Carolyn DePew
Staff Writer
The University of Houston's Distance Education program has been receiving accolades from both inside and outside the program.
The Instructional Television portion of the DE program has proved to be a success among students. In a Spring 1997 survey, 84 percent of students taking one or more courses through ITV described their ability to learn course material as equal to or better than when in a traditional classroom setting. Eighty-five percent said that they would take another ITV course and were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of the courses. Recently, the UH Distance Education program awarded its first honor for excellent Distance Education teaching. Candidates were selected from those whose classes were delivered through video into student homes during the 1997 calendar year. Ron Nykiel of the College of Hotel and Restaurant Management won the award. Director of UH Distance Education Sandy Frieden said of Nykiel that he is a very entertaining and engaging teacher, incorporating "magic tricks and fun stuff" into his classes. In 1996, UH won the national award for the best overall DE program. UH has the biggest DE program among four-year universities in Texas. UH offers the most courses and degree plans by DE in the state, and boasts the highest enrollment. According to Frieden, a few hundred classes are offered each semester through DE, 40 to 50 of which are ITV classes. About 2,500 students are enrolled in DE courses each semester, 1000-1500 in ITV classes.
In Texas, DE is defined by the state coordinating board. DE involves two different kinds of courses - face-to-face classes where teachers drive out from the main campus and teach at satellite branches, and courses communicated through technology such as broadcast ITV, videotaped classes or online classes. Frieden said that while ITV courses allow for flexibility of schedule, these classes are not for everyone. "ITV courses are for students who are very well-organized and self-motivated."
ITV courses are far from removed from human involvement. Frieden said, "All of our (DE) classes have interaction with the instructor - even ones where students get a set of videotapes." Meetings are arranged with the instructor, and there is often phone and e-mail interaction, she said. Frieden said that DE classes through these alternative media often improve student involvement in classes. She said, "One faculty member who had been teaching for 15 years told me that it wasn't until he began teaching online that he really felt like a teacher, like there was real interaction between him and his students."