EDUCAUSE | Faculty and Support Services

An Antidote for the Faculty-IT Divide

ckeller — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:15:37 -0600

Good relations between IT and faculty can be promoted by understanding and addressing the cultural divides that exist between the administration and faculty.

IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice - Corporate Edition

ckeller — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:55:01 -0600

This ECAR research study was designed in collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges to analyze the practices and perspectives of IT organizations that support the academic research enterprise in medical schools and colleges. As the potential of biotechnology, proteomics, informatics, computational genomics, and other IT-intensive disciplines continue to offer breakthroughs in medicine, research in these fields requires greater and higher-level technology resources for infrastructure as well as IT support and services. The study is based on the results of a web-based survey sent to 125 medical schools and colleges in the United States, as well as qualitative interviews with leaders at 10 institutions. Respondents to the survey were predominantly chief information officers or other top administrators from 50 medical institutions, yielding a response rate of 39.7 percent. The findings contained in this report echo the results of the ECAR 2006 study, IT Engagement in Research: A Baseline Study, illustrating that the role and importance of IT in research is growing, while funding and budget decisions remain difficult. A non-profit edition is available here.

Citation for this work: Nelson, Mark R. IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice (Research Study, Vol. 1). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice Roadmap

ckeller — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:27:19 -0600

This ECAR roadmap synthesizes the important issues and recommended actions drawn from the 2008 study, IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice, by Mark R. Nelson. This ECAR research study was designed in collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges to analyze the practices and perspectives of IT organizations that support the academic research enterprise in medical schools and colleges. As the potential of biotechnology, proteomics, informatics, computational genomics, and other IT-intensive disciplines continue to offer breakthroughs in medicine, research in these fields requires greater and higher-level technology resources for infrastructure as well as IT support and services. The study is based on the results of a January 2007 web-based survey sent to 125 medical schools and colleges in the United States, as well as qualitative interviews with leaders at 10 institutions.

Citation for this work: Albrecht, Bob, and Judith A. Pirani. "IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice Roadmap" (Roadmap). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2005, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice

ckeller — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:11:35 -0600

Citation for this work: Nelson, Mark R. IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice (Research Study, Vol. 1). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

IT Engagement in Research: A Baseline Study - Key Findings

drupal — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:50:47 -0500

This ECAR Key Findings explores the practices and perspectives of IT organizations that support the academic research enterprise. To collect, analyze, and distribute information across an expanding range academic disciplines and geographic locations, research efforts rely heavily on IT infrastructure, people, and a broad range of IT services. Ever-larger data sets are being collected and shared, simulations and visualization are becoming routine tools, and the co-evolution of science and computing increasingly requires scientists to have solid grounding in information management.

IT Engagement in Research: A Baseline Study

drupal — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:58:17 -0500

This ECAR study explores the practices and perspectives of IT organizations that support the academic research enterprise. To collect, analyze, and distribute information across an expanding range academic disciplines and geographic locations, research efforts rely heavily on IT infrastructure, people, and a broad range of IT services. Ever-larger data sets are being collected and shared, simulations and visualization are becoming routine tools, and the co-evolution of science and computing increasingly requires scientists to have solid grounding in information management. This study reports the results of a variety of research initiatives: a literature review, quantitative and qualitative data from 328 higher education institutions (315 U.S. and 13 Canadian institutions), and five in-depth cases studies. In addition, ECAR published What Do Researchers Need? Higher Education IT from the Researcher's Perspective, to supplement this study.

ELI Innovations & Implementations – Online@UCF

drupal — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 16:23:31 -0500

The University of Central Florida's Online@UCF initiative serves tens of thousands of students across Florida and engages 75 percent of UCF faculty. It offers 15 online degree programs, 10 online graduate certificate programs, approximately 1,300 fully online and blended courses, and hundreds of other courses that enhance face-to-face instruction with online resources. In AY 2003–2004, almost 44 percent of UCF's roughly 44,000 students enrolled in at least one fully online or blended course.

