Exploring Digital & Global Education   Discovering Work and Learning Strategies for the New Millennium

1. Describe how you expect the increase in telecommunications to affect your department operations. How might things be different due to increasing computer power and networking?

2. Describe how you expect the changes in student demographics and changes in the labor market to impact your department operations. How will changes in the labor market, students age, interests, outside commitments, experiences outside of college, and expectations affect what you do?

3. How will increased competition from private schools, business training, and other institutions affect your department? Will you experience direct competition? Could you lose students or financing, or be unable to compete economically? Why do your "customers" keep coming to you, and what alternatives might they have in the future? Define your current customers and your role with them. Could your department function be outsourced, delivered from offsite? Do you have a monopoly or do your "customers" have viable choices? Is your market share static or decreasing? Where is the market growing?
4. How does the increasing rate of change in the world impact your department? Is it necessary to be more flexible, able to change quickly, and innovative?

5. What important question has not been asked? Give your answer.?

Make sure the public members of your committee and business and community leaders participate in the drafting and review of this report.

6. This section of the report is for the public member(s) response. Although the public members have participated in drafting the other responses, in this section they can further expand on any of the questions, offer support or dissent, and add their perspective. It is not necessary to respond to each question.

Phase 1.1a
1. Describe how you expect the increase in telecommunications to affect your department operations. How might things be different due to increasing computer power and networking?
We feel that, just as students will not need a traditional classroom, professors and counselors may not need a formal affiliation. Counselors may become brokers. Much like insurance agents who select the appropriate policy for a client, a counselor may advise a student to pursue courses and degrees from a variety of sources. As telephone and computer selection increase, the face-to-face measuring and personal links traditional to counseling will dwindle, and the need for immediate, accurate information and interesting presentation will soar. We see this as leading to advising and scheduling being handled by trained professionals in academic departments or interactive Web sites, rather than by general counselors. Those who teach as well as those who counsel will need to be Web-skilled, both to construct courses and to study the complimetnary and competitive offerings of other institutions. At the same time, we feel that face-to-face counseling will never be totally eliminated. Live communication and the support provided by counselors and professors will always be needed by some students. The provision of 800 numbers or two-way video might take the place of visiting the office for some students, but we strongly feel that this more personal contact should be maintained if desired.
It is expected that the increase in telecommunications will continue to affect both the bandwidth and the quantity of connections of data communications, and the level of service and quality and types of connections for voice and video communications. For data communications, it is anticipated that the current capability of 10 MB/s and 100 MB/s connectivity to desktop computers and enterprise servers will increase to 1000 MB/s, and greater, This will be supported by the network interface electronics currently being installed at the college, by ATM Wide Area Network technologies, and the emerging Gigavit Standards. In addition to the increased bandwidths as discussed above, increase in voice and video communications will dramatically increase the college's ability to connect to many other institutions, equipment types, and service types. Examples include ISDN for dial-up access to other colleges and businesses for teleconferencing and interactive classes, and satellite broadcast services for receiving public broadcast and private videoconferencing. It is anticipated that these types of services and connections will increase and become more common at the college. The impacts of these increases on departmental operations will be fourfold. INCREASING OPERATING EXPENSES - Transition to new technologies will initially result in an increase in network operating expenses. For example, the annual cost of wide area networking will increase from $58,000 annually in FY 1998 to $185,000 in FY 1999 for ATM service alone. However, it is expected that costs per unit of networking service will level off or decrease over time due to increases in traffic volumes, volume discounts, and competing alternatives such as ownership of wide area fiber. INCREASING NEED FOR NETWORK AND DATA SECURITY - there will be an increasing need for network security and protection of systems and data from potential hackers and intruders from outside our network. Massive Internet connectivity will increase the importance of network security expertise and systems. REMOTE MONITORING AND CONTROL - the need for additional capabilities for remote monitoring and maintenance, and support and troubleshooting of complex, distributed systems will become more important. INCREASED TECHNICAL SKILL - the level of knowledge and technical expertise will require more technical training and access to higher caliber and more costly technical staff at the equipment hands-on level, and the planning and design levels.
The increase in telecommunications is creating opportunities for Corporate Training to improve methods of communications with its clients and students. Changes may also affect how courses can be delivered in the future, and how students may interact with course content. These changes have also affected the content of technical training classes being offered by the department. Our responses to this change may include increased use of the Internet and E-mail, and the exploration of interactive multimedia content for course delivery.
1. The increase in telecommunications should have a profound effect on the Dual Credit Program. With increased technological capabilities, telelink dual credit courses could be offered. One of the current problems concerns not being able to offer certain dual credit courses in all of the high schools due to the lack of SACs credentialed teachers. With a telelink, a qualified teacher at one high school could serve students throughout the Pinellas County system. A link between SPJC and the Pinellas County Schools could be utilized for similar benefits. This could be achieved by working with the telecourse program. Another possibility with increased telecommunications is the ability to register students using the internet. A web page established for Dual Credit programs could foster more "student/parent friendly" operations. A. Elderhostel 1. On-line connection for registration 2. Web page connected to Elderhostel Bostaon to facilitate communication about changes and other inquiries 3. Development of and connection with Elderhostel Listservs to enhance communications with the state Elderhostel office, other Elderhostel program directors and staff at the Boston headquarters 4. At some future time, we may be able to develop and offer Elderhsotel courses via the internet. Such programs are being studied for feasibility by Boston Elderhostel B. College For Kids 1. A Web page for parents to use in reviewing program locations, offerings and changes 2. On-line registration 3. College For Kids Courses via the Imternet Nursing and Allied Health Continuing Education: 1. Telecommunications will have a dramatic impact on the delivery of continuing education to both Nursing and Allied Health professionals. Increasingly, these professionals will obtain their continuing education units via satellite or over the Internet. Local hospitals are installing satellite dishes at employees' homes to allow them the option of accessing continuing education from the comfort of their homes. If we are to remain competitive, we will need to have a Web site for those individuals who prefer the Internet. The implementation of on-line registration, cyber cash, courses, exams and certificates are critical to remain competitive. As health care providers merge, the services they offer employees will increase, including additional opportunities for continuing education at their sites. This could effect the numbers of registrations we receive for some of our courses. Avocational Programs/Children and Divorce/Driver Improvement/Legal Guardianship/Recreational Programs/youth Camps: 1. The increase in telecommunications will allow students to enroll in any of our six programs more efficiently - at any time or day, from anywhere. At some point we could consider a telecourse for the legal guardian 8-hour class. Based on that, expansion could be possible.
Before addressing how we expect the use of technology to affect our future operations, it is appropriate to document how we have already adopted technology for our current operations. THe following represents the past and current use of technologu in the Southern Public Safety Institute: A. FLORIDA NATIONAL GUARD GRANT - "Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training" From the begining of this grant it was understood we would develop the capability to provide distance learning. Funds were made available and we purchased a state-of-the-art up link truck to originate teleconferences. We have conducted numerous teleconferences using this equipment. We are currently building a studio in the Allstate Center to support this teleconferencing. This studio will also serve a dual purpose as a smart classroom. It is planned that we will use the smart classroom to teach our degree courses and disseminate them to other campuses of the college. Shortly videoconferencing (meeting) equipment will be installed so we can have meetings with distant sites. This will save considerable sums of travel funds and be much more effecient time wise not having to travel to meetings. B. CENTERS FOR EMPHASIS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE - Grant In 1993 we received a grant from th Florida Department of Education to put a portion of the academy curriculum on CD Rom to enhance the delivery of the aceademy curriculum. The grant was for $350,000. We produced a CD Rom that contained five clock hoursa of curriculum. The CD Rom was used in the academy and resulted in students covering the curriculum in about two to three hourse with equal test results as a traditional classroom lecture class. The CD Rom won several awards for technical merit. As a result of the success we are producing another CD Rom for training purposes. See below. C. COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING GRANT We are in the process of producing another four hour CD Rom for Probation Officers on interacting with law enforcement agencies involved in community policing efforts. This will be ready for testing this fall (1998). D. EMERGENCY ADMINISTRATOR and MANAGEMENT DEGREE In August of 1997 we started our Emergency Administration and Management Degree program. Since it was the only Associate Degree program in the country, it was put in a distance learning format. All of the courses are on the internet and students can register for and take the course from anywhere in the world. E. FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY/FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND ST. PETERSBURG JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP This partnership was formed to meet the educaional and training needs of employees of the Department of Corrections. Through this partnership, supported by contract, SPJC can now provide a full AA degree to any of the 30,000 employees of the Department of Corrections anywhere in the state of Florida. We received a grant to start the partnership. Soon the student enrollment will be sufficient enough to support the program. The distance learning format is the traditional SPJC telecourses and internet courses process. The originl grant paid for the development of six general education courses and two criminal justice courses. The two criminal justice courses will soon be put on the internet. The six general education courses completed all of the course required for an AA degree. This gave SPJC the ability to offer a complete AA degree through distance learning. F. FIRING RANGE TECHNOLOGY In 1988 we purchased a Fireaems Training System for the Firing Range. We have since purchased our second system. This system uses CD Rom scenario training for training police officers in real life situations where decisions have to be made on the use of force. This system uses laser weapons for the shooting scenarios. We have now purchased a live fire screen that permits the offices to use his/her weapon firing live ammunition. The officers say this is the most realistic firearms training they can receive. G. COMPUTER TRAINING FOR PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL Through various funding sources we have purchased two computer labs one command center for training our students in the use of computer in their daily operations. Officers are taught to use software programs for conducting inverstigations and managing their investigations. Emergency personnel use CD Rom scenario based training to practice dealing with emergency/disaster situations. H. NATIONAL TERRORISM PREVENTION INSTITUTE We just received a $750,000 grant for delivering training to first reponders for dealing with national disasters and terrorist attacks. We propose to deliver a portion of this training using distance learning formats. I. COMPUTER BASED REPORT WRITING CLASSES We use interactive disk programs to teach writing in the academies and inservice training seminars.
