Section 3.4.14: Educational Programs: All Educational Programs

Judgment of Compliance

Requirement

Narrative

McNeese State University is in compliance with Comprehensive Standard 3.4.14.

The University is committed to enhancing student learning through the use of technology and ensuring that use of technology complements and supports academic programs.

Student Learning and Academic Program Support

In fulfillment of its mission as a “selective admissions institution” that “provides education, research and service that support our core values of academic excellence, student success, fiscal responsibility, and university-community alliances,” the University incorporates technology through a myriad of venues in order to enhance student learning.

In the Executive Summary of the University Information Technology Strategic Plan, the Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO) writes, “We should consider all technology decisions from the perspective of how they fulfill our academic, educational and administrative needs” (1).

In the 2006 Master Plan/Progress Report, Information Technology (IT) clarifies its support of the University mission:

Information Technology endeavors to support all aspects of the core mission of the institution by providing leadership in the application of technology across the university. The Office of Information Technology provides technical support to help enhance the faculty commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and creative and scholarly activity. Furthermore, [IT] provides assistance to students to enhance their academic experience both within the classroom and as they learn to participate in a more global environment. (1051)

Dedicating financial and human resources, the University accommodates both general and specific technology needs across campus.

Technology Advancement Student Committee

A significant amount of the University’s technology infrastructure is supported by student assessments. The Technology Advancement Student Committee (TASC) is comprised predominantly of students and prides itself on its stewardship of student and University resources and on keeping all TASC labs current and functional. TASC reviews proposals for funds and carefully selects by majority vote of the committee the projects that will be funded by student monies. The list of projects funded by TASC includes such discipline-specific resources as the following:

• Oxygen Regulator;

• Dell Portable Electronic Classroom Instrument System;

• Projector and Digital Cameras;

• ProModel Simulation Software;

• Music Tutor Player;

• Square Hay Baler;

• Nikon Microscope with Color Digital System.

Such items as site license renewals, printer cartridges for lab printers, and software licenses are also provided through TASC monies. The funding process is student-driven. Faculty requesting student funds to implement new technologies or keep old ones current are required to submit proposals justifying their requests and the expenditures and appear in person at the TASC meetings to defend their requests orally. The student committees have made wise choices, governed by their principles of requiring that all TASC monies be spent on delivering services directly to students and on serving the entire student population. Project proposals that do not directly serve the students are not accepted.

General Access Computer Labs

Three general access computer labs on campus enhance student learning and provide students access to technology. Consistent and convenient access to technology that is regularly upgraded enables students to produce superior academic work with the most current technologies affordable and available. For those students who are unskilled in technology, lab support is provided to troubleshoot, to instruct, and to assist in academically appropriate ways.

Two of the open access labs, the Holbrook Ranch Computer Center and the Library Computing Center, are supported through a student self-assessment fee and are limited to student use. The Academic Computing Center, the third general access lab, primarily supports the College of Science, but is available for both general student and faculty use.

The HRCC and the Library Computing Center are staffed by a qualified employee who holds an undergraduate BS degree in Software Engineering Technology and has over six years of technology-related experience at a university. Trained student workers offer one-on-one assistance to other students who use lab equipment and resources.

Holbrook Ranch Computing Center

Holbrook Ranch Computing Center, located in the center of the campus in the Student Union, is available for all students bearing picture identification. HRCC is open on the average of 100 hours each week from 8:00 a.m. until midnight Monday through Thursday, from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Friday, and from 10:00 a.m. until midnight on Saturday and Sunday.

The lab is equipped with the following:

• Sixty-two standard Dell computer workstations;

• Three Dell computer workstations accessible to persons with disabilities;

• Three Hewlett Packard flatbed scanners;

• Three Hewlett Packard laser printers.

Software programs supported in this lab are listed below:

• Microsoft Office XP Professional;

• Microsoft Internet Explorer;

• My MathLab;

• Securexam;

• SPSS 13.0;

• HP Precision Scan Pro for computers with scanners.

Library Computing Center

The Library Computing Center, located in Frazar Memorial Library, is open approximately eighty hours a week from 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, and from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Library Computing Center is available for all students bearing student identification.

