recommendations to acpac from on-line action team 1. for on-line programs to truly flourish at iup, there is a need to expand the s
Recommendations to ACPAC
From
On-line Action Team
1. For on-line programs to truly flourish at IUP, there is a need to
expand the service hours for technical support for on-line students
and the faculty that teach those courses. The committee feels that it
is important for IUP to expand this service with a long term goal of
offering 24/7 technical support to all on-line students and the
faculty that teach on-line.
The on-line technical support should also include such services as
admissions, advising and an array of services that are available to
on-campus students which will need to be duplicated for on-line
students.
2. IUP should look very carefully at developing a “Virtual Campus”
that would provide on-line services that mimic similar services on
campus. This “Virtual Campus” would include services for recruitment,
admissions, financial aid, major advising, course advising, library
services, internships, graduation etc. In essence, the “Virtual
Campus” would provide the necessary services in a virtual world to all
on-line students. Included in the “Virtual Campus” would be an area
with instructor resources.
3. A link to this “Virtual Campus” should be prominently displayed on
the main page for IUP.
4. IUP should, very quickly, set up a procedure to evaluate both Sakai
and Blackboard, with a goal of choosing between the two Learning
Management Systems during the 2007-2008 academic years. Those involved
in on-line teaching and those who have an interest in the area should
have an opportunity to study both the strengths and weaknesses of both
systems, and have their input heard.
5. IUP should move aggressively toward the adoption of a Content
Management System (CMS) for online material. The goal should be to
have a universal standalone CMS or as a component of a Learning
Management System (LMS).
6. IUP should, with input from all stack holders, develop a “features
list” of on-line tools that will be available to faculty and students,
and be supported by IUP and the technical staff. The goal would be to
have the necessary tools for instructors and students involved in
on-line learning.