The increase in on-line or web based education including registration, fee payment and book purchasing will require a different set of internal control procedures and processes. Legal issues with the acceptance of approval over the web will need review and procedures in place. Telephone registration also requires this same diligence and change. Processes must be streamlined and as simple as possible with less human intervention and assistance. More wire transfers of payments are already being made. Optical scanning will be used more heavily for records input to acquire financial aid and in registration. Phone and computer "banks" on campus will be needed for use in registration, financial aid application and to check records or the progress of information transfer and approval.
The strict answer to the questions is that options could include posting news releases on the SPJC Web site and posting the Blue & White electronically. The broader answer goes beyond computer power and networking, which are, after all, merely tools. Because we use such tools to produce the Blue & White internal newsletter, it would be with these tools that we would improve the B&W. The committee believes it is important to enhance the B&W . The B&W can be a critical in building employee morale, informing employees of important college and news and, most importantly to the committee, helping to increase college-wide buy-in to the idea that each employee is an ambassador for the college. When more people believe they are ambassadors, there will be a positive ripple effect on community/media relations. One idea is for employees to feel more ownership of the B&W . This could be done by doing such things as putting more personal news in it - things like photos of new hires, reports on people transferring, reports from the field like we did when interviewing long-time employees at each campus. Blue & White editor Mike O'Keeffe is a member of the committee and is also working on ways to implement these ideas.
Increased usage of existing and emerging telecommunications will enable the Counseling/Student Development and Student Services Office to provide efficient, cost-effective means for students to have access to a variety of student support services through diverse technological mediums. As a department, we must proactively assess and implement working solutions to students' identified needs. o Specifically, increased telecommunications impact operations or delivery of quality services as follows: 1. More effective and efficient dissemination of information to students via Automated Degree Audit Reports. Such reports can be generated 24 hours per day thereby, increasing student access to pertinent information. 2. On-line scheduling of appointments for interactive teleconferencing (Cyber advising sessions) 3. Touch-tone Telephone (TTT) / voice response registration eliminates students waiting in long lines to register subsequently, enhancing student satisfaction with services provided. 4. Direct access to individual records and specific information generated by students' needs. 5. Enhances Electronic data/course exchanges between partnering institutions (i.e. SPJC can become a sister institution with St. Petersburg Junior College in Russia for educational exchanges). 6. KIOSK Systems enable students to access information such as a degree audit report, an individualized plan, financial information, etc. 7. Interactive Video Advising 8. Advising over the Internet 9. Advising using electronic mail 10. Use of the World Wide Web for dissemination of information 11. Registration via Internet 12. Career Development Center - College-wide informations line describing services and related information. 13. Increase ability to meet the job placement needs of business/industry, students and the community at large through the implementation of 1stPlace95! Software via the Internet. 14. Interactive career exploration software that assists students in developing comprehensive career plans. 15. Career Development Center-College-wide interactive web page with links to services provided. 16. The Experiential Learning Program need to make courses available in the distance learning mode as offered by departments. Additionally, TTT provides students with a convenient and simple registration system; gives students immediate feedback, and provides current enrollment information to students, department chairs, student support personnel, etc. The following things can be different due to increasing computer power and networking capabilities: 1. Students will have more quality time to spend with counselors and advisors discussing their educational/career goals (selecting class sections, times, etc. is not a student development function but a registration process). 2. Additional features that are currently available through voice response technology, which can impact the delivery of services, include: Scheduling New Student Orientation electronically o Administration of Multiple Choice Interest Inventories o Accessing course specific information o Administration of inter departmental evaluation surveys electronically o Enhanced departmental retention efforts supported by automated letters to students (i.e. students not making satisfactory progress towards degree requirements, students on academic probation, etc.) 3. Advantages of using The World Wide Web in the delivery of services: o Delivers 24-hour academic advising on demand. o Provides consistent and accurate information. o Supports retention through enhanced advising efforts. o Utilizes communication technologies that are readily available to students. o On-line admissions application and payment o Allows students to be more effective information seekers o List-Serves and e-mail enable the department to broaden its network of colleagues who can share information and foster professional growth and development. o Counselors and advisors will establish departmental and individual web pages that will allow us to update students on changes, whether they are posted to bulletin boards by majors or linked to a List-Serve of students we work with who are pursuing specific majors. o Other Web page ideas 1. Ask an Advisor Column 2. Frequently Asked Questions 3. Defining the changing roles of Counselors and Advisors. 4. Interactive Video Advising facilitates: o Desk top video conferencing. o Two-way (audio/visual) NSO interactive teleconferencing.
Plan and work with local media to establish Institute as a resources for public dialogue. Develop a home page Institute, Department for each instructor, and if desired by instructor a bulletin board for student access. Advance the use of email between students and instructors. Interface use of broadcast news clips to illustrate classroom concepts. Community involvement through participation in high school organizations, community fairs and events. The Applied Ethics Institute will host events such as lectire series, continuing education series, etc. Institute networking and marketing to area home-based corporations, governmental agencies, organizations and businesses.
Telecommunications will have a direct effect in the delivery and demand of services in our department since it already has had such effect. Even without an exclusive web site for international students, they are finding St. Petersburg Junior College's International Center on the Internet. (We are currently working on our own web site). Many students are requesting information via e-mail and returning completed applications by FAX. As more and more of SPJC's programs go on line, the internationals will take advantage of the opportunity to earn an American college degree without the expense of leaving home. This leads to some soul searching questions: Are we going to be competitive, cost effective and at the same time maintain our customary high standards and quality of services? Are we willing to invest in the resources and be patient to wait for the long term results?
The Impact of Technology Technology is pushing libraries to offer more comprehensive services. Users know what is possible and want their library to be responsive. At first, modern equipment makes our tasks easier to accomplish and faster to complete. As the capabilities for faster communication and larger access to information are discovered, tasks which were once prohibitively costly become important priorities. One example is Interlibrary Loan service. When ILL was conducted through the mail, the staff time involved and the delay in delivery made it attractive only to the most dedicated user. At first, it seemed that computers and fax machines would enable a library to cut the ILL staff. But the availability of faster service dramatically increased the demand for ILL. Improvements in the way we conduct our business can be just as important as the equipment. As we learn the capabilities of our technology, new opportunities for service are likely to arise. Continuing with the ILL example, if the library staff wants to exploit the advantages of technology, they cannot continue to use policies and procedures leftover from the "snail mail" time. The largest impact upon service occurs when staff members are user-oriented and dedicated to quality. This has been true throughout the history of modern libraries, and is likely to hold in the 21st Century. Staffing Needs Current trends in computerization and distance-learning emphasize the need for librarians to be generalists. It is impossible for anyone to know every database product, every web page, or every reference book. The ability to learn quickly and to adapt existing skills will be very important. Librarians and other staff members will need to be constantly learning new skills. There is also an increasing reliance upon part time and temporary positions in both the public and private sector. Library staff may find that they change employers more often, requiring even more flexibility. All library staff will have to be comfortable with electronic equipment, and have the capability to quickly learn new hardware and software. Library managers will wish to explore cross-training among employees. Responsibilities may blur for various job titles. We might expect to see more of a team-based approach to the provision of services. In particular, library para-professionals will need to have upgraded skills and responsibilities in the future. As staff are expected to master more sophisticated technology, some work done by clerical and professional staff still requires low-tech solutions. Although many functions have been computerized (i.e. ordering of books and magazines), these items still need to be arranged and reshelved. Reference questions and demands for one-on-one instruction are increasing. There are classes to teach, and demands for many other traditional library services.
