2008 - 2009 Online Education Report
www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2008-2009.htm

Jim Flowers, Director of Online Education, jcflowers1@bsu.edu, 765-285-2879, AT 130A
Department of Technology, College of Applied Sciences & Technology
Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA 47306

May, 2009

History & Status | Initiatives
Appendices: MA in TE | MA in CTE | CTE Tracks | Survey of Majors

Preface

This is the eighth annual report of the online education initiatives from the Department of Technology (previously, the Department of Industry and Technology) at Ball State University. Some of the information here is contained within previous reports, which may be seen at:

• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2007-2008.htm
• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2006-2007.htm
• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2005-2006.htm
• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm
• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2003-2004.htm
• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2002-2003.htm
• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2001-2002.htm

Recommendations contained within this report are those the Director and what is hereafter called the Department's Office of Online Education.

For more information, visit the online programs' "classic" Website at www.bsu.edu/iandt or the online program information at the Department's newer Website: http://www.bsu.edu/technology/.

Ball State University's Department of Technology (renamed from the Department of Industry and Technology in 2006) offers two graduate degrees over the Internet: the Master of Arts in Technology Education; and the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education. Except for a pilot course going online in the Fall of 2000, these programs officially became available online in the Summer and Fall of 2002, respectively. There are also several non-degree graduate programs offered associated with these two degree programs. The purpose of this report is to provide a description and an internal annual review of online education from the Department of Technology.

The Master of Arts in Technology Education (TE) is intended to meet the needs of technology teachers and others interested in general education in technology. Technology Education is the field that evolved from Industrial Arts, and this master's caters to the needs of teachers in this field who typically teach grades six through twelve. However, community college faculty, elementary teachers, and others can find this program fitting.

The Department also offers a Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education (CTE) (having changed its name from Master of Arts in Industrial Vocational / Technical Education on August 25^th, 2003, in keeping with national trends.) This degree is intended to meet the needs of vocational, or career and technical educators, who typically work at high school level vocational programs with specializations in industry and technology. However, community college faculty, industrial trainers, and others wishing an advanced degree can find this master's very appropriate.

Oversight of these programs is by the Department's Graduate Program Committee, now chaired by Dr. Samuel Cotton and composed of Graduate Faculty within the Department. That committee decided to offer these degrees online due to declining on-campus enrollments, and based on a national online learning needs assessment; approval was granted by the Ball State Graduate Education Committee, the School of Extended Education, and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Neither of these degree programs carries initial teacher licensure, since they were primarily designed to service the educational needs of practicing and licensed teachers. However, some students may choose to use selected courses from either program to pursue additional licensing credentials in accordance with their state's requirements for teacher licensure.

By June, 2004, all fifteen planned graduate courses offered from the Department had been delivered online, replacing face-to-face (F2F) sections. In 2005 / 2006 the program committee decided to drop two of non-required courses from the list of offerings when the two professors who had been teaching those courses left the graduate faculty. However, the frequency of other course offerings was increased due to rising enrollments and feedback from majors, as will be discussed later.

Unlike similar programs at some other institutions, the admission requirements do not specify the undergraduate degree areas for applicants, nor do they list a teaching license as an admissions requirement. Thus, these programs are better suited than some competitors' programs to attracting students who may have had completed a baccalaureate degree in a different field.

As with other masters from Ball State, applicants must have an earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with an undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 (on a 4.0 scale), or with an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 in the latter half of their undergraduate work. Those who do not meet these GPA requirements may be able to enter as probationary students and must achieve a 3.0 minimum average in 9 semester hours of graduate work approved by the Department Chair and the Dean of the Graduate School, and must score in the top two-thirds on each section of the general Graduate Record Examination. There are no additional departmental or program admission requirements.

