Distance Education Self-Assessment
This self-assessment tool is adapted from the IDEAL Checklist developed by the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC). The purpose is to enable higher education institutions to quickly assess where they stand in development and delivery of distance education. The assessment tool is not comprehensive but includes many practices critical to successful distance education programs. It is not intended to be prescriptive. It is hoped that the institutional self-review will help generate local discussion about distance education.
Institutional Commitment to Distance Education
How knowledgeable
are your institution's leaders and stakeholders about distance
education? |
Knowledgeable?
|
||||
|
Very
|
Somewhat
|
Not at all
|
Unsure
|
||
University administrators.................. |
V
|
S
|
N
|
U
|
|
Members of Board of Governors..... |
V
|
S
|
N
|
U
|
|
State legislators................................... |
V
|
S
|
N
|
U
|
|
How supportive
are you instutition's leaderes and stakeholders toward distance
education? |
Supportive?
|
||||
|
Very
|
Somewhat
|
Not at all
|
Unsure
|
||
University administrators.................. |
V
|
S
|
N
|
U
|
|
Members of Board
of Governors..... |
V
|
S
|
N
|
U
|
|
State legislators................................... |
V
|
S
|
N
|
U
|
|
|
Yes
|
No
|
Unsure
|
|||
Does your institution have a strategic
plan for distance education? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Has your institution conducted a
SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities)
with regard to distance education? If "Yes": |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Have you identified
competitors to your distance education programs? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Have you compared
your fees to those of your competitors? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Have you identified
your unique programs that may offer you a competitive advantage?
|
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Have you explored
opportunities for developing cooperative distance education programs? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Has the institution identified policy
and practice barriers to distance education? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Has your institution conducted a
cost analysis for its spending on technology to support distance
education? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Does your institution have a plan
to provide appropriate levels of funding for the distance education
operation? If "yes", which funding methods are used or will be used? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
New base funding....................................... |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Reallocation of
funds................................. |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
New funding generated
by user fees..... |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Other:__________________________ |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Customer Friendly Registration Processes and Fee Policies
|
Yes
|
No
|
Unsure
|
|||
Does your institution's registration
system permit: |
|||||
Registration
by phone...................................... |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Online registration............................................ |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Credit
card payment by phone...................... |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Credit card payment
by secure online system............................................................... |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Different fee structures
required by some distance education programs........................ |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Does your institution charge off-campus
distance students the same service and facilities fees (e.g.,
recreational facilities, health services, etc.) charged to on-campus
students? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Does your institution charge distance
students special distance education fees (e.g., delivery fees,
etc.)? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Does your institution charge out-of-state
distance students nonresident fees? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Developing, Enhancing and Maintaining Faculty Capacity
Are formal programs in place at
your institution to develop, enhance, and maintain faculty skills
for teaching at a distance? |
Yes
|
No
|
Unsure
|
||
Workshops and training
opportunities......... |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
On-going
technical support............................ |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Instructional
design support.......................... |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Does your institution
have a central facility available to assist faculty in the design
and development of distance education programming? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Are the following methods used at
your institution to promote faculty participation in distance
education course development and delivery? |
|||||
Release
time...................................................... |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Credit for additional
load given for distance education course development & delivery |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Overload compensation................................. |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Course development
mini-grants................. |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Peer groups and
mentoring opportunities |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Others (describe____________________) |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Does your institution provide opportunities
to recognize faculty and staff who successfully develop and delivery
distance education courses? |
|||||
Recognition for
promotion and tenure...... |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Award programs for
creative activities.... |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Does your institution return all
or part of the income generated by distance education courses
to the originating department and faculty members? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Marketing
|
Yes
|
No
|
Unsure
|
|||
Has your institution conducted needs
assessments to determine appropriate distance education course
and program offerings? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Has your
institution sufficiently marketed distance education to let learners
know the availability of the programs? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Multi-institutional Distance Education Programs
|
Yes
|
No
|
Unsure
|
|||
Can students enroll
at your institution and take a distance learning course from another
institution? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Does your
registration system permit cross-enrollment of students at multiple
instutitions? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
If your students
can take distance learning courses from another institution are
fees redistrubited to the originating institution for the instructional
services provided? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Do student
transcripts note credit that has been earned at other institutions? |
Y
|
N
|
U
|
||
Prepared for the ADEC IDEAL2 videoconference 4/13/00
Adapted by Erik Anderson, University of Idaho