2004 - 2005 Online Education Report

2004/2005 Online Education Report: Industry & Technology, Ball State University

2004 - 2005 Online Education Reporthttp://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm

Jim Flowers, Director of Online Education, [email protected], 765-285-2879, AT 130ADepartment of Industry & Technology, College of Applied Sciences & Technology

Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA 47306

May, 2005

Current Status | InitiativesAppendices: MA in TE | MA in CTE |Survey of Majors

Preface

This is the fourth annual report of the online education initiatives from the Department of Industry and Technology at Ball State University. Previous reports may be seen at: http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2003-2004.htm, http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2002-2003.htm and at http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2001-2002.htm. Recommendations contained within this report are those the Director. For more information, visit the online programs' Website at www.bsu.edu/iandt.

I. Current Status

The Department of Industry and Technology (I&T) of Ball State University offers two graduate degrees over the Internet: the Master of Arts in Technology Education, and the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education. Except for a pilot course going online in the Fall of 2000, these programs officially became available online in the Summer and Fall of 2002, respectively. The purpose of this report is to provide a description and an internal review after the third year of online implementation.

Degree Programs

The Master of Arts in Technology Education (TE) is intended to meet the needs of technology teachers and others interested in general education in technology. Technology Education is the field that evolved from Industrial Arts, and this master's caters to the needs of teachers in this field who typically teach grades six through twelve. However, community college faculty, elementary teachers, and others can find this program fitting.

The Department also offers a Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education (CTE) (having changed its name from Master of Arts in Industrial Vocational / Technical Education on August 25th, 2003, in keeping with national trends.) This degree is intended to meet the needs of vocational, or career and technical educators, who typically work at high school level vocational programs with specializations in industry and technology. However, community college faculty, industrial trainers, and others wishing an advanced degree can find this master's very appropriate to their needs.

Oversight of these programs is by the Department's Graduate Program Committee, chaired by Dr. Richard Seymour and composed of Graduate Faculty within the Department. That committee decided to offer these degrees online due to declining on-campus enrollments, and based on a national online learning needs assessment, and approval was granted by the Ball State Graduate Education Committee, the School of Extended Education, and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Neither of these degree programs carries initial teacher licensure, since they were primarily designed to service the educational needs of practicing and file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/All%20Users/Documents/itechannualon...ion%20Report%20Industry%20&%20Technology,%20Ball%20State%20University.htm (1 of 30)2/27/2006 3:58:50 PM

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm#Status

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm#Initiatives

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm#Technology

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm#MACATE

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm#Majors




http://www.bsu.edu/iandt

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v13n1/pdf/flowers.pdf

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v13n1/pdf/flowers.pdf


licensed teachers. However, some students may choose to use selected courses from either program to pursue additional licensing credentials in accordance with their state's requirements for teacher licensure.

As of June, 2004, all fifteen graduate courses offered from the Department had been delivered online, replacing face-to-face (F2F) sections. The 2004 / 2005 year saw no new courses, but due to personnel changes, two faculty redeveloped and delivered online graduate courses that had been taught by others.

Admissions Requirements

Unlike similar programs at some other institutions, the admission requirements do not specify the undergraduate degree areas for applicants, nor do they list a teaching license as an admissions requirement. Thus, these programs are better suited in attracting students who may have had completed a baccalaureate degree in a different field.

As with other masters from Ball State, applicants must have an earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with an undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 (on a 4.0 scale), or with an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 in the latter half of their undergraduate work. Those who do not meet these GPA requirements may be able to enter as probationary students and must achieve a 3.0 minimum average in 9 semester hours of graduate work approved by the Department Chair and the Dean of the Graduate School, and must score in the top two-thirds on each section of the general Graduate Record Examination. There are no additional departmental or program admission requirements.

Program Requirements

Each degree program can be completed 100% online without a single trip to the campus or a satellite site. Each master's program requires 30 graduate hours, 9 of which may be transferred in from another institution subject to advisor approval, and only if these were graduate hours from an accredited institution wherein the student earned at least a B. Transfer hours are also subject to the Ball State requirement that all masters coursework be completed within a six-year timeframe. A thesis is optional in each program. Each program has a separate core of courses, a required research course, a required course in education outside the Department of Industry and Technology, and electives. Please see the Appendices listing the Program of Study for the MA in Technology Education and the Program of Study for the MA in Career and Technical Education.

Enrollment

Course Enrollment

Placing the master's degrees online has resulted in a dramatic increase in course and program enrollment. To date, 33 online graduate course sections have been offered since Fall 2000, and the average enrollment was 17.9; considering the maximum set by the Program Committee at 20 for a graduate class, this is impressive. (It should be noted that both the minimum and maximum were broken in some instances, and that on-campus online enrollments were combined for sections "taught with" off-campus online sections; furthermore, this is the course enrollment, not a section enrollment.) In comparison, during this time there were 16 face-to-face classes offered on-campus and being phased out, with an average enrollment of 5.8 students, a low number in light of the minimum set at 6 for a graduate class.

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http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm#MACATE


Figure 1. Enrollment for each graduate course offered in Industry and Technology from Fall 2000 through Spring 2005. (Source: ADMAC, except for Fall 2000 BSU@work data)

As seen in Figure 1, F2F enrollment had dwindled, with the new online offerings typically attracting much larger numbers. The data in Figure 1 and Table 1 confirm the wisdom of phasing out face-to-face graduate classes. The last face-to-face graduate class was taught in the Spring of 2003; only online graduate classes that are planned for future semesters, with the exception of mixed-mode classes not part of this degree program that were developed for alternative teacher licensing.

Because this online offering was new, faculty often agreed to teach either over-enrolled (more than 20) classes, or multiple class sections, as seen by the classes above the 20 line in Figure 1. However, this was found to be too taxing in some instances, and the Department's Graduate Program Committee submitted a proposal during the 2004/2005 year to lower the maximum enrollment in graduate classes from 20 to 15, possibly leading to multiple sections where there was previously a section overloaded to 25 students; this proposal was not approved. The maximum course size (20) seems to be asymptotic to the most recent enrollment trend shown at the right of Figure 1, which indicates that the programs might be at their carrying capacity given the current number of faculty.

