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Distance Education at UMUC (University of Maryland University
College)
Ioan Jurca“Politehnica” University of Timisoara-Romania
Contents
● Context – about UMUC and Distance Education at UMUC
● Online courses at UMUC – general features
● What an instructor has to do ?● What a student must do?● Pros/cons● Conclusions
UMUC and Distance Education
● UMUC – part of University of Maryland University System
● UMUC – created in 1947 as an institution for US army (adult education)
● Operates in US, Europe(incl. SCG and BiH), Asia
● Teaches both F2F and online● 'Worldwide leader in online education', ● Covers many fields, from Accounting and
Computer Science to Fire Fighting and Anthropology
UMUC and Distance Education
● Offers degrees and certificates● Degrees: bachelor, master, doctoral● Certificates: more 'mobile', market-oriented● Not all courses are offered online● Uses mainly 'adjunct faculty', i.e instructors
employed on temporary basis (contracts for each 'section')
● There is a limit of classes per fiscal year for each instructor
UMUC and Distance Education
● Computer studies particularly appropriate for online education
● Undergraduate programs in computers: CMIS, CMIT, CMSC, CMST, IFSM
● Graduate programs in computers: CSMN, ITSM, MSIT, MSWE, OMDE
● Romanian involvement: since 2000 (boom of enrollment, lack of instructors, US ambassador to Romania in UM board of directors)
● I am involved in the undergraduate CMIS program
Characteristics of UMUC online courses
● An online course consists of:– Modules: text with diagrams summarizing the
course contents (common for a UMUC course, not created by each instructor)
– Webliography- supplementary reading online material
– Homeworks/assignments/projects– Conferences – for discussing assignments and
other topics– Chat room for students and instructor/TA – Textbook and 'recommended book(s)'
Role of the instructor
● Specifies course schedule● Specifies grading criteria (assignments up to
60 % of final grade)● Creates assignments● Specifies conference discussion topics● Answers student questions on assignments
and module material NLT 48 hours● Creates exams papers for midterm and final
exam● Grades assignments and exams
Student involvement
● Satisfy course pre-requisites● Participate in all activities of the course (each
activity counts in the final grade)● Study the textbook and the modules ;-(((● Turn in (on time) assignments and exams● Help classmates without giving away
complete solutions● Express opinion on the course and the
instructor
Pros and cons
● Pros– Time and space flexibility both for students and
instructor– Potential access to best teaching materials and
or instructors– Encourages/facilitates more involvement of
students– Develops 'virtual communities'– Create cross-cultural links
Pros and cons
● Cons:– No face-to-face interaction instructor/student– No 'real time' answers to questions (unless on
chat – time differences on the globe)– Difficult to control cheating– Limited multimedia– Congestion periods on the servers– Course materials might become obsolete– Final exams 'travel' around the globe -> late
grading