• Twenty-seven Dell computer workstations;

• One Hewlett Packard flatbed scanner;

• One Hewlett Packard laser printer.

Software programs include the following:

• Microsoft Office 2004 Professional;

• Microsoft Internet Explorer;

• My Mathlab;

• Securexam;

• SPSS 13.0;

• HP Precision Scan Pro for the computer with a scanner.

TASC Help Desk

The TASC Help Desk, also located in the Student Union, provides technical assistance to and training for students to ensure they are able to use technology resources in support of their coursework. When students activate their University student email account, they are provided with detailed instructions on the appropriate and effective use of the University’s technology resources. Faculty are also provided support from the Help Desk.

Academic Computing Center

The Academic Computing Center (ACC) is located in the College of Science in Kirkman Hall. The mission of the ACC follows:

The mission of the College of Science Academic Computing Center is to assist the McNeese State University in creating and maintaining an environment that meets the research and instructional needs of MSU faculty and students. Specifically, the College of Science Academic Computing Center provides hardware and software required for courses in the College of Science and provides technical support to all faculty in the College of Science through a student worker on-the-job training program. The College of Science Academic Computing Center services student computing needs by maintaining an open computer lab available for students campus wide. The ACC also offers support to students, university personnel, and to the community at large on various topics of current interest.

Open a minimum of 65 hours each week, the ACC is staffed by an Interim Coordinator, numerous technicians, lab supervisors, and a student administrative assistant. As with other TASC-funded labs, the ACC is available for all students bearing student identification.

Funded by the University’s operating budget, the ACC contains resources that support student use of sophisticated operating systems. The ACC is equipped with the following software:

• Internet Explorer;

• Mozilla Firefox;

• Microsoft Works;

• Visual Studio .NET 2003;

• Visual Basic 6.0;

• Maple 8;

• MS Office Professional 2003;

• SPSS 11.0;

• Geometer’s Sketchpad 4.03;

• Windows XP;

• Computrition;

• Mozilla Webpage Composer;

• Crimson Editor with LATEX compiler;

• Microsoft Visio 2003.

Software for visually impaired students is also available in the ACC.

In addition to providing extensive technological resources for all University students, the ACC trains and mentors its student workers to become marketable computer technicians. The ACC requires a strong work ethic and attention to detail. Newly hired student technicians are required to complete the Computing Competence Survey each year in order to determine their knowledge of operating systems, software applications, computer hardware, and Internet. Completing the Survey annually gives the student technicians a sense of how their performance levels grow over time.

The survey rates an applicant’s knowledge on a scale of 1 to 5. The survey is administered each year until the student worker graduates. Past Survey results have shown the following:

• 1.5 point overall increase in competency in problem areas;

• 1.4 point overall increase in operating systems competency;

• 1.0 point overall increase in software competency;

• 2.3 point overall in hardware competency;

• 1.3 point overall increase in Internet knowledge.

Survey results indicate a 1.28 point increase in skills and knowledge, with an average twenty-five percent increase in competencies over a four-year period.

Exit and alumni surveys indicate that student technicians are highly employable. Survey results indicate that the time between entering the job market and entering the workforce for student technicians range from one day and to five weeks. Student opinion surveys indicate that student users are satisfied with the services provided through the ACC. Results from the 2005-06 Student Survey are found below:

Satisfaction with ACC Services - 2005-06 Survey

Residence Hall Technology Resources

All residence halls and single student apartments located on the campus are fully wired and internet-ready. Residents of these facilities have a “plug-and-go” system granting them access to the World Wide Web. Cost for access to this system is included in the monthly rent paid by residents. Private and semiprivate rooms located within residence hall suites and single student apartments are equipped with this plug-and-go access. The University and its contracted housing management company, Ambling Corporation, employ a student technician who is available around the clock. The technician is able to address student technical problems and provide individual training and assistance to students in the appropriate use of technology resources.

Students who reside in residence halls and single student apartments are also eligible to use a limited access computer lab in the clubhouse located centrally on the campus in the Housing and Residence Life management office complex.

Married and Family Apartments Technology Connectivity

Married and family apartments, managed by the University, are wired for dial-up internet access through the University’s dial-up server. Students with personal desktop and laptop computers may use this system through the local telephone service included in their monthly rental agreement.

