The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Institutional Report for Distance Education/Distance Learning
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas offers and continues to seek new offerings of academic credit instruction courses in health professions education, as well as continuing education, in accordance with its mission statement, through distance learning as defined by Chapter 4, Subchapter E of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Rules and Regulations. The audience for these courses will be both on-campus and off-campus enrolled students. There are a number of individual undergraduate and post graduate courses presently offered and running, but no complete programs are offered at the present time. Other courses are being developed, but at this time UT Southwestern is not planning to offer full degree programs via distance education. As courses are designed, they must successfully complete a now standardized review and approval process. The majority of the courses to date are in UT Southwestern’s Allied Health Sciences School where the approval process involves the faculty Academic Affairs Committee and the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs.
UT Southwestern financially supports the UT TeleCampus and has involved the TeleCampus in faculty education, course development and course infrastructure. UT TeleCampus will continue to be an integral part of future distance education development at UT Southwestern.
INSTITUTIONAL REPORT
Section 1 Institutional Issues
0. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Institutional Report for Distance Education and Off-Campus Instruction was compiled using the Institutional Report Guideline version called IRDE-2004.1 (November 10, 2004)
Yes 1. The Institution documents compliance with The Principles of Good Practice for Electronically Offered Academic Degree and Certificate Programs. (PPG)
UT Southwestern is committed to maintaining and enhancing the quality of its instructional programs, in support of its educational mission. Overall academic accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and adherence to The Principles of Good Practice for Electronically Offered Academic Degree and Certificate Programs of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) are but minimum standards: Although this institution does not yet offer full degree programs by distance education, UT Southwestern intends to be regarded as top tier in all its endeavors. As course development progresses, all Distance Education instructors will complete the UT TeleCampus Information Form and Principles of Good Practice Self-Study for each course offering.
Yes 2. The institution evaluates the overall effectiveness of its distance and/or off-campus education efforts by assessing progress toward meeting its institutional goals. The evaluation outcomes are incorporated into the institution’s overall institutional effectiveness efforts.
A major goal of UT Southwestern is to continuously strive for excellence in all its teaching endeavors, whether on campus or on-line. At the present time, all courses, whether traditional or on-line, have a course evaluation and faculty evaluation that learners are requested to complete. The data are reviewed and shared with the course department and faculty. As with most survey instruments, results can be marginal.
A more successful means of evaluation is the one employed by the Continuing Medical Education Unit within the Office of Public Education. As with medical school education, the C.M.E. courses involve live meetings as well as enduring materials. Their goals, similar to the on-campus courses, are to enhance the knowledge, technical proficiencies, professional performance and interpersonal skills of both physicians and allied health professionals by delivering evidence-based, clinically-relevant medical information and cutting edge research topics. In order to maintain high caliber courses, participants are asked to evaluate all activities. For the live-meeting formats, the process involves two evaluations. The first is given to learners immediately following the course to solicit initial observations. The second survey is carried out approximately two months after the meeting to ascertain whether the attendees, as a result of attending the course, have implemented a change in the way they practice medicine. For the enduring materials, the learners complete a short post-activity test as well as an evaluation. The combined information garnered from the multi-prong method is utilized in the planning of future educational activities.
UT Southwestern has always encouraged both course evaluation and continued improvement in educational effectiveness. We strive to continue to improve the evaluation methods and results as well as the process. Student retention, performance on national standardized examinations and graduation rates are also evaluated.
Yes 3. The Institution has a position responsible for Distance Learning and Off-Campus instruction that is appropriate for the institution and the size of the Distance and/or Off-Campus Education Program. Describe the placement of the position in the Institution’s organization; attach an organization chart; and explain how this provides the appropriate oversight of programs, and of faculty and student support. Also identify the contact person or office at the institution where questions are answered for distance learners and others. Note changes and improvements in organizational structure to accommodate new modes of delivery and/or the blending of electronic technologies into traditional courses.
The Chair of the Television Services, Distance Education and Telemedicine Advisory Committee along with the Committee members have oversight of course development as well as faculty and student support. To underscore the importance of the Committee in this function, the Vice-President of Information Systems at UT Southwestern sits on the Committee as an ex-officio member.