Table 1. Enrollment in Graduate Courses(Source: ADMAC except for Fall 2000 BSU@work data)

Semester Year ITEDU Online Face-to-Face

Fall 2000 510 26

Fall 2000 691 3

Fall 2000 699 4



Spring 2001 635 6

Spring 2001 690 5

Spring 2001 694 5

Summer I 2001 564 6

Summer I 2001 698 6

Fall 2001 510 23

Fall 2001 690 4

Fall 2001 691 7

Fall 2001 699 7

Spring 2002 635 7

Spring 2002 694 8

Summer I 2002 564 13

Summer I 2002 698 9

Fall 2002 510 19

Fall 2002 568 7

Fall 2002 690 6

Fall 2002 691 15

Fall 2002 699 6

Spring 2003 510 26

Spring 2003 569 8

Spring 2003 635 19

Spring 2003 694 4

Summer I 2003 550 13

Summer I 2003 564 7

Summer I 2003 698 30

Fall 2003 510 7

Fall 2003 551 7

Fall 2003 552 7

Fall 2003 690 27

Fall 2003 691 24

Fall 2003 699 9

Spring 2004 510 21



Spring 2004 635 25

Spring 2004 694 27

Spring 2004 560* 22

Summer I 2004 564 9

Summer I 2004 696 23

Summer I 2004 698 28

Fall 2004 568 19

Fall 2004 690 21

Fall 2004 699 21

Spring 2005 510 10

Spring 2005 569 20

Spring 2005 635 21

Spring 2005 691 19

Spring 2005 694 19

Number of Course Offerings 33 16

Total Student Enrollment 592 93

Mean Enrollment 17.9 5.8

* Course Prefix for the 560 course is ITMFG.

Program Headcount

Program headcounts show an increase at the Fall 2002 period, when the programs began to be delivered online, as shown in the combined program headcounts in Figure 2.



Figure 2. Combined Program Headcounts for the MA in Technology Education and the MA in Career & Technical Education combined, from historical BSU@Work data for Fall and Spring semesters.

The larger program is the one in Technology Education, illustrated below in Figure 3. The trend shown in Figure 2 is mostly due to the trend shown in Figure 3. The upward trend in the Technology Education Program Headcount deviated in the Fall of 2004 due to two factors. First, there was a decision to cancel ITEDU 510 made one month prior to the first day of class due to low enrollment (4) at that time. Second, ITEDU 691, typically taught by Dr. Ray Shackelford, was postponed until the Spring of 2005 due to Dr. Shackelford's sabbatical leave in the Fall of 2004. This resulted in only two online offerings in Technology Education in the Fall, rather than four. These courses achieved maximum enrollment and there were students requesting online courses who were not able to enroll.



Figure 3. Program Headcounts for the MA in Technology Education, extracted from BSU@work historical data for Fall and Spring semesters.

Recommendation: As a result, a recommendation is hereby made that online courses not be cancelled due to low enrollment prior to the first day of class. Second, sabbatical leaves might be accommodated by assignment of an alternate instructor, thereby not disrupting students' plans.

The healthy growth of the MA in Technology Education (Figure 3) has been a great success for the Department, the College of Applied Sciences and Technology, and the School of Extended Education. This growth is expected to peak at very near the current level (50 to 55) and level off due to the ability of current faculty to cover online courses.

A similar curve is seen in the program headcounts for the MA in Career and Technical Education from the point of online implementation (Figure 4). In this case, the increase is more dramatic because face-to-face enrollment had all but disappeared prior to online implementation.



Figure 4 Program Headcounts for the MA in Career and Technical Education (previously called the MA in Industrial Vocational / Technical Education), extracted from BSU@work historical data for Fall and Spring semesters.

The slope of the curve for headcount in the MA in CTE in Figure 4 seems to indicate a greater potential for increase than the curve for headcount in the MA in TE. Trend extrapolation was used to show predictions for the different growth expected in each program (Figure 5). However, these are based on numerous assumptions, most notably the ability to increase the number of faculty and frequency of offerings in the CTE program; without such increases, the program may have already reached its maximum.



Figure 5. Extrapolating Trends in Program Headcounts.

Recommendation: Additional Graduate Faculty are needed in the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education Program if the current growth trend is expected to continue.

Personnel Changes

Faculty

Due to the retirement of Dr. James Kirkwood, the resignation of Dr. Scott Warner, and the graduate faculty status term ending for Mr. Richard Ertle, the Department has lost three graduate faculty who had covered four of the fifteen online graduate classes. New hires in the Department for the 2004/2005 year were not allocated for either the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education or the Master of Arts in Technology Education, in spite of growing enrollments. Furthermore, in previous years Dr. Jack Wescott had taught graduate courses, but since the transition to online offerings, he has not taught online. The result is that four faculty who used to teach graduate courses are not available to staff two growing programs. Currently, Dr. Cotton teaches all six of the core courses in the CTE degree program and one of those in the TE program.

Recommendation: Additional faculty are needed for these graduate programs, especially the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education, where the low number of program faculty (i.e., 1) raises serious questions about the quality of the program, in spite of Dr. Cotton's proven abilities and growing numbers in this program.

Dr. Ray Shackelford was on sabbatical leave for Fall 2004 and a decision was made to postpone the offering of ITEDU 691 from the Fall of 2004 to the Spring of 2005. Online teaching assignments were changed as shown in Table 2. (There were also changes in graduate advising, as discussed later.)


http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm#Advising


Table 2. Online Course Assignment Changes in 2004/2005

Course(ITEDU)

PreviousInstructor New Instructor Term Reason

690 J. Kirkwood S. Cotton1 F 04 Retirement

694 S. Warner J. Flowers1 Sp 05 Resignation

564 J. Kirkwood J. Kirkwood2 Su I 05 Retirement

551 R. Ertle (class dropped) F 05 No Longer Graduate Faculty

1 Unlike the other 15 online course development agreements, Drs. Cotton and Flowers were redeveloping courses originally developed for online implementation by another, and thus were not supported with either a stipend or course reduction for either of two development periods or for first time implementation.

2 Dr. Kirkwood has agreed to teach ITEDU 564 during the term indicated even though he has retired.

Recommendation: Faculty who engage in significant redevelopment of an online course should apply for the support offered through the School of Extended Education and University Teleplex.

Staff

Mr. Sang-Hyun Park served as a Graduate Assistant during the 2004/2005 academic year. A description of the requirements for Graduate Assistants assigned as Online Education Assistants can be seen at: www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/staffdescription.htm. Dr. Jim Flowers served as the department's Director of Online Education during the Fall and Spring semesters. The Director's current job description can be seen at the following location: www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/directordescription.htm. Both the Director and the Online Education Assistant are 9-month employees. However, there is a need for program support that extends through the summer months, especially in light of the fact that both online programs are designed to provide education to teachers who may be freer to take courses and make inquiries during summer months.

Recommendation: The positions of Director of Online Education and Online Education Assistant should be extended throughout the summer months. However, this is not to say that Dr. Flowers would be the one who would serve in this capacity during those months.

Course Section Issues

On September 8, 2004, the Department's Graduate Program Committee unanimously approved a motion to lower the section maximum enrollment from 20 to 15 students as a step to ensure the high level of contact between students and instructors that is so critical for quality education. This proposal did not meet with necessary administrative approval.

Recommendation: Because the issue of program quality hinges on class size, it is hoped that the Program Committee's recommendation will be reconsidered, possibly when a future budgetary outlook is more optimistic.