Dial Up Resources

The University also offers a free dial-up internet for students who prefer this service. Comprehensive instructions and information on the use of dial-up services is available through the TASC helpdesk and through online information resources.

Wireless Internet Resources

A pilot wireless internet access program was implemented through Frazar Memorial Library in 2005. Following one year of testing, this resource has been expanded to select academic buildings. University IT is currently identifying locations appropriate for wireless connectivity and resolving “dead” spots around the campus where wireless access is inconsistent. In order to maintain bandwidth and ensure system security, the system is a closed system limited to registered faculty and students.

Distance Learning

Through its electronic learning (e-Learning) program, the University offers a number of web-based, web-enhanced, and compressed video opportunities for students and faculty. These courses provide flexible scheduling options for traditional or non-traditional students. In an effort to provide students with the highest quality of learning, McNeese State University has partnered with the Southern Regional Education Board’s Electronic Campus in order to ensure the quality of online instruction and make the University's courses available to students in other states. The mission of the Office of Distance Learning follows:

The purpose of the Office of Distance Learning is to manage resources, budget, and equipment; to coordinate daily distance learning operations; and to provide logistical support services for video conferencing, on-line instruction, telecourses, instructional delivery at multiple locations, and other technology-based instruction received or delivered by McNeese. The Office of Distance Learning supports development of programs for credit and non-credit course offerings. The Office coordinates the University’s efforts in establishing collaborative partnerships with Louisiana colleges and universities as well as business and industry.

Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) ratings of the distance learning components in the online courses reflect that eighty-five percent of the respondents expressed satisfaction with courses delivered via distance learning technologies. The overall mean score was 4.42/5. The excerpt from the 2006 Fall Schedule of Courses illustrates the numbers and kinds of distance-learning courses offered:

Distance Learning Classes are offered to and designed for well-disciplined students who are capable of handling independent study. All McNeese college by cassette classes and web-based classes require some on-campus classroom obligations and assignments. The on-campus meeting times and/or dates and locations are listed in the Class Listings section. Some distance learning courses have fees in addition to regular registration fees.

College by Cassette (CS) classes offer students a convenient option of course preparation and study. College by cassette fees for ART 365 and SOCL 201 are $40.00 per semester. A complete series of videocassette lessons are provided to students for their personal use throughout the course. Some on-campus meeting times are required (see course listing).

Compressed Video Classes

Compressed video courses offer students an opportunity to receive credit from McNeese or other Louisiana universities by attending class at one of the on-campus sites, or at one of the off-campus sites in Allen, Jeff Davis or Beauregard parishes. Compressed video involves two-way, full motion video and audio that closely replicates a traditional face-to-face class. Electronic fees ($20 per credit hour) will be administered for all off-campus “CZ” courses. Refer to course listings marked section “CV” (on-campus) or “CZ” (off-campus) to register for these courses.

Internet or Web-Based Classes

Internet or web-based classes are offered in several departments and allow students to access class information and assignments from home or at times that might be more convenient to the student. Web classes are often used to supplement traditional classes or other distance courses. Some on-campus meeting times or designated testing sites may be required. Electronic fees ($20 per credit hour) will be administered for all web classes. Refer to class listings marked section “W” to register for these web classes. More information is available in the course sections or from the instructors. When the classes begin, they may be accessed from the Blackboard link on the McNeese web page. All new students are assigned user IDs and passwords at the start of their first semester or during late registration. Students will need to self-enroll in the courses in Blackboard.

Blackboard

Blackboard® is used for the development and delivery of web-based instruction in online courses and as an instructional supplement for traditional classroom-based instruction. Faculty members are urged to incorporate Blackboard technology into course delivery.

Following Hurricane Rita, faculty members were able to communicate with students, send and receive assignments, and engage students in discussions of topics posted on the “Discussion Board” component of Blackboard.

Recognizing the potential of such a resource when exigent circumstances prevent faculty from holding classes, the University decided to create Blackboard sites for all courses listed in the Course Schedule. While many courses and faculty styles of delivery are not compatible with Blackboard, every faculty member is required at the minimum to post his/her syllabus on the Blackboard site designated for his/her individual course.