Each degree program can be completed 100% online without a single trip to the campus or a satellite site. Each master's program requires 30 graduate hours, 9 of which may be transferred in from another accredited institution where the student earned at least a B, subject to advisor approval. Transfer hours are also subject to the Ball State requirement that all masters coursework be completed within a six-year timeframe. A thesis is optional in each program, though fewer than 1% of students take advantage of the thesis option. Each program has a separate core of courses, a required research course, and directed electives. Please see the Appendices listing the Program of Study for the MA in Technology Education and the Program of Study for the MA in Career and Technical Education.

In 2008/2009, the University Graduate Education Committee approved the addition of ITEDU 510, Technology Use and Assessment to the core requirements for the MA in Technology Education. This allows students to opt for any five of six core classes, providing both increased program flexibility and a greater emphasis on the content of technology assessment, an area too often overlooked in undergraduate and graduate education in this area.

Several students who are not in either of these degree programs take advantage of the online graduate courses offered by the Department of Technology. Among these are students pursuing additional teacher licensure requirements, those interested in continuing education, and students majoring in other fields who find selected courses from the Department of interest.

Course Enrollment, Program Headcounts, and Program Admits

Prior to offering these graduate programs online, course enrollment was low. As illustrated in Figure 1 by year and in Figure 2 by semester, the graduate enrollments increased as the programs became established, likely due to early market share. With competing degree programs entering the arena, and due to some unfortunate decisions to cancel graduate classes either due to low enrollment a month before the class or due to an instructor's sabbatical, there have been dips in the enrollment. However, since the local minimum of 2006/2007, there has been overall enrollment growth.

Figure 1. Online Graduate Enrollment in the Department of [Industry &] Technology by Year from Fall 2000 through Spring 2008(as of 5/5/09). (Source: ADMAC, except for Fall 2000 BSU@work data)

 
Figure 2. Online Graduate Enrollment in the Department of [Industry &] Technology by Semester from Fall 2000 through Spring 2008(as of 5/5/09). (Source: ADMAC, except for Fall 2000 BSU@work data)

Program headcounts (Figure 3) show an increase at the Fall 2002 period, when the programs began to be delivered online, with considerable fluctuation since that time. These figures are based on the number of students in a program who are also enrolled in a class.

Figure 3. Combined Program Headcounts for the MA in Technology Education and in Career & Technical Education combined, from historical BSU@Work data for Fall and Spring semesters.

Program headcounts from Figure 2 are the sums of headcounts shown for each program in Figures 3. In the last academic year, there has been a decrease in headcounts for each master's program. Enrollment data from 2006/2007 is contrary to what had been forecast in the previous year's report, although an upswing was experienced in 2007/2008.

Applications and Admissions

Data from the Graduate School's "Graduate Student Advising Center Database" extracted May 5, 2009, shows a steady though modest increase in applications, as seen in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Applications to the MA programs in TE or CTE by Year as of 5/5/09.
Source: www.bsu.edu/webapps2/gradadvisor/

There is much more fluctuation in the number of individuals accepted into each of these master's degree programs (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Students Admitted to Each MA Program by Semester as of 5/5/09.
Source: www.bsu.edu/webapps2/gradadvisor/

Accommodating Enrollment

Schedule of Offerings

Several changes were made in the schedule of course offerings, which is outlined below. These include:

1. A new course, ITEDU 600: Special Topics: Curriculum Evaluation in Technology Education was first offered by Dr. Mary Annette Rose in Fall 2008.
2. The offerings of ITEDU 698, Seminar in Technology Education, were changed so that it would only be offered in the Summer I session of even-numbered years, with ITEDU 635, Implementing Technology Education, to be offered in the Summer II session of odd-numbered years. The primary reason for decreasing the offerings of ITEDU 698 was to improve the quality of the Seminar due to increased variety among students.
3. ITEDU 510, Technology Use and Assessment, was re-classified as one of six core courses (students select any five) in the Master of Arts in Technology Education. While it's schedule of offerings did not change, this addition allows students more scheduling freedom.

