Enhancing and Supporting Learning Environments: The OISD Strategic Plan

Objective One

The Office of Instructional Support and Development (OISD) will enhance and support learning environments at UGA by establishing and maintaining the flexibility required to respond to changing institutional needs.

Discussion

OISD must evolve as an agile organization to be responsive to the needs of diverse and changing academic programs, faculty, and instructional environments. This flexible orientation will include client focus, collaboration with related campus units, cross functionality within the organization, establishment of flexible staffing patterns, and acquisition of personnel possessing creativity and problem solving skills necessary to provide effective support for instructional experimentation, innovation, and assessment during the next decade.

Implementation: OISD will

establish flexible staffing by utilizing graduate assistantships, postdoctoral fellowships, and faculty residencies within OISD. Time-line and cost: FY2001--postdoc added to support TA development activities; FY2002--postdoc added to support instructional technology activities; FY2003--rotating faculty residency established in OISD when space becomes available with a move of a portion of OISD to the SLC. If this time-line is followed, approximately 20 faculty members and postdocs will complete residencies in OISD by 2010 at a cost of approximately $100,000 per year.

enhance staffing to include diverse and multiple skills in traditional and new media such as web resources, computer animation, simulation, and digital video streaming to complement related resources available elsewhere on campus. Time-line and cost: positions modified over the next 10 years as vacancies occur -- cost would vary with timing of vacancies.

develop collaborative relationships with UCNS and other campus units resulting in establishment of a meta organization to provide coordinated and comprehensive support for instructional applications of new media. Time-line and cost: meta organization established by FY2001--$65,000 needed for ongoing coordination.

establish budget lines to allow for timely acquisition of new media equipment and software including provisions for early acquisition for experimentation and pilot implementations. Time-line and cost: Beginning in FY2001--$25,000 annually adjusted for inflation and other changes in technology costs in subsequent years.

establish satellite offices in multiple campus zones to provide ongoing monitoring of classroom environments and timely response to specific faculty needs including on-site training and support. Time-line and cost: see Objective Three

Enhancing and Supporting Learning Environments: The OISD Strategic Plan

Objective Two

OISD will enhance and support learning environments through the professional preparation of future faculty.

Discussion

The University of Georgia is one of approximately 100 institutions responsible for producing 80 percent of the doctoral degrees awarded annually in the United States. These institutions are responsible for preparing the future faculty members for all 3500 U. S. institutions of higher education. In Georgia, hundreds of UGA graduates serve on the faculties of the 34 institutions of the University System. OISD and the University at large will continue to focus substantial attention on issues related to the readiness of graduate students for their teaching assignments at the University. During the next decade, as an important element of it`s strategic plan, OISD will assist the University in reshaping the experience of graduate students to provide more substantial preparation for faculty careers.

Implementation: OISD will

articulate to the public, in collaboration with the Graduate School, Public Information, and other units of the University, the exceptional academic preparation of our graduate teaching assistants and the role the University plays in the preparation of future faculty for the entire spectrum of American higher education. Time-line and cost: ongoing collaborative effort at no additional cost.

establish, in collaboration with Academic Affairs, compliance with TSE/SPEAK standards to insure that international graduate students are not placed in teaching assignments for which they are not linguistically prepared and which are not complimentary to their career objectives. In addition, OISD will assist the University in communicating to UGA parents and students the advantages of studying with well prepared graduate students from other cultures. Time-line and cost: ongoing collaborative effort at no additional cost.

develop , in collaboration with the Graduate School and the Institute of Higher Education, documentation and credentialing programs for graduate students and postdocs who plan to seek employment as a college or university faculty member. Time-line and cost: ongoing collaborative effort assisted by the TA support postdoc referenced in Objective One.

extend the efforts of the TA Mentors to the level of full assistantships and facilitate the establishment departmental postdoctoral teaching residency opportunities as an additional tier of teaching preparation. Time-line and cost: FY2002--TA Mentors to full assistantships; teaching residencies established in numerous departments by the end of the decade--$150,000 annually for assistantships.

Enhancing and Supporting Learning Environments: The OISD Strategic Plan

Objective Three

OISD will enhance and support in-class learning environments through the establishment of a Classroom Support Center to provide campus-wide classroom support services.

Description

A Classroom Support Center (CSC), located in the Student Learning Center, will be developed to provide more systematic and responsive support for the University`s classroom learning environments. This Center will provide coordination and direction for classroom support personnel assigned to the various geographical zones of the campus (see Objective One) and will manage deployment and refresh of classroom technologies throughout campus. The CRC will also serve as a clearing house for up-to-date information on the resources available in each of the University`s classrooms and coordinate scheduling of classroom facilities.