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http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/staffdescription.htm

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/directordescription.htm

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/directordescription.htm


II. Initiatives in the 2004/2005 Academic Year

Course Development & Review

This year saw the completion of work on the agreement with the School of Extended Education and University Teleplex to place online, and revise, the fourteen remaining graduate courses offered by the department (after the pilot online offering in the Fall of 2000), with the final "revision following initial implementation" for the last course in the Fall of 2004. Now begins the standard three-year revision cycle suggested by the School of Extended Education. A proposal will be submitted to the Distance Education Review Committee (DERC) outlining the Department's request for support for this revision in December of 2005.

Course Review Instruments and Procedures

The review of online courses continued in the 2004/2005 year with the review of ITEDU 696, the final of these fifteen courses, implemented by Dr. Samuel Cotton in Summer I of 2004, and reviewed and revised in the Fall semester that followed. The instruments used followed previously established guidelines in the Department. The program faculty collaborated to develop an instrument and set of procedures to aid in the formal review of courses during the semester following their initial online implementation. In addition, the Director has developed and used a somewhat more detailed form. These are available at the following locations.

The Peer Evaluation Instrument and Procedure for implemented online course review were developed through program faculty collaboration, and can be seen as Word and Acrobat documents at:

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/courseevaluation.doc http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/courseevaluation.pdf

The course assessment instrument used by the Director can be seen here:

www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/directorsassessment.xls

To date, formal course evaluations occurred for the following

● ITEDU 550, Career & Technical Student Organizations, Developed by S. Cotton ● ITEDU 552, Career & Technical-Related Class Content, Developed by S. Cotton ● ITEDU 558, Principles & Philosophy of Career & Technical Education, Developed by S. Cotton ● ITEDU 569, Organization and Coordination of Career and Technical Education, Developed by S. Cotton ● ITEDU 635, Implementing Technology Education, Developed by R. Seymour ● ITEDU 690, History & Philosophy of Technology Education, Developed by J. Kirkwood, reviewed, then Redeveloped by S. Cotton for Fall 2004 ● ITEDU 691, Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education, Developed by R. Shackelford ● ITEDU 696, Techniques in Coordinating Cooperative Education, Developed by S. Cotton ● ITEDU 698, Seminar in Technology Education, Developed by J. Flowers ● ITEDU 699, Research in Industrial Education, Developed by M. A. Rose ● ITMFG 560, Industrial Safety & Health, Developed by S. Cotton

To date, formal course evaluations have not occurred for the following

● ITEDU 510, Technology Use & Assessment, Developed by J. Flowers prior to the review system, Pilot Course ● ITEDU 551, Trade and Occupational Analysis, Developed by R. Ertle


http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/courseevaluation.doc

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/courseevaluation.pdf

http://www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/directorsassessment.xls


● ITEDU 564, Practicum in Technology Education for the Elementary Grades, Developed by J. Kirkwood prior to the review system. ● ITEDU 694, Curriculum Development in Technology Education, Developed by S. Warner, and Redeveloped by J. Flowers for Spring 2005

End-of-Course Course Improvement Surveys

In order to furnish feedback needed for course improvement, the Director developed a course improvement survey instrument with feedback from those online instructors who opted to participate. With the exception of two courses, all online faculty have chosen to participate in this system that is intended to furnish them with additional information from students to aid in course redesign. An example of the basic instrument can be seen at the following location, although some faculty have opted to customize the instrument for a particular class: http://www.bsu.edu/inqsit/inqsit.cgi/flowers2/online?510f03imp; this survey of students is voluntary and anonymous on the part of the student. The Director furnishes results to faculty who wish to participate after final grades have been submitted. There is no evaluation of course or faculty based on this data, except that performed by the individual faculty member, him- or herself.

"P&T" Surveys of Students

As outlined in the Department's Promotion and Tenure guidelines, an evaluation of course and instructor by students occurs for all Fall and Spring courses during the 12th week. In the Fall and Spring semesters of 2004 / 2005, the standard 12th-week "student evaluation of course and instructor" was successfully implemented using Gradebook, and under the administration of Dr. James A. Jones.

During this year, it was brought to the attention of the Department's Promotion and Tenure Committee that some faculty felt a need for an instrument and a system that better addressed online and graduate education. It was suggested that a new set of instruments be developed based on the research literature, and validated. During the Spring of 2005, a revised instrument was forwarded by that committee for consideration by all tenured and tenure track faculty in the Department. A decision was made to return that instrument to the committee for further work as indicated during that faculty meeting.

Survey of Majors

As done in the previous year, near the end of the Spring 2005 semester, all graduate students majoring in the Department's programs were sent a request to take an anonymous online survey to provide feedback on the online program. The results from the survey of majors are contained in an appendix in this document.

Changes to Graduate Catalog

In the Fall of 2004, two non-majors enrolled in both ITEDU 568, Principles & Philosophy of Career and Technical Education, and ITEDU 690, History of Technology Education. Each is a core course in either their respective programs. The degree of overlapping content led to the following note added to each course description (Approved by Program Committee Sept 8, 2004, and by Dean Kingsbury on September 15, 2004.) The note, as approved by the Committee and Dean Kingsbury read "Note: Credit cannot be received for both ITEDU 568 and ITEDU 690." However, discussions with Ron Murphy led to the need to use standardized terminology throughout the Graduate Catalog, thus the phrase that will appear is "Note: Not open to students with credit in ____ ." As Ron Murphy pointed out, neither wording would prevent students from concurrent enrollment, and either would let them know that credit could not be earned for both.

Student Support

Advising

During the Fall of 2004, Jim Flowers took over the role of Graduate Advisor from Jack Wescott on a one-semester trial basis. The number of graduate advisees grew to the point where Dr. Flowers had more advisees (n=65, according to the BSU@work "Student List and Headcount by Advisor" for Spring 2005) than any other department advisor, except one (who had n=75). Unlike with those other advisors, however, these advisees were online and were


http://www.bsu.edu/inqsit/inqsit.cgi/flowers2/online?510f03imp



graduate students, complicating the task of advising. Furthermore, there was no assigned time for graduate advising, unlike for undergraduate advisors. Dr. Flowers had had a "banked" assigned time during the Fall of 2004, due to one of the overload classes he taught in previous Spring, and the new graduate advising duties he assumed dissipated that banked time. Efforts to secure an assigned time for the important role of graduate advisor for these growing programs were not successful. Thus, without any accommodation for graduate advising in the Spring of 2005, the program faculty decided to divide the graduate advising responsibility equally among the six faculty. A new graduate advising protocol has been established, and can be seen at www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/advising.htm. It includes the following advising assignments.

Graduate Advisor List for Industry & Technology Feb 2, 2005

Students and Major Codes Advisor

Prior to admissions, all applicants are temporarily assisted by our the Admissions Coordinator. Once admitted, they are assigned an advisor according to the system outlined below.