We believe that the increase in telecommunications (computer power, networking, and broadcast media) will: a. increase the percentage of people who are aware of the basic need for a physically active lifestyle, healthy diet, and other wellness behaviors in general; b. not increase the percentage of people who actually practice such wellness behaviors; c. increase the percentage of people who want to practice lifetime physical activity behaviors; d. increase the capacity of the faculty to access current information and use digital materials provided by publishers in the field; e. not decrease the necessity for face-to-face interaction in this particular curricular area. Increasing computer power and networking will affect our department in the following ways: a. Currently, the instructional focus of Personal Wellness, the most commonly offered course in the department, is to establish a core of scientifically based information and a minimum of practical application. In the future, the needs of a student population who has a basic understanding of wellness issues will best be met by more application-based instructional model. b. To provide a readily accessible, affordable opportunity to practice these behaviors on a regular basis, we should increase the number and breadth of the lifetime physical activity courses (e.g., weight lifting, aerobics) being offered. c. There will be a steady demand for the certifications in fitness training.
The goal of the SPD function is to provide the instructional, professional, and career personnel with the training/learning opportunities necessary for them to work effectively and efficiently. An increase in computer power and networking capabilities will necessitate that the SPD function identify and provide new and different instructional formats in order to help all staff learn both the basics and the job-specific applications made available by the new telecommunications opportunities. Of course, the SPD function also needs to learn those in order to understand and use them to present timely, engaging and effective training. So the trainer will need to be trained in order to organize and provide better training. College-wide (telecommunications) training presents challenges for several reasons: the non-centralized nature of the telecommunications and training functions; time constraints of work schedules; reluctance by some to change their modus operandi, even in the face of reality; variations in learning style; and cost, to name a few. In order to address these and other issues and provide training in a way that meets the needs of all, a formal college-wide committee should be formed, the Staff and Professional Development Committee, and comprised of representatives from each employment sector and FGO. This Committee will be representative and visible.
Telecommunications will enhance our Word Processing Center operations by speed of equipment, the ease of making changes, additions, and corrections, and it will also greatly enhance the staff who are responsible for the operation of the departmental and program offices. As we move more to communicating through Internet and the Web, into telephone registration, and voice mail, office support staff are finding themselves in the position of being a learner first, then a user, and a technology tutor at times. We find that it has increased an individual's production, and we anticipate a reduction in paper and the time spent in developing individual jobs. With the promise that digital transmission could speed up our turn-around time by three days or more by transmitting jobs digitally in minutes as opposed to hand delivery, reduced job time is expected. This also would eliminate misplaced work orders as they could not be misdirected through the mails. We regularly experience the need for training when new equipment or upgraded software arrives. However, we anticipate a need for word processing operators to be trained and efficient in the use of more technical software, more powerful computers and printing equipment. We also anticipate the need to communicate in internet-related languages and formats. We have always been able to support our faculty and administrators with the written word and a duplicator, but we see a need surfacing where we support the faculty and administrators with technology the way they use it. This would be in developing visual presentations, designing web pages, or forms for information retrieval. The opportunities here increase as the college develops more courses for distance learning. The main roadblock to offering this support is training and development time.
There is an unbelievable amount of information available at our fingertips. o Internet....I cannot mention a single topic in class without some inquisitive student seeking out specific web sites. Students have opened up a whole new resource and they are using it. I find that I need to spend time on the net to prepare my classes. o Fax, fax and more fax!!! Instantaneous information. Cases in point....adjunct instructors have faxed their course syllabi, examinations, A/V needs, etc. Material suppliers have faxed information to me regarding conferences, meetings, material data, etc. Students have faxed me their records. All contractors have fax machines in their job site offices; many have modems in their laptops and in their vehicles. All this saves time, and in the construction industry, time is money. o Cellular Telephones - There is not one professional that I know of in the construction industry who does not utilize the latest technology in telephone communications. In classes, especially technical classes geared for people working in the field, cell phones ring. o The professionals' vehicle (car or truck) has certainly become an extension of the office. Laptops with fax modems and cellular phones are becoming the norm. o Television, etc. To prepare for a one hour lecture on Andrea Palladio, I can spend a few hours reading about him in the library, a few hours shooting slides of his important buildings, and a few hours organizing my notes and slides into an exciting and captivating lecture, or I can send a check for $19.95 for an A&E video "Bob Villa's Historic Homes: The Villas of Palladio". While I believe I do a better job than Mr. Vila, I find that the students are mesmerized by television. Although I watch very little TV, I find myself reading the TV listings every week to see if there is anything appropriate. (This Old House had a 5 minute segment on the Roman bath ruins in Bath, England that was far better than any slides that I have on Roman architecture. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared with the VCR and a blank tape.) How might things be different due to increasing computer power and networking? o We must be very careful not to lose sight that architecture and building construction involve cooperation among people. Technology must be used as a tool to increase productivity, to save time, and as an information resource. Human interaction is always going to be necessary. o In some cases, "distance learning" may be an appropriate way of delivering information. One of our current adjunct faculty members is presently putting together a proposal for a project management course that can be delivered through "distance learning". (Interestingly, this faculty member is in Thailand, working on a project.....our dialog for this proposal has been through email correspondence only!!!)
Telecommunications will affect the Business Technologies department and the college dramatically in the way information, and courses are delivered. Increased modem speeds, fiber optics, satellite communications and (other innovations that are being developed daily) will allow the college to expand on how, what, and where it offers classes. While we have done limited development in the area of distance education via the internet and television, there are many other options to be explored. In the BT department, many courses must be developed for online delivery whether accounting, business administration or computer technology. A more powerful network with internet access on multiple servers located on each campus will provide the access instructors need to conduct distance education classes effectively. Students will no longer need to congregate in physical classrooms; possibly, they might not reside in this country. Instructors will need to rethink how they deliver instruction in such an environment. Every instructor will not be effective using the online method, many could be with proper training, therefore, a commitment to providing faculty training is essential. Most faculty after becoming very effective users will not be technicians and they must be supported by a well trained computer support staff. More basic items to consider, faculty would expect to be able to submit grades and attendance records, obtain general information about their students--telephone numbers and addresses, and other routine administrative functions electronically. As the Business Technologies department at Clearwater added some new courses and programs with flexible scheduling, academic prerequisite requirement changes, and faculty credentialing variations, we have found some challenges in communicating these changes to some support elements at the college. Simply, increasing computer power and networking, adding new online courses and programs, will not create a change that makes a difference at SPJC. The change must be a total college wide effort.
Five major areas of impact were noted by the group. • Changes in the delivery of the classroom product are predicted. • Teleconferencing and distance learning will be more widely used as a delivery system. No longer will location isolate a student from a college education. • With enhanced software packages, presentations will continue to improve. Computer Assisted Instruction will continue to grow in popularity . • Dialogue will be ongoing worldwide. • Real-time dialogue on-line will substitute for oral discussion in many cases. • Email will continue as a powerful tool for communication. • Information exchange will become almost instantaneous. • The ease with which information is transmitted will encourage increased exchange. • Budgets will be directly impacted by the need for the creation of infrastructure, the constant updating of hardware and software, and the constantly changing technology will demand ongoing training and retraining. • As technology places ever greater demands on everyone, time management will become a bigger and bigger issue. Users of technology will find that better does not always mean faster. In fact, it often means that more time, rather than less time will be required for the project. • The department will be influenced by the students’ knowledge and use of technology. • In many cases, students lead the way in technology. They often are more familiar with recent innovations and sometimes use advanced technology in class presentations. • Communications will be enhanced through the use of faculty/student electronic transmission. Office hours, guest speakers, mentoring, peer review and debate will take place electronically both in real-time and delayed time. • Faculty will request and receive a more professional product from the students as the use of word processing with tools such as spell-check become commonplace.
Our department has undergone a reorganization over the past year. Since being combined under the department of SS we are now faced with the challenge of melding the departments administration while at the same time maintaining the distinction of disciplines. We have great expectations for the networking technology's ability to allow us to function efficiently with less administrative support staff.
