With this move, it is likely that overall master's enrollment will increase considerably. LRE and other Web-based SLIS courses have attracted many students for whom existing videoconferencing sites are not physically convenient, including students from other states and countries. Even students who live in Denton apparently enjoy working on their own schedules and avoiding the commute to campus for classes. The evaluation plan involves seven assessment techniques. All except the second, formal testing of prototype modules, currently are being used to inform constant revision and improvement of the course.
Several techniques can shift to emphasize evaluation of new learning modules.
Students who completed the course during the previous semester volunteer to help test various draft changes in the subsequent semester. Feedback is in the form of open-ended comments and discussion with the instructor. This may begin in Spring 2000 as prototype modules are created. Students are briefed about the project and asked to use prototype online modules in lieu of lectures. They evaluate the modules using a set of open-ended survey items.