About half of IEI funding has gone into purchasing computers and maintenaining the labs. The initiative will produce 3,000, individualized Web sites featuring course syllabi, virtual office hours, bulletins and links to other sites. So far, Copenhaver has received favorable feedback and demands from faculty. It allows professors to supplement lecture material and to communicate to the students in a new way. Professors have the option to draw from the assistance of Web consultants, who are UCLA graduate students, to design their pages.
Some professors also provide links for additional reading materials and some post previous exams.
Russell Schuh, professor of linguistics, posts answer keys for collected assignments, focusing on typical errors that students make. He responds to commonly asked questions to which all students can refer. The Internet increases interaction with vast numbers of students in his larger classes, he said. They might work better given wider options than just having textbooks and lectures. Virtual office hours are suited for specific, brief questions that arise when completing an assignment or writing a paper, Rawal said.