Dr. Jack Wescott(temporary)[email protected](765) 286-5642Advisor Code: 110

All students in the Master of Arts in Career & Technical EducationCodes 102M005MA, 102T004MA

Dr. Samuel [email protected](765) 285-5640Advisor Code: 111

Students in the Master of Arts in Technology Education with Last Names from A to CCode 102T006MA

Dr. Jim [email protected](765) 285-2879Advisor Code: 112

Students in the Master of Arts in Technology Education with Last Names from D to HCode 102T006MA

Dr. Mary Annette [email protected](765) 285-5648Advisor Code: 113

Students in the Master of Arts in Technology Education with Last Names from I to NCode 102T006MA

Dr. Richard [email protected](765) 285-5652Advisor Code: 114

Students in the Master of Arts in Technology Education with Last Names from O to SCode 102T006MA

Dr. Ray [email protected](765) 285-5653Advisor Code: 115


http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/advising.htm

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/advising.htm


http://scotton.iweb.bsu.edu/home.htm


http://jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/flowers.htm


http://www.bsu.edu/web/arose/


http://www.bsu.edu/cast/itech/seymour.htm


http://www.bsu.edu/web/RLSHACKELFOR/itedu/Shackelfordhomepage.htm



Students in the Master of Arts in Technology Education with Last Names from T to ZCode 102T006MA

Dr. Jack [email protected](765) 286-5642Advisor Code: 110

During summer months, some faculty members are not under contract with the University. Their advisees will be assisted by the Department Chair when necessary during this time.

Dr. Jack [email protected](765) 286-5642

Recommendation: It is recommended that Ball State University support these online programs by allocating an assigned time for two faculty designated as graduate advisors. It is recommended that there be one such advisor for each of the two master's programs.

Streaming Media: Colloquium Series

Through the help of Mr. Mike Dalton, the projection computer in Room 214 of the Applied Technology Building was fitted with a video and audio input card and other software to accommodate video streaming. Additional audio/video equipment has been purchased by the department for this. Initially, the department's Colloquium Series was being streamed live. This typically occurred one Wednesday a month at 3 pm during the Spring and Fall of 2004, and those at a distance could see and hear the broadcast over any broadband Internet connection. Questions and discussion with distance participants were facilitated with a chat room established in the Blackboard site for graduate advisees, and with the Email address: [email protected]. There were just a few distance participants in the Spring of 2004.

None of the 25 graduate majors responding to the 2005 survey indicated that they participated in these live events. However, beginning in the Fall of 2004, selected live events were recorded, and the stream was made available through an archive page at www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/webcasts.htm.The Department's video streams, both live and archived, are still rather crude, and the funding that supported 2004 colloquium sessions (administered by Drs. Annette Rose and Scott Warner [resigned]) has expired.

Recommendation: It is recommended that future colloquia be pursued with improved technology and better publicity. It is also recommended that graduate faculty in the department consider having their online graduate students participate in selected video streamed events as part of their class requirements, as appropriate to the course objectives and as fits those students' schedules.

Scholarships and Awards

The Department of Industry and Technology annually recognizes outstanding students in different degree programs with awards and scholarships at a Spring banquet. A Department Scholarship Committee coordinates the selection of awardees with Department faculty, and an Awards Reception Committee facilitates the ceremonies. No recognitions, awards, or scholarships were given to graduate students in either the Master of Arts programs in Technology Education or Career and Technical Education in 2005. However, a newly endowed scholarship to support graduate students was granted, the Dr. William H. Middleton Scholarship, named in honor of a long-time and respected faculty member: http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/news/MiddltnSchrsh05form2.doc. It should be noted that this scholarship is only open to an applicant who is in-coming or returning "full-time resident graduate student." As the department's masters degrees have evolved into 100% online degree programs, the requirements of full-time status and residency limit the pool of possible awardees to very few.

The 2005 Dr. William H. Middleton Scholarship was granted to Ms. Amy Hanrahan who is a senior in the Graphic Arts Management bachelor's program, and




http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/webcasts.htm



http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/webcasts.htm

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/news/MiddltnSchrsh05form2.doc


the entire Department congratulates her on this scholarship.

Recommendation: It is recommended that the Scholarship Committee, the Awards Reception Committee, and the Graduate Program Committee work together to provide recognition and support of online graduate students.

Extending Protocols to Include Distance Students

Many procedures occur without special efforts taken to include students-at-a-distance. However, the Department is striving to overcome this. For example, an effort was made to include online students in the Department community was in the solicitation of outstanding teaching awards. In the Spring of 2005, the announcement that had traditionally online been circulated on campus was sent to the 102 online graduate students who took courses from the Department in Summer I 2004, Fall 2004, or Spring 2005. (After review of nominations from across the Department, the Department's Outstanding Teaching Award Committee chose to offer no awards in 2005.)

Marketing

International Student Admissions

In the Fall of 2004, Ball State's Center for International Programs created a new admissions form for those seeking admissions into extended education programs without relocating to the United States. This new form and procedure (www.bsu.edu/internationaladmit/disteduapp/) do not require assurances that the applicant will be able to pay on-campus tuition, room, and board, nor inquire about their Visa status. The Center for International Programs should be commended on responding to this need, and now new international markets should be more viable. However, there are some requirements that are not clearly identified for foreign applicants. For example, TOEFL scores are not required for those in select countries, and a Canadian Driver's License photocopy can be substituted for a photocopy of the picture page of a passport.

Recommendation: It is recommended that the Center continue to improve its foreign student application support, making the process as student-friendly as possible within the requirements of our admissions process.

Website Testing & Revision

One of the most critical marketing tools is the program Website at www.bsu.edu/iandt which is different from the departmental Website at www.bsu.edu/cast/itech/ . Numerous graduate assistants have worked with the Director of Online Education to develop the many pages that make up the "iandt" site.


http://www.bsu.edu/internationaladmit/disteduapp/


http://www.bsu.edu/cast/itech/

http://www.bsu.edu/cast/itech/


In April, 2003, Nancy Prater conducted a formal usability assessment test of the www.bsu.edu/iandt Website. Her report can be seen at: http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/IandT_Summary.doc. Changes are continually being made to improve the iandt site. It includes program information, an extensive question/answer page, information about faculty, news, links to admissions, registration, the graduate catalog, and much more. One of the most helpful features is the use of a form to gain information from those interested in the program. To date, over 700 requests for information have been received with this form since the program went online in 2002, with approximately 170 received from May 2004 through April 2005; this does not count the additional requests for information received through typical Email and phone contacts.

Ball State University is transitioning to the Vignette Content Suite software for official Webpage development. This represents an enormous shift and will require the individual unitization and input of many "articles" and illustrations. A draft of the iandt Website was created on the Vignette system by Kalyan Narra in the Fall of 2003. However, there are plans to redevelop the main site for the Department of Industry and Technology using the Vignette Content Suite; the previous iandt site used to support the online programs would be redesigned as a subset of that larger, Department site.

iweb

BSU's University Computing Services has noted that accounts on the "web" server should be transitioned to the newer and expandable iweb server. Online faculty, and the iandt site mentioned above, make primary use of that older "web" server. However, online faculty have applied for and received iweb accounts, and have been briefed on the transition to the iweb server. The expected increase of disk quota to 1 Gb per account will facilitate this transition. However, there is an issue with the current implementation of the iweb server. It does not support the sending of Email from a web page using active server pages (ASP.) ASP has been used to receive Email from prospective students and to respond to their inquiries, both on the iandt site and in the pages of online faculty.

