Page 199 - ThePhoenix1995-96

NEWS Thursday, May 9, 1996 - Page 7 Distance education Proclamation of the Maryland supported by SGA Higher Education Commission tern already use a distance educa- Student Advisory Council By SARA BETH REYBURN tion network. Already, the state ContriburingWrirer The Maryland Higher Educa- government has made plans to cre- tion Commission Student Advisory ate a Maryland distance learning We, the student representatives ,. Upgradability and * investigating future technolo- Council held a conference on network which would connect all of the Maryland Higher Education Expandability- an examination of gies, * March 1-3, 1996 in Annapolis, MD public and independent universi- Commission Student Advisory technological and economic feasi- and ensuring the integrity of to discuss the issue of distance edu- ties, colleges, high schools, middle Council, accept the definitions of bility traditional university life. cation. schools, and elementary schools. "distance learning" and distance ,. Cost Effectiveness- to deter- Composed of student represen- While the members of the SA~ education" as offered by the Mary- mine the point at which the rate- Finally, the MHEC SAC fully sup-- tatives from most colleges in the agree that such a network will be land Secretary of Higher Educa- of-return on investments are maxi- ports the following statements: state of Maryland, the Student Ad- beneficial to education in Maryland tion, Dr. Patricia S. Aorestano, as mized. :to We recognize distance educe- visory Council (SAC) meets regu- they are bothered by the fact that referring "to any means of instruc- tion as a legitimate alternative and larly to discuss topics that affect the educational institutions are not tion when the student is not in the Continuity educational enhancement tool, but higher education and then advise the ones advocating distance learn- physical presence of the Careful planning of distance edu- not as a replacement option. * At no time should a student be the Maryland Higher Education ing. Instead. the Maryland stale instructor ...These include full-mo- cation policy presents an opportu- Commission on the students' per- government and corporations, such tion interactive video, taped or nity for increased curriculum con- limited to distance education in spective. as Bell-Atlantic, who stand to profit broadcast video, interactive com- sistency. In accordance with cur- his/her class selection. * Distance education involves the greatly from the network are the puter instruction, and non-interac- rent MHEC standards, higher edu- Students will not accept active use of computers in educating stu- major supporters of distance edu- tive computer instruction." cation credits earned within the or passive replacement of tradi- dents without requiring the pres- cation in the stale. State of Maryland should be trans- tional classes with distance edu- ence of the teacher. There are two For students at Western Mary- Research ferable amongst all institutions of cation classes. * forms of distance education. land College distance learning may Due to the enormous capital in- higher education located or broad- We recognized the temptation In the first form, students sit in appearro be an unlikely occurrence vestment required 10 start and op- casting in the State of Maryland. to corral students into distance a classroom and watch their teacher in the near future. erate a distance education system, education classes and strongly on a video monitor. The teacher However, Goucher College, an we believe careful and cautious Regulation caution against It. may be in another state of another institution of comparable size, has analysis is needed before the Stare In order to enact the aforemen- country. Depending on the level already been approached by a cor- of Maryland embraces distance tioned suggestions, we, as represen- Above all, we believe that distance of technology of the system, the poration who agreed to supply the education. In particular, there are tatives of students in Maryland education should be reserved for students may have one-way or two- technology necessary for distance several areas we believe need spe- higher education, recommend the the enhancement of educational way audio and video interaction learning on their campus. cial concentration and consider- formation of a regulatory board. processes, not as a replacement with the teacher. The SAC recognizes that dis- ation. This board should include student, mechanism for faculty and com- The second form of distance tance learning is the wave of the * Demographic Trends- to pre- faculty, and administration drawing munity. education does not requires stu- future and will occur in Maryland dictfuture need and participation; from a cross-section of universities, dents to go to a classroom, or even but the members are concerned that * Consumer Demand and Mar- colleges, and curriculums. The re- (Unanimously approved by the campus, except to take exams." In distance education will one day ket Supply- to predict future de- sponsibilities would include: members of the Student Advisory this form students connect with replace the traditional residential mand and ensure competitive mar- * establishing distance education Council, March 3,1996.) their teacher' and fellow students college. kets; standards, through computers and the internet. As a response to this recogni- Because it requires fewer class- lion, the Student Advisory Coun- rooms and professors distance cit members drafted and endorsed learning will, after the initial in- the following proclamation. They vestment in computer and video have urged each institution of technology, provide a less expen- higher learning in Maryland to sive way in which to educate stu- have their student governments dents. endorse the proclamation and edu- Colleges and universities can cate their fellow students about dis- enroll more students who pay tu- tance education. . ition despite the difference in teach- At ~pril 24 meeting the ing style. These factors make ais~ Maryland College SGA tanceeducation an attracnveoppor- voted to support the Student Advi- tunity for institutions of higher edu- sory Council's proclamation and cation. wrote a letter to the Maryland The University of Maryland Higher Education Commission no-. system and the state university sys- tifying them of their support. The Phoenix would like to congratulate to the following students: Kathy Gaston ONTHEm WAY TO THE TOP. .up to your classmates byi winner of the Mary Ward If you didn't sign up for ROTC as a By the time you have graduated from freshman or sophomore, you can still college, you'll have the credentials of Lewis Prize catch an. Army officer. YO.U'll~o have the self-confidence and discipline attendmg Army ROTC Camp Chal- lenge, a paid six-week surruner it takes to succeed ill college and & course in leadership training. beyond. Tim Collins ARMY ROTC TIE SMaRTEST C8LI.IGE I:OIIISE m WI TIlE. winner of the Bates Prize For detans, Visit the 2nd Floor, Gill Gym or call 857·2720