Abstract

This research reports the results of a survey administered to 25 of the 30 institutions that participated in the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) large-course redesign project that took place between 1999 and 2003. According to NCAT, the benefits of these course redesign efforts included an average reduction in costs of about 40% while maintaining or improving instructional quality. The focus of this research was to 1) determine the current status of the initiatives reported in the study, 2) report on the benefits and limitations of the initiatives, as specified currently by the people involved in them, 3) determine the extent to which course redesign has spread to other courses at the institution and 4) understand how course redesign efforts become implemented with a focus on how, if they have been successful, they may likely be diffused. The major conclusions of our study are that these redesigns and their benefits are generally sustainable, the redesigns require faculty who champion the project, the faculty in the NCAT program were motivated by a desire to improve learning outcomes as opposed to reducing costs, there was and continues to be little institutional interest in reducing costs, and the evidence is mixed that these redesign initiatives serve as catalysts for further such endeavors at the same institutions.

Citation

Rosenthal, D. & Weitz, R. (2012). Large-Course Redesign via Blended Learning: A Post-Implementation Assessment Across Institutions. International Journal on E-Learning, 11(2), 189-207. Waynesville, NC USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved September 1, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/34062/.

© 2012 Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)