Distance Education at UMUC
(University of Maryland University
College)
Ioan Jurca
“Politehnica” University of Timisoara-Romania
Contents
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Context – about UMUC and Distance
Education at UMUC
Online courses at UMUC – general
features
What an instructor has to do ?
What a student must do?
Pros/cons
Conclusions
UMUC and Distance Education
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UMUC – part of University of Maryland
University System
UMUC – created in 1947 as an institution for
US army (adult education)
Operates in US, Europe(incl. SCG and BiH),
Asia
Teaches both F2F and online
'Worldwide leader in online education',
Covers many fields, from Accounting and
Computer Science to Fire Fighting and
Anthropology
UMUC and Distance Education
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Offers degrees and certificates
Degrees: bachelor, master, doctoral
Certificates: more 'mobile', market-oriented
Not all courses are offered online
Uses mainly 'adjunct faculty', i.e instructors
employed on temporary basis (contracts for
each 'section')
There is a limit of classes per fiscal year for
each instructor
UMUC and Distance Education
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Computer studies particularly appropriate for online
education
Undergraduate programs in computers: CMIS,
CMIT, CMSC, CMST, IFSM
Graduate programs in computers: CSMN, ITSM,
MSIT, MSWE, OMDE
Romanian involvement: since 2000 (boom of
enrollment, lack of instructors, US ambassador to
Romania in UM board of directors)
I am involved in the undergraduate CMIS program
Characteristics of UMUC online
courses
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An online course consists of:
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Modules: text with diagrams summarizing the
course contents (common for a UMUC course,
not created by each instructor)
Webliography- supplementary reading online
material
Homeworks/assignments/projects
Conferences – for discussing assignments and
other topics
Chat room for students and instructor/TA
Textbook and 'recommended book(s)'
Characteristics of UMUC online
courses
Characteristics of UMUC online
courses
Characteristics of UMUC online
courses
Characteristics of UMUC online
courses
Role of the instructor
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Specifies course schedule
Specifies grading criteria (assignments up to
60 % of final grade)
Creates assignments
Specifies conference discussion topics
Answers student questions on assignments
and module material NLT 48 hours
Creates exams papers for midterm and final
exam
Grades assignments and exams
Student involvement
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Satisfy course pre-requisites
Participate in all activities of the course (each
activity counts in the final grade)
Study the textbook and the modules ;-(((
Turn in (on time) assignments and exams
Help classmates without giving away
complete solutions
Express opinion on the course and the
instructor
Pros and cons
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Pros
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Time and space flexibility both for students and
instructor
Potential access to best teaching materials and
or instructors
Encourages/facilitates more involvement of
students
Develops 'virtual communities'
Create cross-cultural links
Pros and cons
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Cons:
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No face-to-face interaction instructor/student
No 'real time' answers to questions (unless on
chat – time differences on the globe)
Difficult to control cheating
Limited multimedia
Congestion periods on the servers
Course materials might become obsolete
Final exams 'travel' around the globe -> late
grading
Conclusions
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DE online is a viable alternative form of
education
Increased bandwidth might overcome the
multimedia limitations
DE is not for everybody – some students
cannot adapt to DE
DE requires more effort from instructors
Problems of internationalization