COMMUNICATION IN DISTANCE EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY

The University of Texas TeleCampus

By: Matthew Guay and David Lopez

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS’ TELECAMPUS SYSTEM IS UNIQUE IN THE REALM OF DISTANCE EDUCATION, AND

IT WAS STARTED THROUGH THE INITIATIVE OF UT CHANCELLOR WILLIAM

CUNNINGHAM IN THE FALL OF 1996.

He knew that Information Technologywas the way of the future for UT, and commissioned a group to find ways to

incorporate it in the UT System.

Based on a report from Anderson Consulting and

visits to experienced distance education colleges across America, the Master Plan for UT TeleCampus was

drafted in 1997.

This report recommended building an online

extension of the UT System that serves as a

support center for organizing the distance

education initiatives. This system would be known as

UT TeleCampus.

Work on forming TeleCampus was

then begun, and the first classes were

launched in the fall of 1998.

TeleCampus staff worked to build up support services, an online library, and provide help for making online classes…

…while the campuses worked to build up quality classes from professors who already taught on campus.

First semester enrollment was189, but these early beginnings…

Fall‘98 Spring

‘09

…blossomed to over 6000 enrollments in the spring of 2009!

TeleCampus enrollment has been growing at a rate of

10.4%Annually!

Students’ busy lives and desireto study from home has prompted

more to study online, and TeleCampus has stepped up to fill

this need.

TeleCampus today offers 10degree programs and over330 individual courses fully

online.

But for all of its success,TeleCampus has had

somecracks in its underlying

structure.

Its communication with campuseshas broken down over the

years, and many current policiesmake studying online difficult

for students.

First, students are charged tuitionand student fees by each campus

from which they take a class.

Student fees that TeleCampus students get charged for but

can’t make use of the service:

• Student Union fees• Recreation fees

• Medical Services fees• International Exchange fees• And other similar fees

Then, the student’s financial aid is paid to their home campus, but the student has to pay tuition and student fees at each other campus where they are taking a class.

They are also required to have separate student ID numbers, email addresses, login names, and passwords at each

campus at which they are enrolled in a TeleCampus class.

Finally, getting approved for classes that have prerequisites can be very difficult as student records are not shared easily between campuses.

All of these problems stem from a breakdown in communications between TeleCampus and the

campuses, and between the campuses themselves.

So these problems require that we return to the drawing board for solutions that will ensure TeleCampus is the premier provider of online education.

TeleCampus needs:

Better communication

Moreclasses

BetterPolicies

Students!

Its own

campus

More Classes

The amount of classes TeleCampus is currently offering is just a drop compared to the amount needed to make it a viable, fully online college.

Better Communicationwith TeleCampus students

TeleCampus needs to work harder to tell students what to expect. This can be

accomplished by making a virtual orientation for new students, and by improving the

website’s information for current students.

Better Communicationwith UT campuses

TeleCampus needs to work harder to implement policies throughout the UT system that will help its students, and it will only accomplish this by talking to the other campuses.

A “TeleComputer” systemfor sharing student info

TeleCampus needs a new system which the campuses can use to easily access relevant

student info to streamline the approval process.

A TeleCampus Campus

TeleCampus could provide much bett er support for its students if it managed

all of their student info so students would only have 1 TeleCampus ID.

WHY?

More students

Freed classroom space

More total revenue

Better efficiency

TeleCampus is missing some pieces now, but by following

these suggestions it can grow…

…into a thriving, global,Texas-sized online college!

Thanks for your attention!~ The Members of ENGL 3355 Business team 8

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