Due to the small number of courses presently offered through Distance Education, UT Southwestern has utilized the expertise of UT TeleCampus particularly with respect to training and support for faculty who are either designing or developing on-line courses. TeleCampus Staff visit the campus for workshops and have developed tutorials for individual faculty training.
Within Southwestern’s Allied Health Sciences School, several faculty members have developed expertise in developing and running Distance Education classes. These
“supervisor” faculty have become resources for other faculty interested in becoming involved in Distance Education Programs.
Developing an on-campus infrastructure for Distance Education is the next logical step in the maturation of Distance Learning at UT Southwestern. This will require an intensive review of potential markets – both short term as well as long term, available resources, essential additional resources and sources of funding. It is anticipated that this review with recommendations would be completed within the next two years. It is anticipated that UT TeleCampus will continue to provide the majority of the course presentation infrastructure for the foreseeable future.
Yes 4. The Institution has a process for evaluating the rationale behind the proposal of complete degree and certificate programs for delivery in a distance and/or off-campus education.
UT Southwestern does not at present offer its own complete degree or certificate programs; but a Master Degree in Public Health is offered in cooperation with the UT Public Health School in Houston. As previously submitted, two oversight committees are formed for programs offered through the UT TeleCampus. An Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) consisting of no more than three faculty members from each participating institution and an Executive Committee (EC) are involved in the administration and oversight of the development and delivery of the programs. The Executive Committee is strategic in nature with responsibility for overall strategy goals and policies. The AAC members, chosen for leadership skills and commitment to distance learning, are responsible for the quality of all deliverables and take a proactive role in ensuring that all content, prerequisites, simulations and faculty are of appropriate quality. UT Southwestern has no plans at this time to offer complete degree programs for delivery at a distance.
Yes 5. The Institution’s admission and recruitment policies and decisions take into account the capability of students to succeed in Distance Education and off-campus courses and programs. Please describe any improvements in the admission and recruitment policies based on analysis of Student Success.
Requirements for Distance Learning admissions are the same as those required of on-campus enrollees. The application process is identical as for traditional students. Tuition is based on the traditional per-semester credit hour; however on-campus costs such as student activities fees, health services fees and parking fees are waived for those students enrolled solely in Distance Education programs.
Satisfactory student progress and course evaluation are held to the same standards as traditional courses, but the methodology has been adapted for Distance Learning technology. Graduation requirements are the same as for traditional students. Both the Admissions Office and the Office of the Registrar at UT Southwestern are involved in the process of admissions, student evaluation and graduation of all students, whether traditional on-campus or distance education enrollees.
Yes 6. The Institution has established requirements for satisfactory progress and graduation for distance education students. Please summarize requirements.
Distance learning students taking courses for college credit must satisfy the same admissions and application requirements as outlined by the school catalogue as do on-campus students. Requirements for satisfactory academic progress and graduation of distance education students receiving credit do not differ from traditional on-campus student requirements. Methods of evaluation of student progress are adapted for technology of distance education, but do not differ quantitatively.
Distance learning students taking courses for professional development are not awarded college credit and therefore are not subject to the same admission and application requirements. The instructor of a course reserves the authority to approve enrollment of a distance student for professional development courses. No degree or college credit is granted for distance learning professional development courses.
Yes 7. Policies relevant to transcripting, grading and transfer credentials are in place.
Students taking distance-learning courses for professional development do not receive transcripts, grades or transfer credits. The student will receive a certificate of completion as documentation needed for professional development purposes.
For students taking courses for Academic credit, policies regarding transcripting, grading and transfer are exactly the same for distance-learning students as for on-campus students. Responsibility for all of these resides in the Office of the Registrar.
Yes 8. The institution has a process in place to address the needs of distance learners who fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Please explain how ADA compliance for distance education is handled at your institution.
UT Southwestern has long standing policies and procedures to address needs of students under ADA. The Institution’s Accessibility Committee is prepared to consider matters related to all students, whether traditional or on-line learners. The Institution has a track record of successful accommodations for persons with various disabilities. UT Southwestern’s ADA Coordinator works with departments and the Office of Student Affairs to implement reasonable accommodations for all students, whether on-campus or distance-learning.