Increased technology can be expected to impact instructional methodology in sign language and interpreter training in positive ways; however, only through interactive capabilities can this instruction be effective. Only two "content courses" : i.e., Orientation to Deafness and Fundamentals of Interpreting lend themselves to effective delivery of instruction through conventional long distance learning. Since sign language acquisition and interpreting skill development require three-dimensional presentation with hands-on experience and immediate feedback, these courses would be limited to personal, one on one dynamics. Computer software programming and video material development and delivery can be used to enhance receptive sign language skill development. Teleconferences originating from prestigious Centers on Deafness such as Gallaudet or the National Technical Institute for the Deaf can supplement instruction. Internet access will be a vital asset and resource to students and instructors. World Wide Web usage will provide increased opportunities for research and specialized projects. Creative computer usage can allow students to interface with instructors via internet for homework assignments. Chat sites (WWW) can supplement discussion and class interaction. This usage can also impact how testing and assessment will be conducted allowing the delivery of standardized materials and procedures. It must be stressed that technology cannot replace the direction, guidance, support and modeling provided by the professional instructor/interpreter/mentor in the development of interpreters. Technology can expand and supplement opportunities for instruction, and make more information available and accessible.
Most importantly, we worry that with the increased use of technology, human contact with students will decrease. It is hoped that technology will be used to supplement and enhance learning, that it will never replace the professionals who provide the direction, contact and support necessary to encourage and enhance the learning situation. The modeling of appropriate classroom behaviors, the daily advising/counseling of students, the human factor cannot be discounted, nor can they be replaced by computer software models. In addition, there are many aspects to the increase in availability of telecommunications in the world. Cellular phones, satellite/cable TV, digital cable, use of analog and now digital modems, and the increase in Internet traffic are all a part of the changes in the telecommunication’s market. Satellite/Cable TV, Digital Cable bring more and more courses to students who were previously unable to work their schedules around traditional offerings of college courses. As the number of students taking only telecourses increases, this trend toward lack of interaction between students and instructor may reduce the percentage of students taking advantage of the services of the Learning Support Center. Telecourses have become a low budget delivery of instruction but the institution must constantly monitor total cost to the student. Analog and digital modems allow students who can afford a computer at home to access the Internet. Additionally, the ability to email their instructors is now provided. The result has been an increase in Internet traffic. The students are getting more and more accustomed to having Internet and email access. Cellular phones and beepers distract the educational environment of the Learning Support Center and of the classroom. These devices are disruptive, and they sometimes even interfere with other students’ learning. The college needs to address this situation and devise a policy or rule tocover the use of cellular phones and beepers in classrooms and labs. How might things be different due to increasing computer power and networking? Faster download times from the Internet, increased graphic design processing ability, and improved network access will affect the use of the Learning Support Center. Improved tutorial systems will require the learner to be actively involved in the learning process. In many cases, the software programs will provide immediate feedback to the students. In addition, more sophisticated programs will successfully move students toward the material they need to master rather than repeatedly making them practice that which they already know. With increased computer power, learning packages will move well beyond drill and practice. Computer managed learning will offer the instructors important tools for monitoring the progress of students.
The increase in telecommunications will serve to enhance site-based classes as well as open opportunities for non-site-based classes. Smart classrooms will allow instructors to demonstrate concepts in ways never before possible. They will facilitate more exploratory approaches to learning. Students can learn via guided tours of mathematical sites on the Web. Networking capabilities will allow students to take courses from their home and communicate with their instructor or other students in their class via Internet. This may also allow for more partnerships with secondary school systems, industry, and institutions worldwide. There will be more demands on institutions to deliver knowledge beyond the buildings and borders of college campuses via Internet. Expanded telecommunications will also facilitate increased and faster communication between faculty (full time and adjunct), students and administration.
Answers ranged from little or no effect to an increased pressure and demand for technological development in the academic area. Some felt that there would be budgetary considerations for maintenance and for staff to deal with support. There would be demand for literacy on the part of both faculty and staff and additional and continual training would be required.
Immediately connect to SPEEDE, the national equivalent of F.A.S.T.E.R., for electronic transfer of out-of-state high school and college transcripts and test scores. Direct networking between Florida high schools and colleges/universities to eliminate handling of hard-copy transcripts. Implement the system so that students may order a transcript by fax or Internet with a PIN #. This would eliminate students having to come to campus or DO to fill out a Transcript Request. The service would be faster, and it would also help to eliminate paper clutter.
Call Center: We have made small steps to create a call center in the Office of Enrollment Management. We have a phone number that is published in the community (phone book), on brochures advertisements and other promotional items. We average 2600 calls per month. The most calls that we've experienced in a month is 5000. The calls are primarily from potential students inquiring about enrolling at the college. However, we've experienced an increase in the number of currently enrolled students that call wanting help. The services that we provide currently enrolled students range from checking the room number of a class that the person is enrolled in to providing office hours for offices on the campuses. Much of what we are asked requires access to the course management and registration database (REGIS). We currently have 3 Macintosh SE computers which make accessing REGIS extremely difficult and time consuming. We have recently ordered new Dell computers to replace these SE computers. An improved telecommunications system would offer faster (better) service to our students and potential students by providing more services in REGIS i.e. more access to demographic data on enrolled students Telecommunications has worked with us to make this call center as efficient as possible with the limited staffing. They have set up a system for automatically transferring incoming calls to voice mail or have the call remain in a loop until the next available Enrollment Management employee is available to answer the call. Powerpoint presentations at high school assemblies could peak the interests of more high school students. A virtual tour of our campuses via the internet is also a benefit that could help attract potential students
The addition of the PeopleSoft HR system will significantly enhance our ability to offer decentralized services to college campuses and sites. Overall, college departments will be able to access the HR system directly for update, additions of records and reporting thus negating the current system of hard copy forms and redundant creation and manipulation of data. The system will also greatly enhance the availability of HR information for management decision-making.
Telecommunications is a resource that in the near future will clearly play a much larger role in the pedagogical processes currently employed in the Radiography Program. Syllabi, instructor lecture notes, and PowerPoint and/or HyperCard presentations will all be available on a Radiography web site. Students will have 24 hour a day access to these educational materials.
Due to increasing computer power and networking, many possibilities exist on how this may affect the dental hygiene department. Some thoughts: - Computerized patient scheduling/documentation of services provided, etc. - Self-paced and/or remedial courses - supplemental courses or communication with faculty - Access to current averages - grades in classes - Dissemination of final grades and GPA, etc. - On-line courses - Software available to students Both faculty and students would have access to more information and experts in the field. Students could have access to their grades at any point in time with confidentiality kept in place. The faculty could update their information to be more current (texts may become outdated info). There would also be more intercommunication with other dental hygiene programs and the community at large (guest speakers from remote sites). There may even be more direct communication with dental offices in the community with patients we have in the clinic to track patient record keeping, recall systems, and referrals. The clinical grading system could also change by allowing faster updates in information and better tracking of student progress or lack of progress. `
We are already taking advantage of new technology in a couple different ways. We are using the Human Patient Simulator in all aspects of our curriculum, for both EMT and paramedic students. Most of EMS instructors are using PowerPoint presentations in their lectures. Increasing use of technology, such as with the HPS, may some day be used to partially replace some clinical opportunities, which are quickly vanishing due to legal and liability concerns. Electronic submission of clinical evaluations, progress reports, and preceptor reports could be streamlined by use of email. In the future, on-line chat rooms with other EMS students, physicians, practicing EMS professionals, and other experts in the field could be of use to our students.
Hopefully with increase telecommunications, the program will be less burdened with hardcopies and storage of student records. In the classroom, we are implementing the use of computers and electronic technology. As prices of this technology drop, we hope the future student will also have technology to network with the program by telecommunications.
Technology has become an essential part of the Health Information Management (HIM) profession. With the advance in development of the Computerized Patient Record (CPR), Telemedicine, Smart Cards, etc. our students need to be quite knowledgeable about technology. Students leaving our program need to have a good foundation in technological skills. They must be proficient in designing spreadsheets, graphs and charts, statistical reports, and presentation software. Students must also have knowledge of the Internet, E-mail, and the World Wide Web. I see this department expanding and using distance learning for some of our courses. We have students who are driving two hours to attend classes. This would be a great service to those students as well as many others who, at present, cannot attend classes on campus for various reasons. I would also like to see a networking link made between the twelve A.S. programs in the state to share ideas, techniques, and advances in program delivery and development.
Technology is very important in the Human Services field. Graduates are using technology to record information as well as retrieve information. In an effort to reach more students at any given time, we have discussed during our advisory meeting the possibility of offering Long Distance Learning courses. This will enable many potential students with childcare issues, transportation, etc. to pursue a college education. Technology does not replace some of the activities of interacting to increase interpersonal awareness.
From an academic viewpoint, computer technology will offer enhancement of instruction. Already we are seeing a positive impact on our program from CD ROMs which allow students to work at their own pace in the library on topics that they find difficult. We have tutorials in all disciplines, including a number with high quality images that enable the student to develop their skills in microscopy. These are a wonderful adjunct to campus laboratories where the student:instructor ratio precludes much one-on-one instruction. MLT laboratories are expensive to provide because of equipment and reagent costs. Computer simulations may provide a new mechanism for teaching certain laboratory skills. From an administrative viewpoint, networking will provide program directors and budget supervisors access to current information that will enable them to manage their departments more effectively. We will have access to admissions databases, student records, course management, and department budgets. This will provide some relief to program support personnel, but will add to the workload of program directors.