Recommendation: The iweb disk quotas for online faculty accounts should be increased to 1 Gb as soon as possible, hopefully allowing for Website migration during the Summer of 2005. Secondly, the issue that prevents active server page use from iweb should be resolved as soon as possible.

Promotional Items



http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/IandT_Summary.doc

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/IandT_Summary.doc


Again this year, laser-cut acrylic gears, manufactured by the Director and containing program contact information, were distributed to interested parties through the mail, at conferences, and elsewhere. In the past, these have been found to be of interest to those involved with technical subject matter. The gear pictured to the right is used to market both online masters degrees.

Email Marketing

The Email marketing that occurred in previous years was halted for 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 due to the global proliferation of spam and viruses.

Brochures

New brochures have been designed for the MA in TE and the MA in CTE. During use in the 2004 / 2005 year, it was suggested by some program faculty and potential students that the brochures be redesigned to include more program information, especially a listing of courses, along with the mailing address of the department. These had been present in older program brochures.

Download the TE Brochure Download the CTE Brochure

Recommendation: Upon the next redesign of these two brochures, program requirements (including lists of courses) and a mailing address should be included.

Website Listings & Banner Advertisement

A banner advertisement was again placed at the Website of the International Technology Education Association, on their "Where to Get a Degree" page: www.iteawww.org/J4.html. This links users directly to the Main Technology Education Page: www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/te.htm. The banner is an animated graphic consisting of two frames:


http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/te.pdf



http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/cate.pdf

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/cate.pdf

http://www.iteawww.org/J4.html

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/te.htm


In addition, links to Ball State's online information about these two programs are found on a number of other sites, such as that of the Association of Career and Technical Education http://www.acteonline.org/resource_center/cte_links/schools.cfm, often in response to a request by the Director of Online Education.

● http://masstec.nstemp.com/new.html (listed by the Massachusetts Technology Education Engineering Collaborative) ● http://www.firn.edu/doe/programs/pdf/flash_147.pdf & http://www.ftea.com/Flash_156.pdf (listed by the Florida Technology Education Association) ● http://www.nde.state.ne.us/cte/Newsletters/April03.htm (listed by the Nebraska Department of Education, Career & Technical Education) ● http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlsis/let/doc/te022503.doc (listed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Technology Education Program) ● http://www.atte.org/FYI2.html (listed by the Association of Texas Technology Education)

In addition, a letter from Jim Flowers asking for assistance to get the word out about the Ball State's Online Masters has been published online at:

● http://www.indianaacte.org/bBoard.shtml (The Indiana Association of Career and Technical Education) ● http://www.k12.wa.us/CareerTechEd/BulletinBoard/Mar03.aspx (Washington State, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Career and

Technical Education) ● http://www.msstate.edu/listarchives/tech-discovery/200302/msg00009.html (Mississippi State University, listserv archive)

Scholarly Publications

In this academic year, three scholarly publications related to online education and authored or coauthored by Department faculty appeared. Articles and other publications have served to position Ball State University and program faculty as innovative practitioners of distance education and increased name recognition, and more are planned.

● Ali, N. S., Hodson-Carlton, K., Ryan, M., Flowers, J., Rose, M. A., and Wayda, V. (2005). Online education: Needs assessment for faculty development. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 36(1), 32-38. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2005 from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?index=9&did=782490161&SrchMode=3&sid=1&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1106919105&clientId=3278Type=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1106919105&clientId=3278

● Flowers, J. (2005). Lessons to consider: Distance and distributed learning environments from student and faculty perspectives. In W. L. Havice & P. A. Havice, (Eds.), Distance and distributed learning environments: Perspectives and strategies: 54th yearbook of the Council on Technology Teacher Education. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill.

● Rose, M.A. (2004). Comparing productive online dialogue in two group styles: Cooperative and collaborative. The American Journal of Distance Education, 18(2), 73-88. Available online from Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Online at http://www.leaonline.com/

Presentations

Presentations at conferences and elsewhere have marketed the online programs. Among the presentations by Department faculty related to online education were the following.

● Cotton, S., Zirkle, C. & Hall, H. (2004). Alternative strategies for delivering teacher preparation. National Webcast from The Ohio State University. October 5, 2004.

● Flowers, J. (2005). Improving engagement through a learning objects approach. Invited Presenter, Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System All-Partners Conference, Indianapolis, IN. April 15, 2005.

● Flowers, J. (2005). Helping students conduct formal technology assessments. Presenter, International Technology Education Association Conference, Kansas City, MO. April 4, 2005. (This presentation described the online course in Technology Use and Assessment.)


http://www.acteonline.org/resource_center/cte_links/schools.cfm

http://masstec.nstemp.com/new.html

http://www.firn.edu/doe/programs/pdf/flash_147.pdf

http://www.ftea.com/Flash_156.pdf

http://www.nde.state.ne.us/cte/Newsletters/April03.htm

http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlsis/let/doc/te022503.doc

http://www.atte.org/FYI2.html

http://www.indianaacte.org/bBoard.shtml

http://www.k12.wa.us/CareerTechEd/BulletinBoard/Mar03.aspx

http://www.msstate.edu/listarchives/tech-discovery/200302/msg00009.html

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?index=9&did=782490161&SrchMode=3&sid=1&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1106919105&clientId=3278



http://www.ajde.com/Contents/vol18_2.htm

http://www.ajde.com/Contents/vol18_2.htm

http://www.leaonline.com/


● McFadden, J. & Cotton, S. (2004). Resources: Help along the path to success: Online graduate courses. Indiana Association for Career and Technical Education summer conference, Muncie, IN (2 Sessions). July 27, 2004

Grants and Research Related to Online Education

● Faculty ROLE. The final report was submitted for the Faculty ROLE project in December of 2004. Six faculty in the College of Applied Science and Technology, partnering with other units at Ball State, received a $10,000 grant from the George and Frances Ball Fund for Academic Excellence to conduct a workshop during May and June, 2003. The workshop was called "Faculty Researching OnLine Education" or "Faculty ROLE," and it was an initiative aimed at encouraging online faculty in CAST to conduct needed research in online education, or to apply research results to their online instruction. The investigators on this project were Nagia Ali, Jim Flowers, Kay Hodson-Carlton, Annette Rose, Marilyn Ryan, and Valerie Wayda, and partnerships were obtained from the Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement, the School of Extended Education, University Libraries, University Teleplex, and the Office of Academic Research and Sponsored Programs. Department faculty scheduled to participate include Sam Cotton, James Kirkwood, Dick Ertle, and Tom Tyberg. The final report final report can be seen at: jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu /projects/21Cent2003/facultyROLEreport.htm

● Sam Cotton and Jim Flowers received approval from the BSU Institutional Review Board to conduct research on "The effect of self-categorization of cognitive dialogue on online student discussions." Data was gathered from their Summer I 2004 classes and analyzed during the academic year.

