Learning Resources

Abstract: This is the 21st in a series of profiles documenting experiences with the use of instructional technology at two dozen colleges and universities. A look at what has been learned at these places may benefit others considering new ways to teach. This report describes an alternative system for delivering televised instruction to off-campus locations, that is, via videotapes that are carried by private courier and shipped through the mail. Colorado State University, one of perhaps 20 institutions that have chosen the "bicycling of tapes" over other TV technologies, was the first in the nation to do so and, with the scale of its present operations, leads the field. The reasons for this preference and the use of this method to share resources with other schools and extend services to business and industry are discussed.

Abstract: This article is part of a longer report titled "Regional Planning in Postsecondary Education: Objectives, Obstacles, Alternatives," which was adopted by the California Postsecondary Education Commission in February 1976. At the direction of the California State Legislature, the authors explored regional planning in other states as well as in California in an effort to determine the advantages and disadvantages of voluntary versus mandated interinstitutional cooperation. In this revised report, the authors discuss the current state of regional planning in California and propose a number of alternatives for future cooperation.

Abstract: As more and more colleges and universities confront the threat of financial exigency, they are seeking ways in which to maintain or increase student enrollments. One area of possible growth is the summer session, which has often been relegated to a minor role in an institution's planning and programming. This article, which is based on the author's 1975 study of the summer sessions at Bowling Green State University, suggests ways in which planners, administrators, and faculty may analyze their summer enrollments, consider new programs, and utilize interdepartmental and community resources to effect desired changes.

Abstract: This is the 20th in a series of profiles documenting the experiences of two dozen colleges and universities with the use of instructional technology. A look at what has been learned at these places may benefit others considering new ways to teach. This report describes Golden West College, which was conceived, designed, and built around the use of technology as an intrinsic element in teaching and learning. Despite the hazards endemic to such innovation, today it is one of the most successful "mediated" colleges in the country. Indeed, the know-how acquired in its 10 years of operation is serving as the base for a spin-off institution. The new college will have virtually no campus and will deliver instruction to remote learners via TV and correspondence.

Abstract: Private liberal arts colleges and universities continue to educate a significant percentage of American students, in spite of the recent growth in public higher education--and to sustain for the whole academic community the tradition of preserving boundaries between government and academia. Now the survival of these instiitutions is threatened by economic factors beyond their control. In 1974 the Task Force of the National Council of Independent Colleges and Universities sought means of reducing tuition costs to students in the private sector and of thus ensuring the vitality of a pluralistic system of higher education in the United States. The following article is a discussion of the public-private dialogue in the light of Task Force recommendations. It has been adapted from an address delivered by Steven Muller (a member of the Task Force) at the Southern Regional Education Board meeting in 1975, as first published in the 1975 SREB series "Financing Higher Education", No. 26. Dr. Muller, president of the Johns Hopkins University, was selected chairman of the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, formed earlier this year.

Abstract: The following account of planning's evolution at The American University emphasizes the importance of building flexible working relationships among the various representatives of the university community and the planning staff, in support of " the faculty-student relationship...at the core of the learning process. " A sound data base and a planning model based on the staff's clear perception of goals and mission, make a foundation from which members of an institution can address the problems that both "increase the need for planning [and] complicate its development." This article has been adapted from Dr. Cleary's remarks at the National Conference on College and University Planning at the Johns Hopkins University, January 1976, at which the Society was cosponsor.

Abstract: This is the nineteenth in a series of profiles documenting the experiences of two dozen colleges and universities with the use of instructional technology. A look at what has been learned at these places may benefit others considering new ways to teach. This report describes instructional development activities conducted through a consortium. Collegiate consortia are certainly not new, nor is instructional development. The combination, however, is unique. In offering this story, we break one of the ground rules established for these profiles: to report on projects that have been in place long enough for the results to be in, so that readers may profit from their successes and failures. The program described herein is a fledging, but it is a concept so potentially useful to small, poor institutions that it merits setting aside that rule. The author of tis profile serves as associate director of the Commission on Instructional Technology, and also has written widely on education and the arts. The reports in this series are supported by a special grant to EFL from The Ford Foundation.

Abstract: This is the eighteenth in a series of profiles documenting experiences with the use of instructional technology at two dozen colleges and universities. A look at what has been learned at these places may benefit others considering new ways to teach. Since we can learn from failures as well as from successes, the mission of this series would be unfulfilled if the profiles described only success stories. Florida Atlantic University was one of the first universities in the nation planned around the use of instructional media. Because there were no models for guidance, the university had to bravely proceed while learning from its own trials and errors. We are grateful for FAU's willingness to share the kind of infornation about those trials and errors that some institutions might prefer to play down. The author of this profile, a research associate at EFL has written widely on education, and is both project director and editor of this series. These reports are supported by a special grant to EFL from The Ford Foundation.

Abstract: This is the 17th in a series of profiles documenting experiences with the use of instructional technology at two dozen colleges and universities. A look at what has been learned at these places may benefit others considering new ways to teach. Since, presumably, we learn from failures as well as successes, were these profiles to describe only the success stories, the mission of this series would be unfulfilled. Stephens College, the subject of this report, is a strong blend of both. It was one of the first institutions in the country to commit its energy, time, and money to the extraordinary possibilities of educational telecommunications.