of using technology to complete self-paced courses. This information, coupled with the information obtained from the learning outcomes from online quizzes, should provide appropriate feedback to the Project Director and faculty to make instructional and programmatic improvements to online courses.
In addition to the online assessment and feedback mechanisms, the University provides each student with a course evaluation tool to complete at the end of each course. This information is provided to campus administration, school deans, department chairs, and faculty, and serves as the basis for resource allocations, faculty development, and other improvement efforts. Such an evaluation will be made available to academic credit-seeking students. The Continuing Studies Division has developed their own evaluation of continuing education courses, and CEU-seeking learners will be sent that evaluation.
Peer Review Strategies to Ensure Quality and Interinstitutional Acceptance
The seven courses to be developed into self-paced, Internet-based learning modules for academic- and continuing education-credit will be reviewed by subject-matter-experts and end-users during the design, delivery, and evaluation phases. First, OLS faculty will serve as peer reviewers for course content; this is significant since many of the faculty have taught either the courses to be offered with SUCCESS NET, or courses which are similar to the projected course offerings. Second, the OLS Industrial Advisory Council will review the course outlines, syllabi, and instructional materials and methods to offer feedback from the student and practitioner perspectives. Finally, IUPUI’s Copyright Management Center staff will work with the Project Director to ensure compliance with relevant copyright laws.
With respect to interinstitutional acceptance, the OLS Department at IUPUI presently has several initiatives in place which serve to support the wide acceptance of courses taken via SUCCESS NET. First, the OLS Department at IUPUI has signed articulation agreements with Ivy Tech State College in Indianapolis and Columbus, providing seamless transfer opportunities for students seeking baccalaureate credentials. With SUCCESS NET, Ivy Tech students may begin taking OLS courses earlier in their academic careers, with the assurances that such courses will ultimately count toward their degrees at either Ivy Tech or IUPUI. Second, Purdue University’s well-developed Statewide Technology Program enables students, including OLS majors, to take courses at multi-site locations in pursuing their Purdue University degree. SUCCESS NET will provide more opportunities for students at remote locations to make progress toward their degree completion. Finally, the OLS department at IUPUI is actively involved in several local professional associations. These industry and professional connections will serve the marketing efforts of SUCCESS NET especially well; in turn, SUCCESS NET will provide a host of continuing education opportunities to the members of these associations.
Project Schedule
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Spring, 1999 |
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Summer, 1999 |
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Fall, 1999 |
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Spring, 2000 |
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Summer, 2000 |
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Key Course Development Personnel
Stephen P. Hundley, Assistant Professor of Organizational Leadership and Supervision, will serve as the Project Director for SUCCESS NET. He has previously taught three of the five one-credit courses to be offered, and is currently using technology in his 3-credit courses, Labor Relations and Compensation Planning and Management. Additionally, he is the lead author of a forthcoming textbook entitled, "Using The Internet" (Sage Publications, 1999). See the attached one-page statement of Professor Hundley’s background and capabilities to complete this project.
Cliff Goodwin, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Organizational Leadership and Supervision; Andy Schaffer, Assistant Professor of Organizational Leadership and Supervision; Patricia Fox, Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration and Assistant Professor of Organizational Leadership and Supervision; Rob Wolter, OLS Research Associate; and Mary Rinehart, OLS Research Assistant, will all serve, in conjunction with the OLS Industrial Advisory Council, as peer reviewers for course content developed for SUCCESS NET.
A student technology consultant (to be named) from the Computer Network Center will work with the Project Director in the development, delivery, and evaluation of the five one-credit online self-paced courses.
Finally, as mentioned above, various consultants from the Continuing Studies Division, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Copyright Management Center will be utilized, as needed, throughout the life of this project.
Project Dissemination Plans
Both the processes and outcomes of the ongoing design, delivery, and evaluation of SUCCESS NET will be disseminated to a variety of internal and external audiences. The Project Director is committed to sharing the results to faculty at IUPUI who are interested in developing online versions of their own courses. This will be accomplished through a series of presentations and consultations with interested faculty and administrators. For external audiences, dissemination to education technology conferences (i.e. EDUCAUSE; National Conference on Teaching and Learning Through the Internet) will be a strategy the Project Director actively pursues.