Yes 9. SACS and other professional credentialing agencies are notified as appropriate. Please explain any pending communications with SACS on credentialing agencies.
SACS, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and other professional and educational agencies are notified as courses come on-line through the UT Southwestern Registrar. As the majority of present courses are offered through UT TeleCampus, notification is sent by UT System. There are no pending communications as the present time.
Yes 10. The Institution has sufficient financial resources to initiate and sustain quality distance learning and off-campus courses and programs; the facilities, staffing, equipment and other resources essential for them; a process by which funding is distributed to support distance education and off-campus instruction. Please describe how the capital and operating budgets for distance education and off-campus instruction and supporting services are set and sufficient funds distributed.
UT Southwestern finances instructional offerings, whether traditional or on-line, though a variety of sources including state appropriations, research grants, competitive non-profit educational grants, clinical and service activities as well as philanthropy. The technical support team under an assistant vice president mentioned in the last Report has grown to a full free-standing IT Department under an Executive Vice President. This department’s budget provides the capital for a majority of the equipment needed for
on-line education. UT Southwestern also pays an annual subscription fee to UT TeleCampus thus allowing the resources from the TeleCampus to be available for on-line education as a supplement to the IT personnel on campus. Plans are being made to create a liaison position within the IT Department to facilitate on-line educators working with the TeleCampus.
Yes 11. The Institution complies with CB rules in Chapter 4, subchapter E with Notification and Approval Procedures concerning prior notification of peer institutions before offering off-campus courses and programs and the Higher Education Regional Council procedures.
UT Southwestern complies fully with all required procedures and policies with respect to distance learning. No protests have been received to date.
No 12. A procedure for calculating the cost of offering distance education courses to out-of-state students and a process for determining that fees “sufficient to cover instruction” are charged to those students are in place.
The cost of offering distance education courses to out-of-state students cannot currently be calculated because all UT TeleCampus students must be admitted to a UT System institution before they can register for a course. The only courses offered to out-of-state students are those listed in the UT TeleCampus Professional Development catalogue. Courses listed here are available to students not currently attending a UT System campus. Prices vary per course or bundle of courses. Prices are set by the campus offering the course or bundle of courses, while delivery of the content is managed by UT TeleCampus.
Section 2 Educational Programs
No 1. The Institution has procedures in place for planning, development, approval and review of distance and/or off-campus education programs to ensure quality and currency; and for meeting external accrediting bodies’ standards. Please explain the process for programs (not for individual courses).
UT Southwestern does not at present have any on-line distance education programs.
Yes 2. The institution has plans / procedures for assessing student learning outcomes. The Institution also evaluates student retention and student satisfaction in its distance and/or off-campus education programs and courses and uses the results of assessment to improve courses and programs.
Evaluation of distance-student learning outcomes does not differ from that of
on-campus students. Methods of subjective and objective evaluation are adapted to match the delivery method. Student satisfaction is evaluated by the completion of course and instructor evaluations at the end of each course. For courses delivered via the UT TeleCampus, course and instructor evaluations are collected at the end of each semester and results forwarded to the faculty member teaching the course. Distance-student retention is tracked by faculty and the Registrars Office in the same manner as on-campus students. The UT TeleCampus provides a regular report indicating retention of distance learning students.
Yes 3. The Institution evaluates the effectiveness of the electronic delivery modes it uses in the context of student learning. How are delivery technologies chosen for specific courses and programs? Please summarize how particular technology strategies are aligned with the type of content to be delivered and the learning goals.
Faculty involved in on-line course development work with the IT / Media Technology personnel prior to the procurement and deployment of any electronic delivery systems. Both collaborative computing technology and videoconferencing are available depending on the specific teaching approach. Where real-time content or two-way video with audio is determined to be essential, videoconferencing technology is available. These courses are usually CME or post graduate courses where faculty and students present complex issues and a high level of interactivity is necessary. For the other on-line courses where there is less complex interaction, collaborative technology is used; often through the UT TeleCampus.