Online@UCF has achieved this success through three units. Instructional designers in Course Development & Web Services (CDWS) work with faculty to increase their knowledge and use of best practices in fully online, blended, and Web-enhanced learning; the Center for Distributed Learning (CDL) provides planning and administrative support for online learning faculty and students; and the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness (RITE) documents the success of these efforts in the form of improved learning outcomes as well as high rates of faculty and student satisfaction. Together, these units have established Online@UCF as an effective practice model in the development and support of online learning.

ELI's Innovations & Implementations series highlights innovative teaching, learning, and technology practices in higher education. Each Innovations & Implementations piece provides a practical overview of an innovation, focusing on its significance and implementation issues. Use Innovations & Implementations to explore innovative practices that might be of value to your institution.

Managing Virtual Adjunct Faculty: Applying the Seven Principles of Good Practice

drupal — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 11:39:27 -0500

Since the publication of the Seven Principles of Good Practice in 1987 by Chickering and Gamson, distance education has become a major delivery method for higher education. Virtual adjunct faculty have largely carried higher education into the cyber classroom. Adjunct faculty have always been broadly used in higher education, especially in the community college setting. Nationally, adjuncts teach 30-50% of all credit courses. At community colleges, adjuncts compose about 60% of all faculty (Gappa and Leslie, 1993).

Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ) has one of the largest distance learning programs in the state of Florida with yearly enrollments of more than 35,000. About 80% of all online course offerings are taught by virtual adjuncts. About 70% of the active 250 adjuncts teaching in the program reside in the state of Florida , and the other half in assorted states. This paper offers best practices for the support and management of online adjunct faculty within the framework of the Seven Principles for Best Practice.

Culture Work in Higher Education: Strategy and Tactics

drupal — Tue, 30 Apr 2002 12:49:51 -0500

In speaking about the structure of institutions of higher education, people often distinguish between "educators" - meaning, presumably, teachers and researchers who directly interact with students - and "support staff" - meaning the people who work in the libraries and labs, and including the IT professionals who create and maintain the technical infrastructure of the institution. A similar dichotomy has existed in the public arena, where originally (that is, 25 to 50 years ago) there were "computer professionals" - a priesthood of folks who could actually understand these arcane devices and make them do something - and "the rest of us," who turned in punched cards and waited for results to be returned, or simply stood around in awe. Notice, however, that in these two models the power relationships between the parties are reversed. The public casts computer professionals as wizards, while the institution typically sees them as playing supporting roles in the production of Important Stuff.

UCF's Support for Teaching and Learning Online: CD-ROM Development, Faculty Development, and Statewide Training

drupal — Wed, 10 Nov 1999 13:35:21 -0600

The University of Central Florida has developed an award winning faculty development program providing experiential, collaborative learning for instructors to build online programs. A project is now underway to extend training throughout the State of Florida. Supporting students is also essential to the success of teaching online. The Pegasus Connections Disc provides software tools, tutorials and just-in-time information for all incoming UCF students and faculty. Lessons learned and evaluation data are shared in this paper.

The Catalyst Project: Supporting Faculty Uses of the Web...with the Web

drupal — Tue, 19 Oct 1999 12:53:37 -0500

Since 1994 UWired, a collaborative unit at the University of Washington, has worked to develop and improve ways to support faculty teaching with new technologies. In 1998 UWired initiated a series of activities aimed at reinventing its support structure and redefining the role of the university's Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. In early 1999 UWired launched the Catalyst project, the most visible manifestation of its new approach. This articledetails the strategic plan behind the Catalyst project and the redefinition of the center.

This EDUCAUSE '99 presentation was based on an article in CAUSE/EFFECT Volume 22 Number 3 1999.