Related Developments in 2004 / 2005

● Prior to the Fall of 2004, the Department offered dual sections of nearly each online graduate course. This was done so that distance students could enroll through the School of Extended Education, which provide lower tuition rates and special services for distance students, and on-campus students working as graduate assistants could register for an on-campus section that would be covered by their tuition waiver. It was learned, however, that these tuition waivers can be used for courses through SEE. Thus, as of the Fall of 2004 all students, whether on- or off-campus, enrolled through the School of Extended Education. This has been a marked improvement, reducing the problems of students enrolling in inappropriate sections, incorrect billing, and student overloads to a course.

● The Department's Graduate Program Committee approved a new Mission Statement for the Master of Arts in Technology Education during the 2004 / 2005 year:

"The mission of the Master of Arts in Technology Education program is to prepare graduates who possess theoretical and practical understanding of technological content, pedagogy, and research to effectively implement and improve Technology Education."

● A new technology education teaching licensing program was made available this year to currently licensed Indiana teachers. It entails an 18 graduate hour plan of study that includes some of the online courses in the Master of Arts in Technology Education and two blended courses which provide hands-on instruction with technological materials and tools: http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/docs/AlternateTELicense.pdf.

● In the Fall of 2003, Dr. Frank Sabatine, Dean of the BSU School of Extended Education, requested that Jim Flowers assemble a group of six faculty, campus wide, to give him faculty input regarded faculty support for the development of online courses. This SEE Faculty Input Group has reported on this topic to Dr. Sabatine. It was then charged with developing distance education course development guidelines to recommend for adoption by the School of Extended Education. In the Fall of 2004, its final report was presented to the School of Extended Education and can be seen as two documents:

❍ Recommended Guidelines for Distance Education Course Development:http://jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/projects/fig/qs.htm

❍ Suggested Distance Course Development Process:http://jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/projects/fig/rfp.htm

● Dr. Samuel Cotton served as a reviewer of manuscripts related to online education for both Tech Directions Journal and the Journal of Computing in


http://jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/projects/21Cent2003/facultyROLEreport.htm

http://jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/projects/21Cent2003/facultyROLEreport.htm

http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/docs/AlternateTELicense.pdf

http://jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/projects/fig/qs.htm

http://jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/projects/fig/rfp.htm


Higher Education during this academic year. ● During the Fall of 2004, Jim Flowers served as a member of the "Learning Objects Task Force" led by Dr. Lynn Ward to assist developing funding

opportunities for the higher education institutions in the state of Indiana related to learning objects development.

Appendix A. Program of Study for the Online MA in Technology Education Program

The following subset of the courses listed in the Graduate Catalog has been placed online:

Total Hours Required: 30 Professional Core (15 hrs required)

● ITEDU 635 Implementing Technology Education (3) ● ITEDU 690 History and Philosophy of Technology Education (3) ● ITEDU 691 Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education (3) ● ITEDU 694 Curriculum Development in Technology Education (3) ● ITEDU 698 Seminar in Technology Education (3)

Research Requirements (3 hrs required, 3 - 9 hrs possible)

● ITEDU 699 Research in Industrial Education (3) ● THES 698 Thesis (1-6) (optional)

Professional Education (3 hrs required)

● EDTEC 550 Curriculum Integration of Learning Technology (3) ● (other "professional education" courses that may come online)

Electives (3 to 9 hrs, to achieve 30 total program hrs)

● ITEDU 510 Technology: Use and Assessment (3) ● ITEDU 564 Practicum in Technology Education for Elementary Grades (3) ● EDPSY 640 Methodology of Educational & Psychological Research (3) ● ITEDU 550 Career and Technical Student Organizations (renamed) (3) ● (other electives or transfer credits approved by the program advisor)

Appendix B. Program of Study for the Online MA in Career & Technical Education Program

The following subset of the courses listed in the Graduate Catalog has been placed online:

Total Hours Required: 30



Professional Core (9 - 15 hrs required)

● ITEDU 550 Career & Technical Student Organizations (3) ● ITEDU 551 Trade and Occupational Analysis (3) Removed in 2004 ● ITEDU 552 Career & Technical-Related Class Content (3) ● ITEDU 568 Principles and Philosophy of Career & Technical Education (3) ● ITEDU 569 Organization and Coordination of Career & Technical Education (3) ● ITEDU 691 Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education (3) ● ITEDU 696 Techniques in Coordinating Cooperative Education (3) ● ITMFG 560 Industrial Safety and Health (3)

Research Requirements (3 hrs required, 3 - 9 hrs possible)

● ITEDU 699 Research in Industrial Education (3) ● THES 698 Thesis (1-6) (optional)

Departmental Electives (0 hrs required, 0 - 6 hrs possible)

● Any courses from the Professional Core not yet taken ● Any courses from the online MA in Technology Education

Professional Education (3 hrs required)

● EDTEC 550 Curriculum Integration of Learning Technology (3) ● (other "professional education" courses that may come online)

Electives (0 to 9 hrs, to achieve 30 total program hrs)

● EDPSY 640 Methodology of Educational & Psychological Research (3) ● Any courses from the Professional Core not yet taken ● Any courses from the online MA in Technology Education ● Other electives or transfer credits approved by the program advisor



Appendix C. 2005 Survey of Online Majors

[In April, 2005 an online survey was conducted of graduate level majors in the Department of Industry and Technology to inform the assessment and improvement of the Department's and University's services to these students.]

[Note: The current year's numerical results from this survey [N=28] are indicated in [boldface in brackets] with zero values omitted and direct quotations shown in italics. For comparison, results from similar items in the April 2004 survey of majors (n=26) are shown second in boldface and orange, and results from the Spring 2003 survey are shown in green and underlined.]

Please mark your responses to the questions below.

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. It will help to assess the online Master of Arts degrees in Technology Education and in Career and Technical Education from Ball State University's Department of Industry and Technology.

When you are done, click "Continue" and your responses will be submitted anonymously. The results of this survey will be used for program assessment and improvement. Even if you took a similar survey last year, it is important for us to get feedback from you now.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jim Flowers, the department's Director of Online Education, at [email protected], (765) 285-2879.

Thank you.

[Note, Figures in boldface are from the current 2005 survey, those in orange are from the 2004 survey, and those in green are from the 2003 survey.

1. In which Ball State program are you enrolled? [n=28]

A. MA in Career and Technology Education (vocational) [11, 5,1] B. MA in Technology Education[17,19, 23] D. (Licensing only, no degree program) [0,2, 0] E. (Continuing education only, no degree program)[0,0,0] F. None of the above [0,0, 2]

If you selected "None of the above" for Question 1, please go to the end of the survey now and press Continue.

