|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Up Close and Personnel: UD Online Resource Center
9:36 a.m., March 8, 2006--In August, UD's Online Resource Center moved to larger quarters at 850 Library Ave. in Newark to serve the growing numbers of students who are registering for UD Online courses. The personnel at the center provide a wide variety of services for online students, ranging from tech support and distribution of educational media to administration of exams. The new center houses support staff for UD Online courses for both faculty and students and features a 70-station testing center that accommodates both computer- and paper-based tests. Students come to the center on a walk-in basis and take their exams in an area that is proctored and equipped with video camera surveillance. "By administering proctored, computer-based exams and paper-based exams on a walk-in basis, we will be able to accommodate the 30 percent growth we are experiencing each semester," Dayle Thorpe, director of UD Online, said. To successfully serve the growing numbers of students who are taking UD Online courses in Newark, as well as across the country and around the world, requires the dedication and hard work of many people. Cristina Reinert, a UD Online program manager since 1999, together with the three other program managers and 14 full-time and part-time, moved into the new 7,000 square-foot-space last August. Reinert is responsible for the instructional media and exam administration functions for all UD Online students. Tracy Branigan, shipping coordinator, and Maureen Gold, exam coordinator, along with senior secretary Eileen Sklodowski, assistants, front desk staff and proctors, report to her.
Don Allen, who provides technology support to students and course development assistance to faculty, tracks the growth of UD Online registrations. He estimates the number of students who will enroll in distance learning classes based on previous semesters. He, along with the rest of the staff, has discovered that the estimates have been considerably understated. No one anticipated the rapid growth that UD Online is experiencing. "The predicted numbers weren't even close," Allen said. "The number of students taking distance learning courses has increased over 30 percent each year." Allen, who has been with UD for more than four years, said he has seen many changes in that time. One big change is the growth of MyCourses, a course management program many professors use for not only distance learning classes, but also for classes taught on campus. Laura Horah, a staff assistant responsible for maintaining the UD Online database, said that before the center relocated students went to several campus locations to take tests for distance learning courses. The new testing center now is the primary site where students from the main campus go to take tests. The site, which is outfitted with new technology, allows professors to offer their tests either online or by the traditional paper-and-pencil method.
The new center gives students up to a week to take a test, she said. They used to have to go to a location on campus at a specific time on one specific day. "It's a lot more flexible now," she said. Horah also keeps track of the different proctors and off-campus sites where UD distance-learning students can go to take tests. Some of the students really are "distant," and they have to have an approved proctor or a local community college where they can go to take tests. Tracy Branigan, a records analyst and shipping coordinator at the UD Online Resource Center, is responsible for supplying students with CD-ROMs and videotapes for their classes, as well as ensuring their timely return. "More and more people are finding the distance-learning classes convenient," Branigan said. During fall semester, approximately 2,200 students enrolled in distance learning courses, and nearly 800 took distance learning courses during Winter Session.
"The nice thing about the CD-ROMs is that you can do the work whenever you get to it," she said. "People can continue [to take courses] even when they are overseas." Maureen Gold, a records analyst and exam coordinator in the UD Online Resource Center, said she corresponds with professors to get their exams and then prepares them for students. Exam assistants help Gold to process and administer more than 10,000 exams a year. "It's wonderful here--with a very positive atmosphere," Gold said of the new center.
Distance learning courses make it easier for older students, working adults and others in the community to take classes, Miller explained. "Faculty appreciate the fact that we have a lot of nontraditional students," Miller said. "They are also excited about the emerging technology." Jann Lightcap, an instructional designer, works with faculty to develop the most effective delivery method for their distance learning courses. Donna Perna provides technical assistance to students who are having difficulties logging on to their courses. She also assists with course scheduling and marketing.
Other staff members at UD's Online Resource Center who work with distance learning are Sasha Stoyanova, Linda Anderson and Valerie Turner. "We love the new center, and students seem to love it too," Reinert said. Article by Leah Conway, AS '06 |
|
|