Yes 4. Programs and courses provide for timely and appropriate interaction between students and faculty, and among students. Please explain how these interactions occur and any improvements or new techniques for interaction that have been implemented.
Real-time videoconferencing communication brings all students and faculty at satellite locations together into a virtual classroom. They all can see and hear each other. Improvements such as high definition videoconferencing could further the virtual face-to-face experience. This new technology is currently being evaluated, but has yet to be deployed.
While chat rooms and blogs are potentially available for distance learning courses, most use e-mail and discussion boards. E-mail is the primary means of direct contact between the instructor and the students. Instructors set virtual office hours during which they are available online to respond to e-mail. Occasionally the virtual office hours will be used to log into a chat room. Most instructors provide students with an expected timeline for response to e-mails – usually within 24 hours.
Discussion boards are used for student to student interaction. Collaborative learning assignments throughout the course require students to post information in response to a question or case study. Other students must respond and contribute to the discussion. A minimum number of responses is required and the quality of the discussion is graded by the instructor to assure that all students participate at a minimum standard. Instructors have also used chat rooms or discussion boards to host virtual review sessions prior to an exam. Students can also post questions to the chat room or discussion board for the instructor to answer.
Yes 5. Appropriate security measures are in place to assure the integrity of student work and testing. Please explain these measures and any improvement that has been made.
UT Southwestern does not locally host courses or student testing. Distance learning courses developed by UT Southwestern faculty are hosted by the University of Texas System TeleCampus. The UT TeleCampus uses the Blackboard commercial product as a hosting product. The Blackboard product uses best practices password policies. Methodologies used for exam development on the Blackboard system foster student ID integrity. The Blackboard system is placed behind a series of firewalls to protect information from malicious breech.
Work prepared by UT Southwestern students is fully protected by University firewalls and intrusion detection systems (IDS). All wireless communications are secured using virtual private network technology. Information stored on University servers is protected by backup/restore policies and procedures, and can be restored at the University’s disaster recovery site located at the University of Texas at Arlington.
No 6. All electronically delivered courses and programs are listed on TexasDistanceEducation.com. If not, please explain why.
None of the courses or programs presently offered at UT Southwestern through Distance Learning have enrollees who are situated a significant distance from the physical campus.
Section 3 Faculty Issues
Yes 1. The qualifications for distance and/or off-campus education faculty are the same as faculty teaching the same courses in a traditional on-campus format. Please describe the rationale applied for making exceptions.
Qualifications for distance education faculty at UT Southwestern are exactly the same as for the faculty teaching the identical or similar courses in our traditional on-campus format. There are no exceptions. Instruction in each of the distance education courses is presently done by current on-campus faculty. Faculty selection, evaluation, review and approval is exactly the same as for on-campus courses.
Yes 2. The institution provides orientation, training and support services for faculty involved in distance education and off-campus programs. Please describe any improvements that have been made.
Faculty preparing to start on-line courses are directed to the UT TeleCampus Staff who have been pivotal in the faculty education. As well, the IT Department of the University has provided assistance in technology requests as well as problem solving. It is not expected that this process will change in the near future.
Yes 3. Procedures are in place for appropriate evaluation of faculty involved in the distance and/or off-campus education program. Please describe these procedures and any changes that have been made to the evaluation process.
All faculty are evaluated annually by their respective department chairs (see faculty evaluation policy and instrument, Attachment A). It has also been traditional at the conclusion of all courses, whether on-campus or on-line, that the students evaluate the course and the faculty. More recently, the Likert Scale Faculty and Student Evaluation tool seen below has been developed specifically for on-line courses.
Faculty and Student Evaluation
1) Distance Education Faculty
a) The room temperature was within a suitable range.
b) The lighting control and level were appropriate for teaching and the technology used.
2) Distance Education Media / Communications Systems
a) All of the media devices / systems required for your presentation were available and functional.
b) You were satisfied with the ease of control of the media systems
c) If needed, the technician was on time, informative and courteous
d) Both local and distance site audio were clear, understandable and at the
appropriate level.
e) Both local and distant site “people” video was acceptable.
f) Local presentation “content” graphics – resolution, color, contrast and brightness – were acceptable.
g) Media systems were up to date and appropriate enhancements, when requested, were made.
h) The connection between the local and far site(s) were made on time.