2. If you enrolled in one of the MA programs, when do you expect to graduate (month/year)? [n=22]

● April 2005[1] ● May 2005[4] ● July 2005[1]




● August 2005[1] ● December 2005 [2] ● Winter 2005[1] ● 2005 [1] ● May 2006 [1] ● 2006[1] ● May 2007[1] ● June 2007[1] ● summer 2007[1] ● December 2007[1] ● spring 2007[1] ● December 2008[1] ● "Don't Know, not sure, unknown" [3]

3. Where do you typically log in to an online course? (Check all that apply.) [n=28]

A. Home [21,25, 22] B. Work [21,12, 16] C. Other [2,2, 2]

4. How fast is your Internet connection where you log in most often? [n=28]

A. Select one [0,0,0] B. I don't know. [0,0, 1] C. Slow, dial-up (28k modem, or slower) [0,2, 2] D. Faster, dial-up (56k modem) [4,9, 11] E. Broadband (T1 line, cable modem, or DSL) [24,15, 12]

5. What is your present job? [n=26]

A. Select one[0,0,0] B. Secondary school technology teacher [12,14, 12] C. Secondary school career and technical (vocational) teacher [4,5, 1] D. Community college instructor [3,4, 4] E. School administrator [0,0, 1] F. Full-time graduate student [0,2, 2] G. Other (Please specify below.) [7,1, 5]

Other: No Answer[2]

● middle school tech teacher ● Elementary Teacher[2]



● Salary at Automotive company ● Elementary Art Teacher (Visual Arts) ● Association Executive ● middle school technology teacher ● Proprietor of Company ● Secondary School Visual Arts Teacher

6. What is your main motivation for enrolling in this master's program or this continuing education?

● pay scale raise ● The convenience of being able to attend classes from home. No travel time and or expenses. ● To teach in a technology classroom ● mo money ● career advancement/pay ● Adding a certification to my degree and changing lanes for pay. Have to say it has been very beneficial and enlightening to take these courses. ● To become licensed in Tech Ed and to move up the pay scale. ● Required by my State to complete certification. ● I thought it would help me become a better instructor and lead me to a master's degree. ● The program meets my curriculum needs and the internet option is the only way I can feasibly get a master's right now. ● learning more about the feld of TEchnology Education ● MA degree for career advancement ● I was required to go into graduate program before administrator would approve PDP. ● Stay current with technology and to earn more money in my district. ● To earn a master's degree in technology education. ● To switch my profession back to teaching ● Pay raise credits towards certification renewal ● By obtaining this degree I hope to have more flexibility in future employment. ● Better pay license renewal. ● To understand how distance learning works when it does and does not; and to identify how the industrial community can help teachers of our future

workers. ● I would like to go into CTE administration. ● Finishing Masters to have if I return to teaching profession ● To receive continuing education credits and change payment scale with my school corporation. ● Pay Raise Possible Administration in Future Possiblity of Post Secondary Instruction ● Keep my job. ● I have to have some kind of certification in Tech Ed to keep my job

7. In which of the following associations are you currently a member? (Check all that apply.) [9 indicated none of answers A through D.]

A. International Technology Education Association (ITEA) [9,11, 8] B. Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE) [2,3, 2] C. State association in Technology Education [7,13, 7] D. State association in Career and Technical Education [3,1, 1] E. Other (Please specify below.) [5,4,0]

● American Federation of Teachers ● none of above



● Indiana Computer Educators ● American Society of Training and Development Construction Specifications ● Institute American Institute of Archiects ● Was member of ITEA and TEI when teaching ● None ● Past ITEA TEI ● Capital District

8. Locating potential online students is difficult. Which of the following strategies provided you with information about Ball State's online degrees? (Check all that apply.) [n=28]

A. The program website: www.bsu.edu/iandt [13,7, 10]

B. A brochure [1,2, 4] C. An ad in a magazine [4,5, 1] D. An article that mentioned the program [1,5, 2] E. A presentation that mentioned the program [0,0, 1] F. An Email from someone at Ball State [1,1, 3] G. An Email from my state association or director [0,3, 1] H. Word of mouth [10,8, 7] I. Other (Please specify below. [9,4, 5]

Other:

● Internet search of graduate level technology eduction universities ● professor contact ● Random searching for an on line masters program ● An Internet search for a master's in technical education. ● informed by administrator ● I just checked in to it ● It' all about Google. I looked up Online Master's Degree. ● School Administrator ● internet search

9. Was the initial information you received about this master's program sufficient? [n=28]

Yes [25,25, 23] or No [3,1, 3]

10. Which of the following were you informed about prior to your admission to this program? (Check all that apply.) [n=25]

A. The hardware, software, Internet connection, and computer skills required. [14,16, 12] B. The estimated tuition costs [23,21, 14] C. The program requirements [22,19, 20]




D. The schedule of course offerings [14,15, 16] E. The estimated time for program completion [10,7, 13] F. The purpose or objectives of the program [10,14, 17] G. The availability of support services (such as from the library or the School of Extended Education) [2,6, 6] H. Information about how online classes work, and how communications are handled in an online class [6,11, 13]

11. Was the admissions process satisfactory? [n=28]

Yes [28,26, 24] or No [0,0, 2]

12. How should the admissions process be improved?

● easier 1-800 aceess to tech department via phone ● N/A[3] ● Was very sifficient. ● Was/is confusing when signing up for classes as there are multiple ways to do this. It would be beneficial if it were handled in one way only. ● I find the BSU main page somewhat confusing to navigate ● It is great as it is. ● I had no problems with admission. I would have liked to have known who my advisor was when I first started. ● I found no problems. ● I really can't think of anything to improve. ● It was fine however I found it interesting I was receiving emails from the department before I received my acceptance letter from the college.

13. If you have seen our department's online education program Website at www.bsu.edu/iandt, how valuable was online information? [n=23]

Not valuable Very valuable [4.26,4,52, 4.32, on a scale of 1 to 5]

14. How should that Website be improved to better meet your needs and the needs of prospective students?

● it seems there is a lot of repeated info from one page to another. a little bit of clutter. ● N/A[3] ● separate different areas of interest into separate links. ● I actually feel that the page is appropriate I just didn't need it that much. ● Paths to the information needs to be cleared up. Somewhat confusing navigation. Too many dead ends without any easy way back ● no comment ● Have a bulleted list delineating the differences between the two programs. ● I found no problems.

15. How valuable were communications from the department's Director of Online Education?

Not valuable Very valuable [3.80,4,28, 4.38] [n=25]

16. How valuable were communications with your Graduate Advisor?



Not valuable Very valuable [4.31,3.87, 3.96] [n=26]

17. How can the Director of Online Education and the Graduate Advisor better serve online students?

● Some communication with the students just checking in etc would be nice. They have both been very helpful when I have had any questions. Very supportive just think it would be cool if they contacted the students for a "gut check" from time to time.