Schedule of Online Course Offerings, Beginning in Fall 2009:

Every Fall:

• ITEDU 552, Career & Technical-Related Class Content
• ITEDU 568, Principles & Philosophy of Career & Technical Education
• ITEDU 600, Special Topics: Curriculum Evaluation in Technical Education
• ITEDU 690, History and Philosophy of Technology Education
• ITEDU 691, Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education
• ITEDU 694, Curriculum Development in Technology Education
• ITEDU 699, Research in Industrial Education

Every Spring:

• ITEDU 510, Technology: Use and Assessment
• ITEDU 569, Organization and Coordination of Career & Technical Education
• ITEDU 635, Implementing Technology Education
• ITEDU 690, History and Philosophy of Technology Education
• ITEDU 691, Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education
• ITEDU 699, Research in Industrial Education
• ITMFG 560, Industrial Safety and Health

Need for Faculty

It should be noted that there are currently six core courses scheduled to be offered online in the MA in CTE. Dr. Samuel Cotton, to date, has been the sole full-time instructor for these courses, except for the hiring of Dr. Patrick Jones as an adjunct faculty member to teach one of these courses in Spring 2007 and Spring 2008. While Dr. Cotton has continued to meet the needs of students in this program, the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education has been suffering from a lack of intellectual diversity due to a single core course instructor. In order for this, or any graduate program, to provide quality education, students should benefit from diverse approaches offered by multiple faculty members specializing in their area of study. The quality of this program and its ability to grow hinge on whether additional graduate faculty members are added to the ranks.

Recommendation: Additional Graduate Faculty are needed in the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education Program if the current growth trend is expected to continue. Two additional Graduate Faculty should be hired for the MA in CTE.

Staff: Office of Online Education

II. Initiatives in the 2008/2009 Academic Year

Administration

Dr. Ray Shackelford was elected to serve as the Chairperson of the Department of Technology until June 30, 2013.

The Graduate Program Committee in the Department of Technology is responsible for oversight of graduate education in the department. Serving on that committee in 2008/2009 were the following:

• Dr. Dong Chen (Assistant Professor; resigned May 2009)

• Dr. Samuel Cotton (Associate Professor; Graduate Program Committee Chair)

• Dr. Jim Flowers (Professor & Director of Online Education)

• Dr. Edward Lazaros (Assistant Department Chair & Assistant Professor)

• Mr. Allen Leduc (Associate Professor)

• Dr. Mary Annette Rose (Assistant Professor)

• Dr. Richard Seymour (Associate Professor)

• Dr. Ray Shackelford (Professor & Chair; Graduate Admissions Coordinator)

• Dr. Justin Yang (Assistant Professor)

• Dr. Renmei Xu (Assistant Professor)

Course Development & Revision

In the Fall of 2008, Dr. Mary Annette Rose taught ITEDU 600, Special Topics: Curriculum Evaluation in Technical Education for the first time. This course had been developed with support from the School of Extended Education. In the following semester, Dr. Rose presented her course to the Graduate Program Committee where there was discussion.  The committee decided to continue offering this course in the Fall semesters. 

As done in the previous year, near the end of the Spring 2009 semester, all graduate students majoring in the Department's programs were sent a request to take an anonymous online survey to provide feedback on the online program. The results from the survey of majors are contained in an appendix in this document.

Advising

Academic advising is shared among six graduate faculty within the department, as noted bellow:

Prior to February 2005, a single faculty member served as the graduate program advisor for all graduate students in the department. With the increased enrollment seen as the programs went online, this became too much for any single faculty member to accomplish without a course reduction for graduate advising. Such a course reduction was not possible, so in February 2005 advising was divided among six graduate faculty, as shown in the table above. The "Advisor Codes" were established in January 2006.

However, with program growth, graduate advising is now presenting a burden on these six graduate faculty, since they receive no load for advising. Undergraduate advisors in the department, some in program areas with lower enrollment than is seen in graduate education, receive a 3-credit assigned time in both the Spring and Fall semester to serve as program coordinator and program advisor. It is unfortunate and ironic that this level of administrative support is deemed unnecessary for graduate education, where advising graduate students at a distance may well be more intense and problematic than the on-campus advising of undergraduates.