Implementation: OISD will

transfer the existing OISD classroom support team to the Classroom Support Center located in the Student Learning Center and recruit Classroom Technology Specialists for the SLC and central campus. Time-line and cost: the move to the SLC will occur on completion of that facility early in 2002 and $55,000 for two Classroom Support Specialists for the SLC will be requested in FY2002 budget development.

establish five classroom support service zones for the campus with CSC staff housed in satellite offices in four of the zones ( the north-central zone will be served from the main CSC offices located in the SLC). Time-line and cost: One Classroom Support Specialist and operational costs for a satellite office on south campus will be requested for FY2001 at annual cost of $30,000. Classroom Support Specialists for east and south-central campus and operational costs for two satellite offices in these zones will be requested for FY2002 at a cost of $60,000. Staffing adjustments will be made in subsequent years to accommodate changing faculty needs.

develop-- working with Academic Affairs, the Instructional Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC), and the University Instructional Advisory Committee (IAC)-- systematic planning for deployment and support of classroom technology including:

a) guidelines for what proportion of classrooms will have installed technology,

b) budgeting for classroom equipment refresh,

c) procedures and criteria for allocation of equipment in response to unit requests,

d) procedures for assessment of classroom learning environments, and

e) transfer of classroom scheduling responsibilities to the CSC.

Time-line and cost: (a), (c), and (d) will be ongoing throughout the decade with no additional cost; (b) will be included as a $25,000 request in FY2001 budget development replacing annual requests for end-of-year funding for this purpose; and (e) is proposed for implementation by means of a transfer of an Academic Affairs staff position upon the opening of the SLC and the CSC in FY2002.

Enhancing and Supporting Learning Environments: The OISD Strategic Plan

Objective Four

The OISD will implement activities which result in enhanced large class learning environments.

Discussion

Large classes are among the most challenging teaching and learning environments. In a large class relatively few students have the opportunity to participate orally or volunteer information. Faculty members teaching large classes tend to use less group work and discussion, and require less writing. With the opening of the Student Learning Center (SLC), the University will add six additional classrooms of 150 or more seats. However, the SLC will also provide a substantial number of small group breakout rooms and an information commons which will give students convenient electronic access to information resources. Work must begin as soon as possible if the capabilities of the SLC to provide enhanced large class learning environments are to be utilized upon the opening of that facility. In addition, instructional technologies now provide additional opportunities for improving the teaching and learning environment for large classes taught throughout the campus.

Implementation: OISD will

establish, in collaboration with the Instructional Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC) and Academic Affairs, funding opportunities to encourage and assist academic departments in developing new approaches to large class instruction. By the end of the decade, these opportunities should result in the completion, assessment, and dissemination of numerous projects to enhance large class instruction at UGA. Time-line and cost: OISD will propose to ITAC that the guidelines for Learning Technologies Grants (LTG) be modified in FY2001 to include among the options for LTGs a specific call for proposals to use technology to improve large classes. OISD will further propose to ITAC that an additional $100,000 be requested for the LTG program beginning in FY2001 to fund this additional focus.

make available instructional design and technology staff support to faculty members who are working on projects to improve large class instruction. Time-line and Cost: OISD will add two Instructional Design and Technology Specialists in FY2000, a third ID&T Specialist ($40,000) will be requested in FY2001 budget development, and one of the postdocs referenced in Objective One will be available to support this effort beginning in FY2002.

reestablish the large class interest group to facilitate discussion and exchange of ideas regarding large class instruction. Time-line and cost: this will be accomplished beginning in FY2000 at no additional cost.

compete for a Pew grant to improve large class instruction at UGA. Time-line and cost: $200,000 grants from Pew will be available for this purpose in both FY2001 and FY2002. Investments already committed or planned will serve as documentation of UGA`s readiness for one of these grants.

Enhancing and Supporting Learning Environments: The OISD Strategic Plan

Objective Five

The OISD will enhance and support learning environments by aiding in the extension of learning opportunities beyond the classroom.

Discussion

Recent advances in technology enable us to provide students with learning opportunities where and when they need them. Templates like WebCT, facilities like the Information Commons planned for the Student Learning Center, and high speed Internet access such as that provided by cable modems in residence halls and in private homes are making development and delivery of new forms of educational resources increasingly more feasible. Development of these resources will require not only continued infrastructure development, but also investment in human capital. Faculty will need the time to develop new learning opportunities for their students. They will also need other personnel resources to assist in the production, delivery, and assessment of these new learning opportunities.

Implementation: OISD will

provide, in collaboration with the Instructional Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC) and Academic Affairs, funding opportunities and other resources including faculty release time, expert assistance, and project funding for multi-year projects involving extension of learning environments beyond the classroom. Time-line and cost: OISD will propose that the guidelines for Learning Technologies Grants (LTG) be modified in FY2001 to include a specific call for proposals to extend learning environments beyond the classroom and provide for multi-year projects at an additional annual cost of $100,000. Expert assistance will be provided by the staffing described in Objective Four. By the end of the decade, numerous projects will be completed, assessed, and disseminated as a result of this initiative.

implement a May Term Faculty Institute to introduce faculty members to applications of instructional technologies for the enhancement of learning beyond the classroom. Time-line and cost: this annual Institute can be implemented as early as May 2000 with the additional staff hired by OISD in FY2000 and an FY2001 budget allocation of $45,000 for faculty stipends. This time-line will result in participation in the Institute by approximately 10% of the faculty by 2010.

implement a Faculty Technology Fellows program to provide opportunities for selected faculty members to engage in extensive development of learning environments beyond the classroom. Time-line and cost: this program can be established as early as FY2001 with the additional staff hired by OISD in Fy200 and an FY2001 budget allocation of $40,000. Following this time-line will result in the presence on campus of approximately 100 Technology Fellows by the end of the decade.