Nursing students currently are using computers in their last semester course to take a test to determine their strengths and weakness before taking a mock NCLEX-RN exam given at the end of the semester. Future use of computers would allow students to take achievement test for each course with immediate results. Nursing program is in the planning stages of developing a testing center. A test bank needs to be put together so that when the students would take an achievement test it would scramble questions. With the increase in telecommunications there is more opportunity to reach a larger student body in distant areas. Students could watch more courses on TV and interact with instructors via two way interactive computers. Need human interaction (as stressed by Dr. Parnell). Everything becomes impersonal without human contact. Students could email their papers, could be graded and emailed back. With nursing you need hands on in the clinical setting. There are interactive videos for students to learn from currently, but they need one-on-one with patients. We need to keep the cost down as not to lose students if we get too computer friendly (increase in computer usage means increase expense). A lot of students may not be able to afford the use of computers. SPJC could put computers in all the local libraries for students use. SPJC needs to be available to the community and not price ourselves out of business. People are what makes SPJC who we are not machines.
The impact of this in our department has currently served to allow for more rapid communications between the program and affiliating clinical centers (e-mail/fax). Any distance education via computers would depend on a significant increase in computer support personnel available to us. We are not sure that this delivery method would be preferable to the interactive video described below. We are currently in partnership with Pasco-Hernando Community College (PHCC), delivering an expansion of our program to their West Campus in New Port Richey. Except for an "in place" program coordinator/ instructor at the West Campus, program faculty travel between the Health Education Center (HEC) in Pinellas Park and the PHCC campus, delivering courses " in person". We are looking forward to the possibility of delivering lecture courses via interactive video. This would involve broadcasting live lectures given to a student audience at the Health Education Center (HEC) to a classroom of students at PHCC. With the introduction of so-called "smart-classrooms", whereby the technology for 2-way interactive video is to be operative between Florida community colleges, the pathway for this could easily become a reality.
The new US economy is based on information. Telecommunications now plays a primary role in all aspects of life. As resource tool it cannot be overstated. The program will have to make available this resource to its students. The use of Web sites for student access to various educational materials that reflect current trends of educational software will be part of this new pedagogy.
An increase of on-line courses has far reaching implications for the instructional design staff and their product. These courses will present new challenges in testing, scheduling and marketing responsibilities. As "blended" (multi-media) courses increase in number and kind, there will be a need to produce extended and improved web pages and video clips. Music course materials on audio/videotape or CD ROM for placement in the libraries or distributed to the students would include both directions and listening cues and segments of compositions for concentrated study. Teleconferencing expansion raises issues of equipment, training and staffing. A number of changes in job responsibilities and staffing patterns will accompany these changes in technology. Because of this, it will also be necessary to teach the language of technology. Faculty and staff will need to be on the same page with a common language to effectively communicate in an increasingly technical environment as we move toward the future. Additionally, an integrated student information system that would utilize social security and PIN numbers needs to be developed.
Certain Business Technology courses that are exclusively lecture oriented will benefit greatly in reaching a wider and more diverse customer base. Intercampus continuity of curriculum and ECH productivity is shared by all college academic departments and all support departments. Properly equipped Business Technology faculty and classrooms would bring new customers from the highly technical Tampa Bay businesses and possibly from all over the world. Having the same local networking and multi-internet advanceed computer systems would allow continuous contact among all parties for higher level technical training and probably would provide efficiency in delivery, and especially to large classrooms, smart classrooms, and online classrooms, we see the use of technical paraprofessionals as a probable practice.
The increase in telecommunications will be a challenging phenomenon. Florida demographic data reported at the 1996 Annual Conference of the Southern Association for Community College Research indicate a sharp increase in enrollment by minority students, disabled students needing at least one remedial course, financial aid recipients, first-generation students, and formerly incarcerated students. Many of these students do not have access to computers at home. Therefore, computers will need to be available at the college as well as at other locations throughout the local community. Technology can facilitate the teaching/learning process, not replace it entirely. We would like to call the attention of our colleagues to the Rand Corporation report titled Untangling the Web: Applications of the Internet and Other Information Technologies to Higher Education (May, 1997). According to the authors, David McArthur and Matthew Lewis, "Since internet and web tools will continue to drop in cost and increase in functionality for the foreseeable future, information technology should continue to displace more and more faculty labor." New technology will eventually facilitate teaching in many ways, freeing up the instructor's time for performance enhancement and other student-oriented endeavors; we, however, must not use it for the purpose of totally supplanting the role of the faculty member. The challenge we face is to design a way to maintain and improve upon access to specially-qualified human beings at a time when the convenience of on-line and distance learning may overshadow the benefits of the traditional meeting place. For the skills development courses, we need to develop strategies to increase the opportunity for personal contact through instruction, tutoring, practice labs, and other venues. We must also keep in mind the cumulative aspect of such courses, resisting the temptation for a "quick-fix" and affording students adequate time to assimilate learned material, practice skills, and build on the mastery of the various skills. The relationship between a teacher and his/her students is more than what takes place on a web page, through email, or in computer chat rooms. Person-to-person contact enhances and improves student performance. The affective aspects of social interaction in the classroom are important to the learning process and to the development of the "whole" person as he or she relates to others. Technology is very important to the ongoing improvement of our society, but we need to examine all of the ramifications regarding the value of in-person, social interaction as well.
Increased usage of telecommunications equipment and additional networking equipment will enhance the efficiency of the department from student data collection, web site information, industry contacts, company product information, faster access to the college data base, and remote course delivery techniques. From the curriculum and program viewpoint, the added enhancement of both networking software and computer hardware will allow faster access and interfacing with industrial compatibility. The specific areas of involvement would include the following: i. Expanding the CAD database for industrial applications. ii. Developing animated displays for real time applications. iii. Implementing engineering applications using industry databases. iv. Developing global and wireless structures for the telecommunications program. v. Laboratory automation techniques for electronic instrumentation using networking technology. vi. Expanding the Computer-Integrated-Manufacturing (CIM) using open communications networks controls. vii. Using PC based intelligent device controls for all technologies.
a. There is an increased ability to present the arts in movies (Amadeus, Immortal Beloved, Hamlet, etc.) b. Computer software and hardware allows students to approach a successful encounter with the arts to a greater degree than every before. c. The internet provides access and a vast exposure to a wide array of museums and cultural web sites. d. Any number of arts-related courses are available through the internet. Caveat: Instant gratification in the arts afforded by advances in technology tends to distort the expectations of some students who have not experienced the rigors of daily practice and a gradual development of skills in the applied arts.
Computers with increased power and networking capabilities along with advances in telecommunications technology will impact the mathematics department at SP/G in several ways. It is foreseen that more classes will be offered in computer labs, through the Internet, and in flexible access formats utilizing alternate delivery methodologies. The use of email by students to contact faculty will increase. This will provide new opportunities for faculty-to-student and student-to-student interaction. In addition, it is anticipated that each mathematics course will have a unique Web page from which students will be able to access course chat rooms and discussion groups. In order to insure that courses taught by alternate delivery methodologies satisfy course objectives, the department will need to maintain central control over its curriculum and course outcomes. This may be achieved with college-wide exit exams in each course. These exams may be administered using the Web or Information Commons. Systems of control will be needed to maintain the integrity of the test-taking process including verification of individual test-takers. The rapidly changing environments of computer and telecommunications technology will place increased demands on faculty's time. These time demands include training time for learning new hardware and software, increased office time needed to answer students' email messages, and increased course preparation time so as to incorporate new technologies into the curriculum in a timely manner. The extensive use of computer and telecommunications technologies in mathematics courses will increase the need for technical support to both faculty and students. This will require SPJC to maintain state-of-the-art computer systems and on-line servers.