Recommendation: Combine the graduate advising of those in the Master of Arts in Technology Education into the duties of a single faculty member, and provide a 3-credit hour assigned time course reduction in each the Fall and Spring semesters for this individual. Provide the same support for the faculty member assigned as the advisor of the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education. Failure to do this can result in decreased faculty morale and performance, since it might appear that undergraduate advisors are valued, and graduate advisors are not.

Assisting advisors, the BSU Graduate School continues to offer the Graduate Student Advising Center at
webapps2.bsu.edu/gradadvisor/index.asp. This Web-based database interfaces facilitates quicker communications of admission decisions by both the Graduate School and the Department, and allows access to a richer record of information on an applicant. The ability to immediately determine the status of an applicant has facilitated communications with applicants. The BSU Graduate School is to be commended for this successful effort that has already proven to aid communication and facilitate speedy admissions decisions.

The Graduate School has also made graduate student transcripts available online to advisors. They have also developed a mechanism for accessing a graduate student Degree Analysis Progress Report (DAPR).

 The Graduate School is to be commended on yet another move to improve.

Technology

 Technological Requirements and Recommendations

The Office of Online Education has developed the following list of required and recommended technology for online students and instructors:

Blackboard

Online and F2F faculty continue to use the Blackboard Course Management System (Bb) at Ball State. In some online classes, Bb is used to house class content, though in others it is used primarily to facilitate communications, quizzes, grades, and announcements, with "lecture" materials provided as independently published Web pages.

In the Fall of 2007, Ball State began using Blackboard 7, updating to Version 7.3 midway through the academic year. Several issues have been reported concerning these upgrades, and the new versions inability to do what was possible with older versions. Unfortunately, there is no easy vehicle for faculty feedback concerning Blackboard to reach either BSU specialists or specialists at Blackboard.

Blackboard 9 is scheduled to be deployed beginning with classes in Fall 2009. It does not have some of the tools currently used by some instructors and students (such as the digital drop box and the student homepage.) However, it does have added features (such as the ability to submit course grades.) Support for Blackboard is provided to instructors by the University Libraries.

Recognition

Student Scholarships and Awards

The Department of Technology annually recognizes outstanding students in different degree programs with awards and scholarships at a Spring reception. A Department Scholarship Committee coordinates the selection of awardees with Department faculty, and an Awards Reception Committee facilitates the ceremonies.

• William H. Middleton Scholarship Only one scholarship is available for graduate students in the Department, the Dr. William H. Middleton Scholarship, named in honor of a long-time and respected faculty member. Prior to 2007, the scholarship was only open to on-campus students. However, the success of online delivery saw the decrease in on-campus graduate students, and the scholarship was made available for the first time to a distance education student.
  
  During the Spring 2009 reception, the Middleton Scholarship went to an undergraduate student who was planning to begin the Master of Arts in Technology Education as an on-campus student in the Fall of 2009. The winner of the 2009 Middleton Scholarship is Ms. Jessica Verdon. The Department thanks all students who have applied for this award, and offers is congratulations to Ms. Verdon on this honor.
  
  The Department Chair, the Scholarship Committee, and the entire Middleton Family are to be commended and thank for continued work to facilitate the wonderful impact Dr. Middleton continues to have on graduate students of today.
  
  Recommendation: With only one scholarship available from the Department of Technology for graduate students, it is ironic that it includes a preference for on-campus students in an online degree program. Additional scholarship opportunities should be sought to provide recognition and assistance to distance education students, lest they be disenfranchised and treated like students of less importance than a face-to-face student.
   
• Also receiving recognition during that reception, Mr. Adam Slack (an on-campus student majoring in the Master of Arts in Technology Education) was recognized for efforts to help children learn more about alternative energy at Living Lightly: A Sustainability Fair for East Central Indiana.
   