Sustaining A Virtual Support Organization: The Learning Technologies Partnership, A Model for the New Millennium

drupal — Tue, 19 Oct 1999 12:41:25 -0500

To meet the ever-growing demand to integrate information technology into all aspects of university life, the University of Arizona has been exploring new support models. One of the most successful strategies for improving the instructional environment is found in the Learning Technologies Partnership. Created in 1995 to improve support and expand development opportunities for teaching faculty, the functional links between diverse service units--computer center, library, teaching center, video services, a new media research center, and the extended university--now support a "virtual organization." The impact of this virtual organization is felt across the curriculum. In its fifth year, the Partnership is preparing to step beyond "doing" to help lead the UA into the next millennium.

Discipline-Focused Technology Support Fosters Curriculum Innovation

drupal — Mon, 11 Oct 1999 17:07:42 -0500

Six years ago Carleton College revolutionized its support model for academic computing. In the new model, technical support staff worked to identify, facilitate, and tailor technical tools and methods to the pedagogical needs of faculty. Since implementing this discipline-focused computing support structure, curricular use of computers in the humanities and social sciences has risen from 6 to 24 percent; the percentage of faculty with moderate to high skill levels in operating desktop computers has risen from 35 to 92 percent; and 38 percent of all faculty have participated in a curricular computing grant program. This article describes the support model and how it complements the adoption of innovation in pedagogy by Carleton faculty.

Discipline Focused Support at Carleton College: Let the Pedagogy Find the Tool

drupal — Tue, 22 Dec 1998 12:48:25 -0600

In 1993, Carleton College, a small liberal arts college, revolutionized its support model for computing. In its first four years, Academic Computing and Networking Services (ACNS), a radically new, discipline-focused computing support structure for Carleton, engendered a rise in curricular use of computers from 6% to 24% in the Humanities and Social Sciences. To date 38% of all faculty have participated in the Curricular Computing Grant program.This paper describes the ACNS organization and its outcomes compared to the previous "help desk" based model of technical support. In this discipline focused support model, technical support staff work to identify, facilitate and tailor technical tools and methods to the pedagogical needs of individual faculty. This model is dependent on a strong institutional commitment to academic computing, discipline-trained computing staff, low technical support staff to faculty ratio, and a high level of communication and cooperation among all participants.

One Size Doesn't Fit All: Designing Scaleable, Client-Centered Support for Technology in Teaching

drupal — Mon, 21 Dec 1998 18:09:47 -0600

This paper explains the University of Washington's UWired program and its approach to supporting technology in teaching and learning. UWired is a partnership among the University Libraries, the Office of Undergraduate Education, and Computing & Communications to promote and support educational technology. During 1998, UWired aggressively reexamined its programs, practices and facilities, engaged stakeholders in broad conversations on the role of technology in teaching, and embarked on a significant redesign of its support model and physical spaces. This paper describes the evolution of their faculty support model and why they decided against adopting an all-in-one courseware product in favor of adopting a strategy for supporting educators. The initiative to change the support model was named the Catalyst Project and it was decided that the Web would be the primary means to deliver support. The authors describe the five core components of the Catalyst Web site and the lessons learned from UWired's experience.

Tutoring Faculty in Their Offices: Taking Instruction to Where It Is Used

drupal — Sat, 03 Jan 1998 01:00:00 -0600

This paper describes Carthage College's approach to faculty training in information technology. Traditionally, information professionals have insisted that users come to the library, the computer center, or the media services unit, and more recently to electronic or "smart" classrooms, for instruction in the use of information technology resources. Usually this is done in groups, and often with no hands-on practice. While this mode of instruction continues to offer some advantages, it presents barriers to some users. The rapid increase in campuswide networks has made many software and information resources available on the user's desktop. The lack of standard personal computer setup configuration, the probability of campus faculty using different platforms, differences in individual faculty hardware and software, etc., all suggest that the most efficient training should be on the user's own office equipment, addressing specific needs, at a time convenient for the faculty member. This is a service of greatest value to faculty who are not the earliest adopters, though they, too, may ask for such assistance.