Yes 4. Faculty have a role in development and evaluation of courses. Please describe this role and their role in affirming adherence to Principles of Good Practice.
At UT Southwestern, the faculty are completely involved in the development of any distance education course which they may be teaching. At this time, all development is done with the assistance of UT TeleCampus, thus guaranteeing adherence to the Principles of Good Practice. The faculty receive training in the principles of development of distance learning courses prior to developing their own course. As previously stated, course evaluation is consistent across the campus regardless of whether the course is on-campus or on-line. All faculty are made aware of their course evaluations and encouraged to use the results to continually improve the courses offered.
Yes 5. A policy exists that addresses faculty teaching load for those involved in distance and/or off-campus education. Please attach the policy and explain rationale.
The mission of UT Southwestern is to provide excellence in education, research and patient care. Faculty workloads involve aspects of each of these three areas. While the institution has no formal policy that addresses teaching workloads for those involved in either on-campus and/or distance learning, faculty workload is monitored by the various departments.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas is comprised of three schools: Southwestern Medical School, Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Southwestern Allied Health Services School. The Deans of these three schools, along with the department and program chairs, assess institutional education requirements annually. Faculty resources are then allocated to best meet these requirements, whether the course is offered on-campus or on-line. As the complexity of distance education at UT Southwestern increases, consideration will need to be made for the workload involved in course design with UT TeleCampus as well as the time needed for on-line course management.
Yes 6. A process exists for evaluating the credentials of faculty employed by other institutions who are teaching courses for which your institution is awarding credit.
The mechanisms for faculty credential verification and evaluation are exactly the same for both distance learning and on-campus instructors.
Yes 7. The institution has policies on intellectual property, faculty compensation, copyright guidelines and the distribution of revenue (if applicable) that are appropriate for distance and/or off-campus education. Summarize policies that address issues raised by distance and/or off-campus education.
The institution’s existing Intellectual Property Policy is sufficiently general as to be applicable to courses or materials which are web-based. UT Southwestern has standing policies in place to address issues of intellectual property, faculty compensation, copyright guidelines and distribution of revenue. It is not anticipated that special provisions for distance education will be needed for the foreseeable future.
In addition, The University of Texas Systems has constructed a comprehensive web site (http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/telecrs.html) to help faculty with these issues.
Section 4 Student Support Services
Yes 1. The institution provides distance and off-campus learners access to appropriate student services. Please describe the support services to distance and/or off-campus students in each of the following areas (as applicable) and how they are evaluated: admissions, registration, academic advising, remedial services, placement services, testing and assessment, orientation, computing departments, financial aid offices and help desk / hot line. Include the URLs of examples. How have these services been updated or improved?
Distance students have access to online admissions information and application, online financial aid application, address changes, and testing and assessment. Other services including registration, payment of tuition, academic advising, remedial services, placement services, and computer help desk are available via mail, email, fax, or phone.
The UT TeleCampus provides the same resources to distance learners and faculty as found on a traditional campus. Student Services Support for advising, enrollment, financial information, campus contacts, course schedules, course access, bookstores, online learning assistance, student handbook for orientation and much more are offered via online, email, and phone. Detailed information can be found at: http://www.telecampus.utsystem.edu/index.cfm/4,0,76,html.
Students also have free access to SMARTHINKING, an online tutorial service subscribed to by the UT TeleCampus. Most tutorial services are available 24 hours a day, seven days per week although some services may require up to a 24-hour response time. Students can get real-time or asynchronous tutoring in writing, math, statistics, accounting, economics and psychology. Student can take advantage of a unique feature, the SMARTHINKING online writing lab to improve their writing skills. More detailed information may be found at: http://www.telecampus.utsystem.edu/index.cfm/4,0,76,65,html.