• Also recognized during that reception was Ms. Kristy Rhodes, an online student majoring in the Master of Arts in Technology Education, for her thesis research examining sustainability education.

Research

• Dr. Mary Annette Rose worked in 2008/2009 on a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency for a project called Envirotech:
  
  Rose, M.A. (2009-2008). EnviroTech: Enhancing the Environmental Literacy of Technology Teachers. Partial funding by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement NE00E48901-0. ($75,261)
  
  This entails a series of Webinars conducted with participants from around the country using Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional audiovideo conferencing through the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunications System server. This project serves as a model for providing meaningful continuing education for distributed learners. For more information, please see: http://envirotech.iweb.bsu.edu/.
   
• Dr. Jim Flowers, Dr. Kay Hodson Carlton (BSU School of Nursing) and Dr. Catherine Pearsall (St. Joseph College, NY) are collaborating on research to identify a model for fully enfranchised faculty-at-a-distance. Their grant proposal is under review by the National League of Nursing.

Presentations

The following presentation will occur in August, 2009:

• Pearsall, C., Flowers, J., & Hodson Carlton, K. 2009. "FD Model: Overcoming Attitudinal & Infrastructural Barriers – Enfranchising Remote Faculty"  Distance Teaching and Learning Conference, Madison, WI. August, 2009.

Marketing

Website

The Department of Technology website transitioned to the Vignette Content Suite over the Summer of 2006, and can be found at http://www.bsu.edu/technology/. Previously, the department website did not house information on the online master's programs, which was instead contained in a second site developed by the Office of Online Education at http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/.

1. Main Page Current Department Website www.bsu.edu/technology/

2. "Faculty" Page "iandt" Site www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/faculty.htm

However, the decision to place information about the online graduate program within the department's website provides a unified web design, and shifts maintenance from the Office of Online Education to the department's Administrative Coordinator, both of which are advantageous.

It should be noted, however, that Ball State University's contract with Vignette expires, and a decision has been made to phase in a new content management system. Furthermore, "hits" to the Vignette site do not seem as prevalent as hits to the older website. As a result, the old site at http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/ will be maintained by the Office of Online Education until that newer version has been established.

Brochures

Brochures had been designed for the MA in TE and the MA in CTE and were used beginning in the 2004 / 2005 year. It has been suggested by some program faculty and potential students that the brochures be redesigned to include more program information, especially a listing of courses, along with the mailing address of the department. These had been present in older program brochures.

TE Brochure www.bsu.edu/iandt/te.pdf

CTE Brochure www.bsu.edu/iandt/cate.pdf

Recommendation: Upon the next redesign of these two brochures, program requirements (including lists of courses) and a mailing address should be included.

Website Listings & Banner Advertisement

A banner advertisement was again placed at the Website of the International Technology Education Association, on their "Where to Get a Degree" page: http://www.iteaconnect.org/Resources/institutionalmembers.htm. This links users directly to the main page supporting online graduate programs off the department's Vignette site: http://www.bsu.edu/technology/onlinemasters/. The banner is an animated graphic consisting of two frames:

Magazine Advertisements

In the previous academic year, an effort was made to boost enrollment, primarily in the Master of Arts in Career & Technical Education. The Ball State University School of Extended Education developed a 1/2 page color advertisement and placed it in three issues of the magazine, Tech Directions, which is distributed to both CTE teachers and Technology Teachers at no charge by Prakken Publications.

Smaller version of the advertisement that appeared in Tech Directions

This marked a return to magazine advertisements, which had been attempted when these programs first came online and was abandoned due to meager evidence of effectiveness. However, with attitudes toward distance education changing year-by-year, the Graduate Program Committee suggested a trial return to this marketing strategy, using both the magazine previously employed (Tech Directions) and one not used before (Techniques.) It should be noted that word-of-mouth advertising has been found to be a factor among those who have applied to this program, and that magazine advertisements can promote both direct marketing of readers and indirect marketing of those who hear information from readers.