Society is, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, dominated by the information revolution which is being fed by the explosive growth of the telecommunications industry. This is changing many aspects of our private as well as professional lives. Telecommunications, computer power, and networking will be a TOOL in managing departmental operations. Faculty will use technology to ACHIEVE instructional goals (as opposed to technology AS an instructional goal). Professors will increasingly become information managers who help students become better information gathers and users. Electronic-based technology will slowly increase and on-line distance courses will gain market share as major advances in communications are implemented and become routinely available to the general public. Our committee feels that on-line courses will replace TV course offerings, reflecting about 10 percent of student semester hours taught per semester. On the other hand, effective classroom education will depend on innovative, flashy multimedia approaches. We envision fixed or mobile multimedia presentation units in most classrooms and at least one smart classroom for Natural Science. Effective professors may need to become audiovisual managers or showmen who entertain students as they learn. Class policies, assignments, and increasing course content will move to faculty web sites. Faculty will need the requisite technical, artistic, and multimedia course development support. As more of the general public (students and faculty) own computers and have email and Internet access, more communication will be done from home. Email and chat rooms will allow teamwork, tutoring, and instructor-student exchange of information. Increasingly the function of the community college will be to provide requisite skills to workers who want to move up in their professions or change jobs. Many traditional courses could be marketed for certifications and license renewals as well as for traditional degrees. Some courses may be divided into incremental units where partial credit could be awarded at the completion of each block, perhaps taken in an asynchronous, open-ended fashion. Some segments and some courses may appeal to life-long learners interested in the environment or the world around them or a particular topic in an existing course (e.g. astronomy, weather, cancer, heart disease). Effective instructional systems design applies strategies and techniques derived from behavior and physical sciences concepts to the solution of instructional problems (Cass Gentry, Instructional Technology: Past Present & Future, 1995). Telecommunications is DELIVERY media, not DESIGN media. We need to develop methods for a wide variety of students using multiple content delivery systems and stay current with the available delivery tools.
-Increase the number of methods for accessing and presenting information: power point, internet, teleconfererncing; -Expand the types of courses offered:on-line, independent study, self-paced; -Explore additional funding sources to suppport these changes. We need to upgrade equipment and train and retrain faculty and staff to support these changes.
o Enhanced communication with colleagues (email, fax, networking, list serves, etc.). o New avenues of communication with students. o Increased communication with industry partners. o Communicating enthusiasm about pedagogical tools. o Higher demand for available computer time. o Student technology fees/student access to email on campus. Challenges: o Sorting through junk mail. o Evaluating sources. o Documentation formats. o Library databases. o Training issues. o Stress on faculty time.
Presentation system will be different Faculty materials and lectures available on-line Learning on-line a new skill for students and teachers (i.e. managing a classroom on-line) Changes in research methods More availability of sources 24-hour retrieval of information from distant locations Electronic search skills Availability of video-on-demand for television courses (digital storage retrieval technology)

Phase 1.2a
2. Describe how you expect the changes in student demographics and changes in the labor market to impact your department operations. How will changes in the labor market, students age, interests, outside commitments, experiences outside of college, and expectations affect what you do?
No thinking professional, in our opinion, would believe that he or she had a monopoly; however, many probably need a clearer understanding of the extent to which Univ of Phoenix, Rio Salado, Graduate School of America, and other “no-campus” institutions, as well as senior institutions such as Indiana University and Auburn, are invading and will compete with entities such as SPJC. Getting a general AA from Indiana University might be much more prestigious than getting one from SPJC...How will we market? Will we specialize? demographics - Learning will increase in age range, with 4-5 career changes. Market will include everyone from high school dropouts to PhDs, and curriculum /vocabulary/time frame must be managed to neither insult nor exclude any learner. labor - Technology skill will define a new class. “Middle class” has been exported through outsourcing. USA will be service-based or intellectual property-based, with little manufacturing remaining. expectations - Retraining, not initial training, will be the goal of most. Quick retraining, with rolling admissions,will be needed. Consideration of flexible completion, or of a “short” and a more “explanatory” version of the same course, may be valuable to accommodate the previous experience or education of the consumers. These may be professionals who are used to good lifestyles, and they need to maintain status and pay, not re-hash the basics for years. Why come to SPJC? - tax-supported tuition, quality instruction, convenient delivery. The local community college will always be needed for low-income students, the technophobic, those who learn best by interaction or immediate feedback, and recreational users who cannot possess the technology or who wish the socialization of attending a traditional class. “Unique” approaches, high reputation in electronic and traditional community and interesting presentations will be important. Specialization may be necessary. market - Studying successful programs would be useful, as would learning about the licensing and academic arrangements of various states, and the business needs of different areas. The first institution into an area will lock up the lion’s share of that market for several years, as some students pursue full degrees and others pass the word about retraining. We note the growth of programs in the US, and need to find out more about the structure and the faculty and counseling arrangements , but we can also look to Australia, a nation which has dealt with distance learning for elementary through college for decades and which is still pioneering new solutions.
Some key changes in student demographics will include a significant increase in computer literacy for all ages of students (i.e. first-time-in-college students, and adult students returning for new skills), and an increase in the number of out-of-state students, and foreign students accessing classes and educational material electronically. From a labor market perspective, there will be a general trend towards more computer-based training, and training on the basic use of information technologies in all curriculums. Further, there will be cyclical needs in the State of Florida labor market for more students graduating with a baccalaureate degrees; particularly in the 1999-2003 time frame, according to the Florida State Board of Regents' (BOR) Strategic Plan. There is also a current effort by BOR to increase the percentage of high school graduating students entering four-year colleges, which will provide opportunities for community colleges to offer courses to students enrolled in four-year programs. The changes in student demographics and labor market will affect the community college's central computing systems, networking, distributed electronics and infrastructure in institutional buildings, and the central technical support staff in a number of ways. The issue of network security is again one key affect, as has already been discussed in topic #1 above. Other key affects can be easily predicted and will be equally important. Those are as follows. COMPUTER COMMONS - as computer ownership and literacy continue to increase, future students will bring computers to college and expect convenient areas in which to get connected to college and worldwide resources. They will expect the college building infrastructure to have connectivity to accommodate their needs. MULTIMEDIA DELIVERY CAPABILITIES - the college will need to be able to deliver high bandwidth transport between classrooms, commons, and libraries on the local campuses and with other educational institutions. VIDEO CONFERENCING - educational and college-wide growth opportunities with business will require the college's networking infrastructure have capability to connect to points outside the college on a switched, on-demand basis as well as permanent connections that can be readily provided today. This will require keener focus and greater expertise in video encoding and satellite transmission technologies. OUT OF STATE TELE COURSE DELIVERY - the ability to deliver tele courses, particularly web-based and other forms of tele courses, will become increasingly important to the growth and expansion of the college into nontraditional markets, such as Latin America, other regions in the US, and businesses. YEARS 2003-2010 TIMEFRAME - beyond the current five-year horizon, there needs to be attention paid to currently emerging biotechnology's and enzyme-based technologies to provide the next era of discontinuity in educational technologies and delivery systems.
Since a large percentage of our students are professionals, we expect the changes in student demographics to be a direct reflection of local business trends. As the local community increases it's use of technology and telecommunications, we anticipate a parallel increase in the need for training that reflects these trends. Corporate Training's future is closely linked to the rapidly evolving labor market. Most of our students take short classes to quickly develop marketable skills. Our success is tied to the expanding labor market and our ability to provide job related training. By quickly identifying changes in the local labor market, and offering corporations and individuals courses that mirror these changes, we will be able to create an educational setting that leverages the rapidly changing job market. However, the increasing pace of change will force us to consider new ways to use technology to quickly develop and deliver training.