In the days immediately following Hurricane Rita, the University established on-going “emergency” training courses for Blackboard. Faculty who were new to Blackboard were able to communicate with students prior to and after returning to class. Several training sessions are offered each semester for beginning and advanced Blackboard.

Ad Hoc E-Learning Advisory Team

As greater numbers of faculty incorporate electronic resources into their instruction, the need for training, support, and supervision emerges. In order to meet the needs of both faculty and students, the University created an advisory team to ensure that courses delivered by non-traditional media are academically comparable to courses delivered by the more traditional methods.

With this goal in mind, the University formed the E-Learning Advisory Team (ELAT) in the Summer 2005. The Team began assessing courses and course proposals in the Fall 2005. The training checklist was revised by the E-Learning Advisory Team in Fall 2005 to match the items in the web-based course policy. Forty-two courses were slated for assessment for on-line instruction. Due to Hurricane Rita, however, the Team was able to review only twenty eight of the forty two. Of the twenty-eight courses reviewed, twenty two were approved for delivery as a web-based course. The ELAT plans to continue assessing existing courses each semester and to begin assessing courses prior to their being offered.

Core Curriculum/Academic Majors

The University is firmly committed to facilitating computer literacy in all of its graduates; however, a number of departments and colleges have determined that the most efficacious way to ensure that students achieve computer literacy that is appropriate to their majors is to embed computer literacy components in courses and programs rather than mandate completion of a particular computer literacy course. The Catalog notes that “[e]ach student must be exposed to an international education component and achieve communication competency and basic computer and information literacy. Course requirements are specified in each degree program” (60). This goal is achieved in a number of ways. Some courses incorporate computer skills requirements in their student learning outcomes; others incorporate skills-based requirements such as Blackboard assignments, PowerPoint presentations, or other activities that are delivered using technology. The list below provides examples of course descriptions from the 2006-07 University Catalog illustrating course-embedded competencies:

• Art 326-327. Intermediate Advertising Design: Studio problems in corporate identity, brochures, packaging, and poster design using the Macintosh.

• Chem 528. Lasers in Chemical Analysis: Basic principles and properties of lasers. Applications of laser-based techniques in chemical analysis. Survey of instrumentation and types.

• MEEN 412. Mechatronics Laboratory. Use programmable microcontrollers and basic electronic circuits to acquire data from sensors and control actuators in multi-disciplinary engineering environments.

• FREN 480. Resources in Language Content Area. Finding and evaluating traditional as well as digital and Internet sources in specific content areas of language. Selecting and using the sources and techniques best suited to furthering professional knowledge and integrating technological resources into the study of language.

When courses require that students demonstrate mastery of technology skills, faculty members embed those requirements into course syllabi and course assessments. Sample syllabi are attached as course documents to demonstrate these requirements.

Program-Specific Technology Resources

The University encourages faculty to embed technology to strengthen and support instructional delivery in academic programs and courses and requires, as noted above, that each degree program incorporate strategies to aid students in achieving this outcome. TASC resources, in many cases, provide support to individual disciplines by funding requests for technological assistance that are discipline-specific.

Individual faculty members may also write grants sponsored through the Office of Research Services and implement computer-assisted instruction into their individual disciplines. The list below provides a glimpse of technological resources used across the campus in discipline-specific environments:

• The Nursing Resource Center, located in Hardtner Hall, gives nursing students and faculty access to fifty-five network computers, eight network printers, ten overhead projectors, six mobile television/video cassette recorder units, three digital video cameras, one VHS camera, two digital cameras, one DVD workstation, one video dubbing station, two mobile sound systems, and four scanner stations.

• Software programs available to students and faculty in this laboratory directly support the teaching and learning process. Used under the supervision of faculty and lab support personnel trained in their application, these programs include the following:

o NCLEX RN 3500, a program designed to assist students in preparing for their state nursing board examinations;

o Delmar Skills Preparation, a program that assists students in acquiring and developing basic nursing attending skills;

o TLC Medical Center, a program that permits students to offer treatment protocols to simulate patient symptoms;

o Shock Management and Clinical Simulation, programs that provide interaction with real healthcare scenarios;

o Maternal Neonatal and Pediatric programs that test student knowledge on multiple subjects relevant to neonatal and pediatric care.

