The Information Resource Management Program: A Case Study in Distance Education

In 1996, the H. John Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University joined forces to launch an innovative distance learning program in Information Resource Management (IRM). The IRM program provides a one-year, sixcourse curriculum designed to strengthen managerial and analytical skills and to improve understanding of the role of information technology in work, the home, and society at large. All courses begin and end with face-to-fece instruction in New York, but the bulk of the coursework is conducted through the use of videotapes and the World Wide Web.This case study documents our experiences in creating and running this new program. JPAE 4 (1998)3:179-192 The speed and scope of change in information technology has created special challenges as well as new opportunities for us all. As a society, we must understand and come to terms with the social, political, and economic effects of the information age. As managers and public policy practitioners, we must recognize the need for improving our skills and knowledge in this area. Fortunately, some of the same information technologies that pose these challenges are also improving the way in which educational programming can be delivered. In 1996, the H.John Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University joined forces to launch an innovative distance learning program in Information Resource Management (IRM).The program is innovative in two respects. First, it uses new and some not-so-new technology to meet the educational needs of those who cannot easily attend conventional degree programs. Second, the program is a collaboration between two graduate schools committed to exploring the new learning opportunities created by technology advancements. The IRM program provides a one-year, six-course curriculum designed to strengthen managerial and analytical skills and improve understanding of the role of information technology in work, the home, and society at large.The initial class offerings include Analysis and Design of Information Systems; Information Technology and Social Accountability; Database Management; Geographic Information Systems; Decision Support Systems; and Telecommunications Management. All courses begin and end with face-to-fece instruction in New York, but the bulk of the coursework is conducted through the use of videotapes and the Worldwide Web. As the program completes its second year, we thought it might be useful to develop a case study documenting our experiences in creating and running this new program.The study seeks to answer the folJournal of Public Affairs Education 179 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.96 on Sun, 02 Oct 2016 06:01:51 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms The Information Resource Management Program: A Case Study in Distance Education lowing questions: What could the literature on distance learning tell us about the best way to structure the program? How did we begin? How does the program differ from traditional graduate courses? What have been the experiences and perspectives of those who set off on this journey into the relative unknownthe students, the faculty, and our respective administrations? What challenges emerged and how did we try to overcome them? How much did the program cost to develop and to operate and what are the universities' returns on those investments? And what does the future hold for our program and others like it? The Literature of Distance Learning Nearly all of the literature on distance education begins with a definition. Although no two definitions are exactly alike, most define distance education as an approach to learning in which • teacher and learner are separated by space and/or time, • the interaction between teacher and learner takes place via a technology link, and • students are evaluated by an educational organization (Verduin and Clark, 1991). From these three principal characteristics flow an incredible variety of distance education programs. They vary with respect to whether the interaction between teacher and learner is conducted in real time or asynchronously; is principally one-way or two-way; relies on video, audio, and/ or text; or involves one instructor and many students or one or more instructors and few students. Distance education programs also differ in the ways they combine different delivery modes, including elements of conventional face-to-face instruction. Distance education programs target a variety of audiences including the K-12, baccalaureate, and graduate levels.The auricular content also ranges widely. Graduate-level programs are generally in business administration, information systems, and engineering. Overall objectives range from simply providing information to creating an environment for mastering complex skills. And the technical quality of interaction can differ greatly with respect to the speed and clarity of video or audio transmission.This variety makes it difficult to study and compare distance education programs. It is equally difficult to summarize the literature on the subject. Our own modest attempt at reviewing the literature suggests that • the literature on distance education is vast and growing quickly, as is the development of distance education programs;1 • a large proportion of this literature is written from the vantage point of those who have a stake in its success (i.e., tends toward promotion); • few rigorous evaluations have been conducted (i.e., selection biases are not accounted for in comparing the outcomesoften measures of student satisfactionbetween conventional classroom instruction and distance education); • the literature has begun to move beyond such comparisons by asking under what conditions new instructional technologies contribute positively to learning (Berge, 1997); • cost effectiveness or cost savings, although often claimed, have not been systematically documented;2 • the results of empirical studies tend to show distance education outcomes as good as, if not better than, those achieved in conventional classrooms (Hiltz, 1994; McCollum, 1997); • distance education programs are the only instructional alternative for substantial groups in the population or they provide resources that instructors would not otherwise have (Larson and Bruning, 1996); • although self-selection biases confound statistical estimates of the effects of distance education programs and may explain the positive results documented in many observational studies, this same condition means that some students (e.g., self-directed) do very well in this format and that recruitment into such programs should take these characteristics into account (Fjortoft, 1996); and • communication technologies used in programs tend to minimize nonverbal social cues (e.g., gender, age) and thus promote greater, and more egalitarian, interaction among participants (Hiltz, 1995). 180 Journal of Public Affairs Education This content downloaded from 157.55.39.96 on Sun, 02 Oct 2016 06:01:51 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms The Information Resource Management Program: A Case Study in Distance Education It is also possible for the technology to generate too much interaction among students, which can result in attrition or disengagement. A number of case studies suggest that twenty-five students is optimal for classes that rely on computer-mediated communication (Wells, 1995).