Going Virtual: Lessons Learned

drupal — Thu, 18 Dec 1997 01:00:00 -0600

The University of Central Florida began a systematic course development process in July 1996 to increase educational access by offering online courses toward fulfillment of two degree programs. Twelve faculty from three colleges designed nine fully online courses delivered in the fall of 1996, and 17 faculty from five colleges designed 13 additional courses offered in spring 1997. This paper describes the evolution of the campus infrastructure through use of information technologies to support systematic course development. Experience gained in UCF's online courses is enabling the transformation of on-campus courses for fall 1997 implementation to increase interaction, quality, retention, and productivity. The paper also relates course results.

Technology Initiatives and Organizational Change: Higher Education in a Networked World

drupal — Sun, 23 Nov 1997 01:00:00 -0600

Virginia Tech has developed an ambitious technology program called the Instructional Development Initiative (IDI) that proposes to "transform the academic lives of all students and faculty and change the nature of teaching and learning. ..." in an effort to meet some of society's challenges for accountability and productivity in higher education, and to prepare students to live and work in a global world. This paper describes two technology initiatives--Virginia Tech Online and the Scholarly Communications Project (SCP)--that are the result of self-organizing, collaborative work by information systems/library personnel and academic faculty members.

Multimedia and Asynchronous Learning: Changing the Support Model for Information Technology Services

drupal — Wed, 18 Dec 1996 01:00:00 -0600

Although the nature of the workforce is changing and the demands of higher education make it clear that institutions need to reach students both on and off campus, the way that information technology service units support faculty, staff, and students has not kept pace with these changes. Furthermore, the ability to improve instruction by integrating digital technologies across the curriculum is becoming a reality. To effect these changes, the support paradigm of information technology service units -- academic computing, user services, libraries, network services -- will need to be transformed. This article describes plans and support models at Virginia Commonwealth University and Randolph-Macon College aimed at enabling such a transformation. This article is an updated version of a CAUSE95 conference presentation (CNC9540).

A Management Perspective on Distributed Support at Rice University

drupal — Wed, 18 Dec 1996 01:00:00 -0600

In the spring of 1995, the central information technology (IT) division at Rice University began to implement a distributed model for computing support. The approach decentralized customer support into the academic divisions, and involved matrixed teams from across the IT division, the library, and existing departmental staff. This article addresses the management aspects of the transition to distributed support, focusing on the implementation process, changes that were required in migrating from a strong centralized organization to a distributed model, and the challenges encountered in the implementation. This article is an updated version of a CAUSE95 conference presentation (CNC9527).

Preparing Faculty for Instructional Technology: From Education to Development to Creative Independence

drupal — Tue, 26 Nov 1996 01:00:00 -0600

Instructional technology can be imposed on existing courses, materials, and approaches. Or faculty can learn to make appropriate choices in order to create new learning environments that apply research insights into memory functions, learning strategies, learner styles, personal interest, and motivation. This paper examines a training and support infrastructure that engages emerging instructional technology users in a recursive process of research, design, development, and assessment aimed at producing student-centered learning environments. Key to the success of this approach to faculty training has been providing teachers with skills and expert tools that lead to independence; facilitating access to equipment and support personnel; and establishing new evaluation and rewards procedures that recognize the value of instructional technology in the teaching process.

Partnerships with the Deans: Delivery of the 'Whole Product'

drupal — Tue, 30 May 1995 01:00:00 -0500

The University of Michigan's Information Technology Division (ITD) began its partnering efforts with one college of the University in 1991. This year, the lessons learned from that experience are being applied as ITD expands the partnership concept to other academic units. While the units' priorities are advanced and the University's IT capabilities are increased, the major benefit to ITD is an increased understanding of academic customers and the resulting ability to create "whole products" they will readily embrace.

Enhancing User Services through Collaboration at Rice University

drupal — Fri, 09 Sep 1994 01:00:00 -0500

Early attempts at collaborative efforts between librarians and computing professionals at Rice University led to the realization that some organizational restructuring was needed to effectively serve changing user needs. A new approach to delivering user services has not only benefited users, but also resulted in growth and skills development for staff. This article discusses some of the milestones along the path from a position of no cooperation to a combined user-centered service organization, including collaborative outgrowths of this new structure.