Assignment 1: Research Exercise

By Kameka Rideaux EDD 7007-OL1-21719 Principles of Distance Education Dr. Charles Schlosser

Nova Southeastern University September 15, 2012

Research Exercise Part I: The institution and its programs Name, mailing address, and website URL of the institution. Name: Virginia Tech Online Mailing address: Virginia Tech University Gateway Center, Suite 120 902 Prices Fork Rd. Mail Code: (0392) Blacksburg, VA 24061 Website URL: http://www.itma.vt.edu/ Program Degrees and Major The Degree and majored offered at Virginia Tech Online is a Master of Arts in Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Instructional Technology (ITMA) (School of Education, 2012). Length of time the program has been offered online: Virginia Tech has offered the ITMA Degree online since 1998 (School of Education, 2012). Course Delivery Technologies To deliver instructions and course materials to students, Virginia Tech Online utilizes Blackboard functions. Depending on the course supporting instructional content consists of Centra Web-based tutorials, multimedia, computer software, textbooks, CDs, and email (School of Education, 2012).

Face-to-Face Component This program is completely on-line and asynchronous with no face-to-face component of instruction. Interaction with other students will be supported by Blackboard functions such as email and discussion boards (School of Education, 2012). Length of Time to Complete Degree If students take the recommended 3 hours per semester, the program takes three years including summers (School of Education, 2012). Accreditation Virginia Tech is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and School-Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC). This regional body for accreditation of degree granting in higher education institutions of southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Latin America (VT SACS Reaffirmation of Accreditation, 2012). Public Land-Grant University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a public land-grant university. Land grant universities receive benefits of the Morrill Act, which

designates federal money to land grant institutions that offer various educational opportunities (About Virginia Tech, 2012). Enrollment Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universitys total enrollment on and off campus is 30,936. The program in Instructional Technology is cohort based and accepts 25 students each year. Since the inception of the ITMA program there have been over 200 graduates (About Virginia Tech, 2012). Tuition Tuition for residents of Virginia is $382.75 per credit hour, and nonresidents are $982.25 per credit hour (School of Education, 2012). Part II. Institutions Website: Institutions Website Critique Visual Appeal On a scale ranging from 1 to 5, I would rate the visual appeal of this site a 4. I find the photograph of the students on the school campus studying surrounded by greenery and sunny skies very visually appealing. The colors of the website are cool and calming, not too bold. The Virginia Tech Online Website is very well designed and visually appealing.

(http://www.vto.vt.edu/progdesc.php?id=itma)

Navigation This website is very easy to navigate, clean and usable, not cluttered. Viewers can easily find information on the program by using the menu bar on the left. Users can go back to the Virginia Tech or School of Education homepage by utilizing the links provided. A search function is also available for key word or phrase searches.

(http://www.itma.vt.edu/) Information The content is visible and all the answers to the questions could be found on the website. The link for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) is divided into Applications, Program and Financial for student to access information quickly. This made it easy to find all information needed to answer the questions for this assignment.

(http://www.itma.vt.edu/application_questions.html) Positive Aspect The most positive aspect of the website is the accessibility of the content. It included all of the information that a prospective student would need without calling the institution for more information. The website includes the cost of tuition, application process, faculty, plan of study, and length of time to complete the degree. Improvement Needed The aspect of this website that needs improvement is the graduate catalog,

this does not specify the instructional technology program emphasis. The description of the degree offered is vague; students wont get information about the different concentrations in the graduate catalog.

http://graduateschool.vt.edu/graduate_catalog/programs.htm

References

About Virginia Tech (2012). Virginia Tech. Retrieved from http://www.vt.edu/about.

School of Education (2012). Instructional Design and Technology. Retrieved from http://www.itma.vt.edu. Sacs Reaffirmation of Education (2012). VT SACS Accreditation Office. Retrieved from http://www.sacs.vt.edu/.