2. The "need for speed" in academic achievement makes the Dual Credit Program a tremendous boon to both students and parents. The ability to get a jumpstart on college provides a positive snowball effect: the more dual credit courses are completed, the faster college is completed; the sooner college is completed, the sooner the student can enter the workforce; the sooner the student can enter the workforce, the sooner the student can become a productive member of society. The need for more advanced degrees benefits dual credit in that the program allows students to quicken the pace toward a bachelor's, master's, and/or p.h.d. Our current students are high school students. We serve public, private, and home-schooled. Our customers continue to come to us because of the price (free to those with a 3.0 g.p.a.), and the ability to get that jumpstart on college. Could our program be delivered from offsite? It is now. Our customers have the option of taking similar courses in the Advanced Placement Program, but are finding that Dual Credit courses offer advantages not offered with Advanced Placement (in A.P., the student must pass a national exam in order to receive college credit; under Dual Credit, no such exam is required). The Committee expects that private school enrollment will increase as the market share increases. Dual Credit Students, as a percentage of total population, should increase accordingly. Statistics kept since the inception of the program show increased numbers throughout the 1990s, with numbers increasing in both public and private schools. Numbers in the private schools are increasing more rapidly than the public, due in part to the lack of course restrictions on private school students (public school students may take only courses approved by the Pinellas Education Articulation Committee, while private school students may take any SPJC course). A. Elderhostel 1. With the lowering of the minimum age from 60 to 55, we are seeing a younger, more active participant. Their expectations are for more active/interactive programs which explore a wider variety of topics. 2. With the lower minimum age, many of our new participants are still employed. It will be necessary to investigate special programming options to accommodate the limited time available to working participants. 3. Elderhostel is actively seeking to increase the diversity of its participants. This will mean that we will need to expand our offerings to include more cultural programs that would be of interest to this diverse group. B College For Kids 1. With the growth of our program in the far northern section of Pinellas County, it has already been necessary to add another site to accommodate the increased number of children in this area. 2. We are also trying to set up a middle school program in response to the MANY requests we have had for a program for this target population. Nursing and Allied Health Continuing Education: 2. As the demographics of students continue to include more diversity, courses offered will need to reflect content that speaks to diverse audiences and we will need to hire instructors from more diverse backgrounds. As the SPJC Associate of Science graduates increase, we need to market information about skills and practice programs, especially for new graduates who have little skills experience. These programs might include phlebotomy, ventilators, EKG and tracheotomies. With staff cutbacks, cross training, team approach and outcome training will also become increasingly necessary. As many hospitals will want training for unit secretaries and monitor technicians, we will need to examine the need to include those curriculums in our offerings. As travel for staff is becoming more of a burden (less time, small children, no incentives), their preference to take courses that offer the ease of receiving credits at their leisure (and at home) will increase. We will need to increase the number of home studies offered, along with offering courses on a Web site. Now, and in the future, to be an efficient practitioner, one needs to be continuously conscious of cost and reimbursement issues. It will be important for our programs to have master trainers to provide diverse subject matter to multidisciplinary audiences. Avocational Programs/Children and Divorce/Driver Improvement/Legal Guardianship/Recreational Programs/youth Camps: 2. We believe that our programs need to be sensitive to and aware of students' needs and extenuating conditions, especially the divorce and driver classes. With increased social problems and legislative mandates, we believe that we will continue to serve the community.
Implementation of the requirement for law enforcement students to have 60 college credits has begun to impact the number of students we can accept into our law enforcement academy. Some students who don't meet that requirement and want to pursue a law enforcement career have begun to look to other training centers to meet their needs. Some students are also taking advantage of our Associate of Science Degree, evening schedule completing the academy through this program. One must also consider that some new college graduates may consider careers in the public sector that offer higher salaries, better working hours and benefits. This also will affect what we do in the criminal justice arena. The corrections field also faces challenges from the private sector. Some agencies are privatizing traditional public services, which releases them from liability and diminishes their accountability. This also will have an effect on our department. Will these "private sector" employees need to be trained? How can we provide the training? Why do your "customers" keep coming to you and what alternatives might they have in the future? At the present time our customers are coming back to us because of the quality of the training delivered by our department. We also have been flexible in scheduling of training to meet the needs of students who cannot attend the traditional day classes. In the Distance Learning component, the customers return because we offer "user friendly delivery" and provide one-on-one counseling. We also have a strong "mentor" system, and provide "live" courses from out-of-state. Who are your "customers", could the services be delivered from private source, offsite? Do you have a monopoly or do your "customers" have viable choices? In the criminal justice arena, our customers are the students who want to become law enforcement or corrections officers. Our customers also include the chiefs and agency heads that will sponsor and/or employ those students upon certification. We do not have a monopoly on service delivery. Competition is keen and students have plenty of resources to choose from. Academy and Criminal Justice Standards & Training (CJST) courses can only be delivered by us in Pinellas. Our quality facilities and flexible scheduling help with meeting competition. In the area of Distance Learning, the present contracts are with the state's corrections agencies, however, there is a possibility that another state agency will sign on to have their employees participate. Is your market share static or decreasing? Where is the market growing? In criminal justice, the market, region wide, is static. Our grant involvement helps us compete and in some cases helps us be more flexible. The Distance Learning component, on the other hand, is growing rapidly with statewide delivery.
Today's and tomorrow's student expect a greater level of service. The need will be not just to educate but to provide financing, child care services, job placement and other services. Tomorrow's students expect to be able to handle everything over the computer and not be required to make a visit to the campus. Many will not be located in our community or state. All services we currently perform in person must be added to the web. More company's will be willing to pay to educate their workers and we'll need to be more flexible in our billing and payment methods. More students will be from different cultures and we must be trained in dealing with these differences and perhaps provide the option of different languages on our telephone and web registration and other services. A point of contact person for each major cultural group of students would provide better sevice. Student are increasingly in debt for their education and financial planning is needed so they are not headed for problems upon graduation.
In the end, whatever the college does impacts community/media relations because what the college does is what people talk about. So the big picture needs to consider how such shifts influence the college's service to its customers - whether that means intake processes, support services, program offerings or class scheduling. For departments such as Institutional Advancement, shifting demographics impact how we define our target markets and how we then try to reach them, via media relations as well as paid advertising. Traditionally, our recruitment advertising has targeted traditional students. But the growing student group is non-traditional students, a much harder group to define and target because it is so fragmented. This fragmentation goes along age, ethnic and gender lines. Reaching all these groups will continue to be a challenge.
The following demographic changes are eminent: o Enrollment among traditional high school students is expected to increase as a result of the 2nd generation baby boomers and the inability of SUS (State University System) to handle the growth. o Increase in the enrollment of non-traditional students as life-long earners return to school with short-term career and/or personal goals. o Increase in our global market share as we eliminate traditional boundary lines (county, city, state, and international). o Increase in the demand for career resources, career exploration, cooperative education, experiential learning program credit and job services. The following operation changes are expected: o We must incorporate more distant interactive audio/visual conferencing to meet the needs of our new student populations. o We must work closely with in-house telecommunications to develop diverse delivery mediums. o We must continually enhance our commitment to student satisfaction because enhanced technological opportunities create fierce competition among post-secondary educational providers. o Increase in the enrollment of degree holding students matriculating for specialty training. o Interactive audio/visual employment interviews and information exchange with business/industry.
More students are returning to school for further education. Offer on-line company training. Institute will work to develop connections with businesses to course offerings. Institute will work to offer seminars on weekends and evenings. Institute will design and offer ethics audits for businesses and professional organizations. Institute will offer corporate, government, organizational, personnel and diversity training. Increase budgets to support projects, training, new systems and equipment. Institute to have ethics faculty prepared to act as consultants to update specific disciplies including: -medical ethics -health care -insurance -senior citizens -provide CEU's foe the professions
The International Center offers support programs and services to the international students and most of them are English as a Second Language (ESL) students. This question is best answered by the enclosed information from the ESL instructors.
Demographic Trends Students vary widely in their abilities and interests, especially at a community college. We see some who are able to re configure supposedly secure workstations in a few minutes, while others cannot use a mouse. In the future, we may see a leveling off in computer knowledge, as everyone becomes more computer literate. In areas other than computers however, the trend seems to be toward more diversity. Increasing numbers of foreign students are enrolling at community colleges. We also see many students for whom English is a second language. Many high school graduates need to take remedial classes. Trends toward career turnover lead to large numbers of students who already have a degree. Students with various disabilities are finding new encouragement to enroll in college. We can expect that many of the baby boomers will take advantage of free or inexpensive tuition for personal enrichment classes as they begin to retire. Libraries are also expected to serve those who might have never been counted as students in the past. The availability of distance learning means that we may be serving people not enrolled at our institution. As we build stronger networks among libraries, there is more pressure to open our doors to the general public. As public school libraries suffer from cutbacks, and independent schools cut costs, there may be increasing pressure upon public and college libraries to provide the services. Increasing numbers of school children are already using the SPJC libraries for research.
We anticipate that changes in the student population and work place will tend to increase the perceived immediacy of physical activity and wellness behaviors. Our current experience indicates that older students, especially those with more education and experience at work, are much mire "ready" for the behavioral changes proposed by out courses and by the health/wellness community at large. In addition, as indicated by increasing number of in-house wellness programs and by certain screening practices at hiring, employers are very interested in controlling health care costs as a way of improving their profitability. These changes should serve to reinforce the departmental changes mentioned in #1. Personal Wellness will become more application-based course and more lifetime activity courses will be offered.
Changes in students’ and the labor market’s skill levels and expectations about use of technology affect the SPD function indirectly: if the students and the workforce know of and/or use advanced telecommunications applications, then their expectation probably will be that personnel in an educational institution should be capable of using those applications. (If someone at the institution teaches the content, then employees at the institution should be using the content.) Given this, the need for college-wide SPD in technology applications becomes more immediate. In addition, degree-seeking and non degree-seeking students may expect to have access to some (advanced) training offered by the College at no or low cost, e.g., the courses offered by the College’s librarians on Internet data bases and searches. Though Corporate Training addresses the need for comprehensive training in real time, it may be at a cost that many students and/or citizens can not afford and at a level of detail that many do not need. Therefore, the College should consider offering low-cost informational and training options related to changes in telecommunications to the community. With the opening of the Seminole Campus, the so-called “Technology Campus,” then perhaps the College needs to provide more training/informational options as public services.