In addition to these resources the College of Nursing makes available to its students and faculty a video library of over 500 items and a video website which provides interactive access to 391 items directly related to topics of instruction in academic courses.

• The College of Liberal Arts department, Mass Communication, has incorporated technological resources to aid its students in developing their skills in, for example, broadcasting, producing, and designing programs. This academic program offers the following:

o An editing lab equipped with fifteen computers offering Adobe Suite products for video editing, internet access, scriptwriting, and web design software;

o A news lab equipped with fifteen computers offering Photoshop, MS Word, internet access, and other software programs designed for news writing;

o A modern television studio, fully equipped with cameras, news set staging, interview set staging, eight monitors, switcher, tape machines, audio board, character generator, EZ News software, editing room with radio booth and audio production equipment and permits for five video editing stations and a teleprompter for students taking courses with journalism and broadcasting components to experience hands-on studio recording and production under the guidance and supervision of faculty.

• In the Department of Social Sciences, geography faculty have designed a Geographic Information Services (GIS) lab in a facility shared with the Department of English and Foreign Language. TASC money purchased a site license to the GIS software, a digitizer for reproducing maps, and a plotter, a large printer capable of producing wall-sized, color maps. This state-of-the-art lab was the site of a regional meeting of cartographers who met in the GIS lab in August to work with interested students in developing mapmaking skills, using technology.

Similar facilities are used by the College of Education in assisting students who are learning to implement technology into their own teaching, by the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, where students are instructed in the use of sophisticated technology to achieve their course goals, and in the College of Science where students in chemistry, agriculture, physics, biology, and environmental science are instructed in the use of technologies appropriate to their disciplines.

Each of these discipline-specific labs was developed collaboratively with IT representatives and supervised by trained faculty members. Collaboration with trained IT personnel ensures that faculty select equipment and software wisely and that resources are not unnecessarily duplicated across campus. For example, in order to provide sophisticated and current mapmaking resources, the Social Studies Department has partnered with the Department of English and Foreign Language, to add its GIS software to existing computers used for writing and research instruction. TASC funded the digitizer and the plotter, which are used exclusively by students who are enrolled in the Geography course. This lab sharing maximizes space, time, and resources.

Working with the CITO and personnel from IT informs faculty members of existing resources and space, freeing up, for example, resources for other projects. Faculty who are skilled in embedding technologies into the disciplines typically supervise labs and ensure that students are provided sufficient access.

Access to Technology Resources

The following procedures ensure that students have ample access to University resources:

• The open-access labs establish liberal hours of operation so that students may work on projects and course work at times that do not conflict with their studies or other obligations.

• Discipline-specific labs are typically open during the University hours of operation.

Technology Training

The University provides training to faculty, students, and staff in the use of its technology resources. The list below reflects some of these efforts:

• Course embedded training. Faculty who have discipline-specific requirements typically set aside time in their course plans to train students to use equipment and software effectively. Many courses which are highly technologized incorporate required lab hours to augment their instructional time.

• Orientation. Students are given an overview of the Blackboard resource during their freshman Orientation course and are required to complete a Blackboard tutorial program online.

• Library Orientation. Reference librarians schedule workshops that are course-specific to introduce students to the electronic resources used in the library. Students may also take a virtual tour of the library. Library orientation materials, including an assessment of library skills and knowledge, are available online.

• Blackboard Training. Frequent Blackboard training sessions are scheduled for general instruction in using Blackboard as a classroom tool. Departments and individual faculty members may schedule individualized training as well.

• Distance Learning. Students enrolled in Distance Learning courses may enroll in tutorials for which access is available from the Distance Learning website.

Supporting Evidence

Resume of Shannon Davis

Library Computing Center

Academic Computing Center Master Plan

McNeese Residence Life Amenities

McNeese Network Services

Hardware Utilization

PHSC 300 Syllabus

Hardware Utilization

EDTC 625 Syllabus

ART. 325 Syllabus

Impact of Hurricane Rita on Information Technology Services