Technical support information is provided online and round the clock by Embanet. Embanet is a technical service provider partner of the UT TeleCampus. Both students and faculty of the TeleCampus may contact Embanet for 24-hour live support 365 days per year. Detailed information can be found at: http://www.telecampus.utsystem.edu/index.cfm/4,0,83,html.
The UT TeleCampus also provides faculty support resources for distance learning course development and management. Faculty involved in developing and teaching distance learning courses are encouraged to complete the Instructional Design Tutorial, attend training in Austin, and review other course development resources. Faculty are required to complete the Principles of Good Practice Self-Study and the UT System Office of General Council’s online Copyright Basics course. Course review services including technical and editorial review are provided by the TeleCampus before a course is offered. Additional faculty resource information can be found at: http://www.telecampus.utsystem.edu/index.cfm/4,0,84,72,html.
The UT TeleCampus Digital Library serves as a resource for distance students and faculty. Students and faculty may access full-text electronic resources, borrowing privileges from other academic and public libraries, reference and technical support. TILT, an interactive online tutorial is available to help users enhance their information literacy skills and make accessing the right information easier.
Use of student and faculty resources is tracked and evaluated by the UT TeleCampus staff. A report is generated on a semester basis to evaluate the frequency of use and effectiveness of such resources as SMARTHINKING and Embanet. Improvements in support services, particularly response time and quality of information has been greatly enhanced by the frequent tracking and evaluation of support services.
Yes 2. Distance and off-campus learners have access to library resources of an appropriate breadth and quality for the distance and/or off-campus education programs offered. Please provide an on-line address and describe resources, including any difference in service for off-campus and for instructional telecommunications students. Are electronic resources given priority on your campus?
In 2003, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Library adopted a mission statement that states that resources, wherever possible, will be acquired in the electronic format and will be available at any time and from any location. Access to Library resources and services are available through the Library’s web site, (http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library1), to any student enrolled at UT Southwestern, whether on-campus or distance learning. The UT Southwestern Library provides access to nearly 40,000 electronic journals, over 100 electronic databases and a wide variety of electronic monographs and textbooks. With few exceptions, all resources are available remotely to off-campus students. Any material that is not available directly through the Library, may be acquired on interlibrary loan. Students may request assistance by telephone or on-line through the library’s Ask A Librarian Service. On line tutorials are available for many resources. Any problems encountered by a distance learning student will be addressed by the Library’s Distance Learning Coordinator.
UT Southwestern students who are enrolled in a UT Telecampus course also have access to the UTTC Digital Library located at http://www.telecampus.utsystem.edu/index.cfm/4,0,64,html. This library has been established just for distance learners and includes resources that may not be available at the host campus. Services and resources include remote access to electronic resources, borrowing privileges at numerous academic and public libraries, as well as reference and technical assistance.
Section 5 Distance Education Facilities and Support Services
Yes 1. The institution has available the facilities and equipment necessary to deliver its distance learning program. Please describe, in brief, current infrastructure and procedures for evaluating its effectiveness. Describe major changes in facilities and equipment.
At UT Southwestern Medical Center the Medical Television Center, a division of Information Resources, supports a combination of centralized and decentralized H.323 codes (end-points). A multipoint control unit is used to support multiple end-point videoconferences. All older H.320 codes have been retired. At the national level, we have connectivity to Internet 2 and will shortly be connected to the National Lambda Rail. At the state level, UT Southwestern helps with LEARN funding and is a voting board member. The institution also helps fund the UT TeleCampus and utilizes it resources for an available robust infrastructure for distance learning. The high resolution collaborative applications have made a major difference in content sharing. Effectiveness is measured by the attainment of specific distance education goals.
Yes 2. Arrangements have been made for off-campus delivery of required laboratories, clinical placement sites, workshops, seminars etc. associated with distance learning activities. Please describe these arrangements and any improvements that have been made.
Off campus clinical practice sites, laboratories, and preceptorships or other educational experiences are arranged in the same manner as for on-campus and distance learning students. Institutional affiliation agreements and clinical faculty appointments allow for a wide variety of quality training facilities. Professional and personal qualifications of all preceptors are identical, whether students are on-campus or distance-learners.
