Philadelphia, December 15, 1995 -- More than 40 college and university officials stepped into the future Friday where college classrooms have no set time or place and the new telecommunication technologies bring knowledge to the student.
At a meeting at WHYY, Inc., the prime public broadcasting station serving Greater Philadelphia, Delaware and South Jersey, the educators discussed cooperative projects and the future of educational technology. The group is the Delaware Valley Distance Learning Consortium (DVDLC). Organized by WHYY, Inc. President Frederick Breitenfeld, Jr., Ph.D., the Consortium's first project will entail broadcasting college courses on television.
The Consortium is built on the belief that students are too busy with jobs and family, lack transportation or have physical disabilities that keep them off campus," Breitenfeld said. "The new technologies for information storage and distribution now make it possible to address the unmet educational needs of adults in our region," he said.
"Distance Learning can enrich the educational experience for both student and faculty, and it can be the tool that closes the gap between those able to attain a college education today and those who cannot," according to DVDLC Coordinator Jean Dowdall, Ph.D., who is the former President of Simmons College in Boston. "It is probably one of the most significant advances in higher education today," she said.
"The idea is to use TV12's broadcast hours between midnight and 6 AM to transmit lessons for students to tape on their VCRs and play back at their convenience," said WHYY President Breitenfeld. "Established and recognized courses are available from PBS and other suppliers, and have been used with success nationwide," Breitenfeld said.
"Students register at the college of their choice, meet its academic requirements and pay its tuition. They study at home and Ttalk' with their professors by telephone or electronic mail," he said.
Breitenfeld contacted college and university presidents in early 1995 to explore their interest in forming an alliance. Later in the year, he formed a steering committee of a dozen higher education leaders, which met during the summer and developed organizing and operational guidelines for the Consortium.
The steering committee includes the presidents of:
The Delaware Valley Distance Learning Consortium will begin broadcasting courses on TV12 for the fall 1996 semester. A complete list of participating colleges and courses offered will be available by mid-February.
WHYY has extensive experience in broadcasting telecourses. Delaware County Community College and Bucks County Community College are currently involved in a partnership with WHYY to broadcast courses for their students.
WHYY and the Delaware County Community College began a Distance Learning project in the fall of 1994. It is a successful venture, and, as one Delaware County Community College student put it: "Because my husband works long hours and I have two small children, Distance Learning allowed me to complete courses I couldn't have done otherwise. The courses were challenging and the work load was substantial, definitely not Tthe breeze' some people think. I would like to take more Distance Learning courses."
John Bradley, Director of Library Services and Distance Learning at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, PA, said: "In the 1995 fall semester, 250 students took courses outside the regular classroom setting, compared to 137 students the year before. According to long-term projections at Bucks County Community College, about 1,450 students will be taking Distance Learning courses before the year 2000."
Distance Learning is only one of many possible projects that the Consortium will work towards, according to WHYY, Inc. President Breitenfeld. Others might include the sharing of academic resources, the production of telecourses and training tapes as well as the exploration of other educational opportunities.
According to Jinny M. Goldstein, PBS's Vice President for Education Project Development, WHYY's College Consortium has the potential of becoming one of the largest in the country. She estimates that of the 375,000 students who enrolled last year in similar Distance Learning consortia nationwide, 90 percent are employed, close to 70 percent are women, and another 70 percent are between the ages of 23 and 49.
Since its founding more than 40 years ago, WHYY's purpose is to serve the community through telecommunications by contributing to the quality of life through education, information, entertainment and inspiration. The Delaware Valley Distance Learning Consortium is one of several ongoing educational services provided by WHYY. Others include Ready to Learn, LibertyNet, Mathline and the Edison/Fareira Project.