In 2007/2008, a decision was made to identify several optional tracks with the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education. Each of these was created by selected existing online graduate courses from Ball State University that could be taken as part of the directed electives, without increasing the total number of hours required in the program. They can be seen in Appendix C and in the flyer shown at the right and distributed at conferences, which can be found at www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/CTEinfo.pdf.

In particular, in the 2008/2009 year, a decision was made to tap a new market of potential students for the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education: community college faculty in technical areas. The Director reported that he had heard a community college president once proclaim to her faculty that "the bachelor's degree should not be the terminal degree for any faculty member" at her college. This inspired the creation of special advertising targeting community college administrators in the hope that they would encourage their technical faculty to pursue Ball State University's online Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education, if appropriate. The following ad was developed by University Marketing and Communications, and the Department of Technology is grateful to Ms. Stacey Grosh and other staff members who developed it.

Smaller version of the half-page color ad that appeared in the April/May 2009 issue
of the Community College Journal

This ad in the Community College Journal cost $3270. This cost was partly defrayed by the generous support of the Ball State University Graduate School, which awarded the Department of Technology $400 for graduate school recruiting for this initiative. It should be noted that the ITEA Banner ad cost $700. The entire budget of the Office of Online Education is $4,500 per year, and this year $400 was added by the Graduate School, as noted. However, this year $1,000 was reclaimed by the College of Applied Sciences and Technology due to unforeseen economic conditions. This left a deficit of $70 that was resolved by the Department Chair. Please note that the reduction of the budget for online education has curtailed other expenditures.

Recommendation: It is hoped that the budget will be restored to at least $4,500 in the following academic year.

Conference Booths

The Department of Technology set up a booth at the 2009 International Technology Education Association Annual Conference in Louisville, KY. Faculty and students from the Department staffed the booth.

Appendix A. Program of Study for the Online MA in Technology Education Program

The following was approved during Spring 2009:

Total Hours Required: 30 Professional Core (15 hrs required)

• ITEDU 510: Technology: Use & Assessment (3)
• ITEDU 635 Implementing Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 690 History and Philosophy of Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 691 Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 694 Curriculum Development in Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 698 Seminar in Technology Education (3)

Research Requirements (3 hrs required, 3 - 9 hrs possible)

• ITEDU 699 Research in Technical Education (3)
• THES 698 Thesis (1-6) (optional)

Directed Electives (6 to 12 hrs, subject to advisor approval, to achieve 30 total program hrs)

• EDPSY 641 Statistical Methods in Educational & Psychological Research (3)
• ITEDU 550 Career and Technical Student Organizations (3)
• (other electives or transfer credits approved by the program advisor)

Appendix B. Program of Study for the Online MA in Career & Technical Education Program

The following was approved beginning Fall 2007:

Total Hours Required: 30

Satisfy the requirements for the MA in Career and Technical Education, taking the following as electives within the 30 hour degree requirement:

Community College Faculty / Industrial Trainers Track

• EDAC 631 Adult and Community Education (3)
• EDAC 634 The Adult as a Learner (3)
• EDAC 635 Strategies for Teaching Adults (3)

Administrative Track (for CTE Administrators)

• EDAD 600 Intro to Educational Leadership (3)
• EDAD 630 Human Resource Development (3)
• EDAD 635 Educational Decision Making (3)
• EDAD 640 The Educational Administrator & Public Relations (3)
• EDSUP 650 Supervision of Instruction (3)

Indiana Career & Technical Education Teacher Track (for Indiana Teachers)

• (All 6 of the professional core classes)

Curriculum Track (Refine skills in evaluating and developing curricular materials.)

• ITEDU 552 Career & Technical-Related Class Content (3)
• ITEDU 600 Special Topics: Curriculum Evaluation in Technical Education (3)
• ITEDU 694 Curriculum Development in Technology Education (3)

Research Track

• EDPSY 641 Statistical Methods in Educational and Psychological Research (3)
• THES 698 Thesis (6)