● no comment ● A personal e-mail checking on me would be nice. ● Routine posting of your progress after each semester. ● N/A ● no suggestions ● Flowers does an amazing job. I have no suggestions for his improvement. ● They are doing good already. ● Creative ways to support adult learners who have unique and valuable contributions to make to the field outside of teaching and including support of

the active teachers now and in the future. ● I had no communication with a graduate advisor until after I was enrolled in courses ● More frequent commuinication Possibility of Weekly newsletter ● I did not know there was an Online Education Director. ● communication at the end of semesters... my advisor just got switched within the last 3 months and I have yet to hear anything from this person I don't

know who they are or what they teach

18. If you used the services provided by the BSU Libraries, how valuable were they? [n=13]

Not valuable Very valuable [3.54,4.00, 3.20]

19. How can library services be improved?

● fine for these course needs ● Never used the online library. ● Logging into the research request portion is sometimes difficult and discombobulated. I had to wait until the weekday to call down and make the

request on the phone instead of online. This put my research back a few days plus initiated a bit of frustration ● NA ● I haven't been using BSU libraries. ● N/A ● A guide for users would be nice especially for the journals. ● good

20. How valuable were services provided by the BSU University Computing Services and their Help Desk? [n=10]


21. How can University Computing Services and their Help Desk be improved?

● Never used the Help Desk. ● Don't know really didn't use. ● more mac experts



● I haven't been using Help Desk. ● N/A ● respond to emails! ● The connection speed could be faster. ● only used once but helpful

22. How valuable were services provided by the BSU School of Extended Education? [n=18]


23. How can services from the School of Extended Education be improved?

● Not really familiar with them. ● I really don't know. They were always very helpful. ● NA ● N/A ● no suggestions. ● No complaints. ● good

24. In general, how adequate and appropriate were the services provided by Ball State to you? [n=27]

Poor Excellent [4.30,4.23, 4.31]

25. Do you feel you are a part of the BSU community, the College of Applied Sciences & Technology, and the Department of Industry & Technology? [n=26]

Not at all Very much so [3.23,3.81, 3.80]

26. To what extent does your learning in this online program match your expectations? [n=26]


27. How much does this program help you in your career? [n=27]


28. What courses would you like to see added to our online offerings?

● additional options to fulfill the elective credits in the summer term. ● More hands on activities and less paper writen assignments. You can research anything as much as you want but until you actually apply what you

know to the classroom it is useless. ● I would like to see administration and possible a CTE directorship licensure program ● robotics. Not sure if this would be possible but might as well ask ● web building graphic and communications



● Discipline practices survey class ● Technical classes that are typically only available as undergrad. ● N/A ● more electives and summer offerings ● nonr ● A course in how to start a CTE program ● More that are applicable to classroom

29. How should any existing course or program requirement be changed?

● I learned a little in each class. Some classes were extremely subjective to one persons the professors opinion. I find subjective classes to be unfair to many students. However I find classes with certain criteria to be met during assessment (i.e. rubric) to be much more structured and less subjective to misunderstanding of personal writing.

● ITEDU 699 was very rigorous. Wouldn't change it but would continue to stress that class should be taken independantly of any other classes. ● ITEDU691 should be less meticulous in grading approach. ● N/A[2] ● major grade portions. It is too buggy and not useful for grad level classes for summative assessment IMHO. ● I feel there needs to be alternatives to the required five Technology courses of the Masters program to help with scheduling and finishing program. ● EDTEC 550 was a waste of time

30. Courses now follow fall, spring, and summer semesters. If you would prefer some other course duration and starting date, what would those be?

● The fall spring and summer semesters are very sufficient. ● The summer 1 class schedule is not conducive to those who are in education as summer 1 begins prior to the end of k-12 education. Which makes it

rough since there are generally no summer 2 classes. ● An additional summer session. ● additional summer session from June to August ● NA ● N/A ● Summer 2 classes would be nice when teachers aren't in school! ● Each class should be available each and every semester. ● Seems fine the way it is.

31. Did you participate in any of the department's colloquium series through streaming video? [n=25]

Yes [0,2] or No [25,23]

32. What non-academic social or professional support should we provide online students?

● Maybe a message board or chat line for students with technology questions that arise during or after graduation from Ball State. ● That's difficult to say. The fact that we are disconnected from the campus makes things difficult. Even when there are online offerings of social or Q&A

many are unable to attend or participate. ● NA ● N/A ● n/a ● ? ● A thorough understanding of and interest in the needs of the adult learner.



● I was initially surprised by how much time was required for the class.

33. A thesis is not required, nor will it be for those currently enrolled in these programs. Would you have chosen to enroll in this program if a thesis had been required? [n=27]

Yes [13,14] or No [14,10]

34. Please list other comments you have about the online master's or online courses from Ball State's Department of Industry and Technology. Let us know where you think we can improve these programs, courses, and services.

● It has been a tremendous experience for me. I finish up this summer with my last two classes. Some of the time the program was extremely convenient and others it was not however I take away a vast collection of knowledge from the program. THANKS!!

● Although I am not pursuing the thesis end of the program I would not have passed on the program if it were as this is a very convienient method of attending classes. If a thesis is going to be added I believe that will make the online nature of the program very difficult since it will be hard to get feedback well enough to make changes. Sometimes it is difficult to fathom what people mean when they write and messages can come across too strong or not strong enough.

● 1. The required software information was incorrect - a broadband connection is required for these courses. 2. Having had no formal undergrad 'education courses' the program was not what I expected - I thought that I would be 'instructed in strategies' for teaching career and technical education courses rather than having to do research to get the information.

● Keep up the good work and thank you! ● I think the program is great. I would like to continue taking classes online even after I have my master's degree. I'm not sure exactly what I would like

to see other than things related to my field like communications and advertsing etc graphics. Give me some ideas and I can think of something. ● Excellent response time in all communication and a great advisor that is thourough and efficient. ● I didn't enroll in a graduate program for many years because they typically didn't offer the technical classes that I need to stay current in my technical

field. It would be good if technical classes (CAD programming CNC etc.) would be available as graduate classes for other teachers in the same situation.

● N/A ● n/a ● I will send Jim Flowers an email about this when my semester is completed. ● A clear statement of the expectation of the instructor about the time in clock hours required to successfully participate in a given course. They varied

widely. ● The course have been very helpful in my teaching career. Not only have I learned a great deal academically but about myself as well. The courses

allow for person and professional reflection. ● I was turned off by a course offering as I do not teach and there seemed to be a requirement to do complete assignments in front of an actual

classroom. I realize this may be discussed with an instructor and maybe even altered however it did bother me. I really enjoy the online courses and hope more of BSU jumps on the bandwagon. My only concern is after taking several classes there seems to be overkill in teaching the content. It some instances there is a sense that since there is no actual classroom more is better to make the class more "accepted" by the university community as a viable offering. I hope there is understanding in my comments.

● I start this fall and am excited. I am unable to answer many of the questions as of yet. ● Excellent program-right now I can't think of anything I would change.

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