With the computer literacy movement, we find that more and more of our students are computer knowledgeable. They enjoy using computers and accessing the world that computers open up for them, they share ideas and how-tos, and are not afraid to push technology to the limit. To meet the students need, we need to be able to support this approach to gaining information. As more and more students are looking to distance learning to meet their needs in a timely and affordable manner, we need to look at the materials we have available to support that approach to sharing instruction and information. Customers in Word Processing are faculty, administrators, students indirectly, and organizations within the college. Our customers continue to use the services, because of the quality and timeliness of the work performed. The Word Processing users can interact with the center staff or program staff in the creative production of their tasks. We offer a quick turnaround, and strive for emergency print-on-demand to meet our customer needs. The services could be outsourced, but the value of customer input, immediate printing, personalized letters, special flyers, and turnaround time would be lost. Our customers like the flexibility, convenience, confidentiality, and quality and they count on that support from Word Processing. The drawbacks for outsourcing work, are that we would lose time, the cost would be increased, and some concern about the confidentiality issues, the personalized services we presently afford, merged letters, test banks, and labels, overheads, and transparencies. The consensus of opinion is that the word processing services are an important support for faculty, administrators, and staff. To lose this would put the burden where other time demands already exist.
Labor Market o The construction industry is a cyclical industry; it rises and falls with the economy. The economy has been strong in recent years, construction is up, and there is a need for qualified construction personnel (architects, engineers and builders). Student Demographics o Students in all programs are employed in varying degrees. o Probably 25% of the students in the A.S. & Certificate programs are married and have children. A few are single parents. Each program must address these issues separately. A.S. & Certificate Programs o Most of the students in these programs are employed in the industry. They are enrolled in the program to move up in their organizations. Because of their working schedules, most of these students are part-time students, and take more than 2 years to complete the degree. o Offering classes at times convenient to the students is a high department priority. This has resulted in innovative A.S. and Certificate programs that incorporates short-term one credit classes, and numerous elective choices. We offer most of these classes in the evenings and on weekends because most of the students are employed during the day. o The age of these students range from 18 to 55. This diverse mix works well in the classroom as we can tap into experiences as well as new ideas. o Although these students are frequently deficient in math, reading and composition skills, this is not a deterrent to completing the program, as the students are generally on a 4 or 5 year completion plan. A.A. Programs o The curriculum in the A.A. programs are prescribed by the upper division schools that take our students, primarily the University of Florida and FAMU. Our programs respond to their specific requirements. While the Architectural Transfer Program has 32 credits within the major, the Building Construction Transfer Program has only 10 credits within the major. o These student are generally employed part-time and attend school full time, including summers. o The architectural students are frequently deficient in their math sequences, and that usually adds another year to their schooling. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that the design classes (Design 1, 2, 3 & 4 over four semesters) are sequential, and the advanced Calculus (and physics with its Trigonometry pre-requisite)is required for Design 4. The result is that the student starts year one in Design 1, continues in Design 2, but now must break the sequence to get Trig and Calculus completed, so in year three they can continue with Design 3 and Design 4. CEU Program (in cooperation with Corporate Training Center/Open Campus) o By law, contractors must complete continuing education to renew their licenses. We will always have this group available to us. Our challenge is to provide interesting courses on appropriate subject matter and teach them better than our competitors. o This program serves as a good marketing tool for the Department and SPJC. Many contractors have enrolled in a degree program, sent their employees to our classes, or have hired our students.
SPJC and the Business Technologies department must constantly measure the pulse of the community we serve. This department is directly impacted by changes in technology which occur daily. Keeping up with these changes require faculty and staff to constantly read and review technical journals; visit and consult with businesses and industry; train and retrain; as well as, convince college administration that the dollars expended for equipment and software are well spent. The Labor Department tells us that employees today change jobs at least four times during their career and a majority change locations as well. Some of the students who attend SPJC will not live in this area, therefore, preparation must be global in scope while serving local requirements as well. This department is among those that must constantly make changes to meet community demands. Keeping the degree programs current with convenient scheduling is essential. However, it is just as important to provide the technical training that allows displaced workers an opportunity for retraining and employment skills. Since the workplace requires that all employees have computer skills, it is the responsibility of the college, this department and others to continue to provide courses to all students at SPJC in this area. Statistics show that the national average age of a college student is older. This segment of the population is less likely to enjoy sitting in a classroom. The more mature learner is probably more self-directed and self-motivated. These students are prime candidates for distance learning. The younger student might be more "MTV motivated". Although this age group might not be motivated toward online classes or the standard lecture method, they could be motivated by hands-on and discovery methods. Given a computer and a CAI (Computer-Assisted Instruction) tutorial, most students will interact with the computer and learn. Instructors will need to introduce a subject via a demonstration, walk the students through a small segment of the lesson to be covered, and allow the students to discover. --Lecturing becomes boring for everyone, interaction is stimulating.--
The labor market wants better educated students, ones who can read, write, think critically, and compute. The labor market also wants technically literate workers. As the abilities of students changes we will need to adjust to meet the needs of both students and the labor market. This should include smaller classes with more instruction in subjects like technical writing and computing. Students will come to us less well prepared, overworked (40 hours + per week), often under financial hardship with families to support. As a result, we will need to assume less about their knowledge base and offer more flexible class times and delivery systems. The traditional semester start and stop dates will need to be adjusted optionally and “open entry/open exit” will need to be implemented. Our classroom procedures will have to be modified. We will fit our requirements to student needs while maintaining academic excellence. Students come to us because we’re inexpensive, convenient, and have an open admission policy. There is little chance for change in the future because tuition keeps increasing. As the job market changes, students will probably participate more frequently in the AS programs and career/certificate programs. They will eventually have the option from some schools to do degrees on-line. We will absolutely have to offer a richer and more varied classroom experience to compete with these on-line courses. Smaller classes with individualized attention and frequent conferences will be a necessary alternative. It can be technically, but it ought not be. Because composition and reading are skills based courses, they differ from content based courses. Skill building tasks can best be taught in real-time with an instructor present. In addition, the way in which distance learning in composition is delivered at this college, the students have been further disadvantaged because, instead of a 27:1 ratio, it is often closer to 100:1. We have no idea about the market share; we do know that we get a large number of graduating high school seniors. The student body seems to grow by 1-2% each year. The market is growing especially in technology, accounting and business related majors and certificate programs.
We expect these changes to impact our department in the way we currently offer classes and the way we currently deal with student problems regarding our classes. In Phase Two, we will describe specific changes. We expect that these changes will mandate flexibility and alternatives in the way that we offer classes and the way that we teach the classes, and in the way that we interact with students outside of class. Our students keep coming to SPJC because of our ability to offer fully-trained and fully-educated instructors (instead of graduate assistants) and because of our commitment to the community. SPJC hires quality instructors, who embrace the first-in-family college student, the underprepared student, and the back-again-for-retraining college student. We offer financial aid packages which attracts large numbers of students. To increase availability to students, most instructors have spent their own money to buy answering machines for their offices, and all full-time instructors have been trained in how to send and receive e-mail on their college-provided Mac SE computers. Certainly students will have higher education options from out-of-area schools in the future, such as on-line courses, telecourses, interacting up/down-link courses, and correspondance courses. But SPJC has always had competition. Eckerd College has been in St. Petersburg since the late 1800's, USF began educating Tampa Bay students since the 1950's. This state has an unbelieveable football frenzy each fall, and some potential SPJC students have been dressing in blue and orange or maroon and gold since birth--we'll never get those kids. Nova University and others have provided weekend or correspondance courses. Our department understands that SPJC will face competition in the future, but we do not understand why this increased competition should make us frantic. We offer local, low-cost "face-time" classes with an on-site, available faculty. We offer a college community, with sports teams, cheerleaders, academic clubs, and co-curricular clubs. These out-of-area, distance learning options do not, and cannot, offer what SPJC can. P.S. Our department really resents the use of the word "customers" -- even with the quotation marks. We already outsource, in the form of adjunct instructors. We already offer courses off-site (on-line, telecourses), but we need to make these better. For example, the SPJC Accounting telecourse, made in 1985, features instruction on a 1983 computer. We have suggested that some of our HUM-FA courses be taught off-site, but this has not been pursued. We are also concerned with the hysteria which is causing every course to be thrown onto a telecourse. Not every course's Major Learning Outcomes can be met via distance learning. Our customers have choices. We are not in a desolate, rural area; our customers have always had choices. Our market share is increasing. Why wasn't "increasing" a choice? Rising university tuition and increasing disappointment with distance learning courses comb