Internal - Oklahoma State University - Research Proposal Example

? Internal Proposal Based on the Cancellation of Online es at Oklahoma (Mechanical Engineering Department). Introduction This project based at Oklahoma State University, Mechanical Engineering department. It aims to research on the cancellation of online classes in this given Department; considering the facts that there is an increase of students in this department and most of these students relay on online classes for the sake of convenience. Most of the students in this department relay on online classes for various reasons, cancellation of the online classes may lead to withdraw action of many students as might be inconvenienced. Also, the institution may lose a considerable amount of students as they may opt to study in other institutions that offer the online mode of education. The cancellation of online classes leads to a lose-lose situation in both student and institution bodies. The main goal of this proposal paper is to find out why the online classes was cancelled and also to supply sufficient information to the reader; Miss Kristi Wheeler. Who is the manager of distance education programs in Oklahoma State University so as to solve the predicament relating to the cancellation of online classes? Methodology Methodology method is inclusive of the collection of three facts points of primary research. This included interviews with the proper administration, questioners with students and evaluation with consultants. Data collected will aid in the evaluation for the need for maintaining online classes. Three essential features are based on those students who use online classes, departments which offer online classes, and other people who use online classes. Approach based on the collection of data is explained from these three features. In the course of the research, Director of Disability services was interviewed; the findings are in this section. A summary of the secondary research sources follows finally. This includes the online classes’ literature, benchmarking and online classes’ statistics. Primary Research Interviews Survey A questionnaire consisting of several questions was made up for the students. The aim was to know how the students perceive the issue of withdrawing or maintaining online classes and its benefits to students. The questions ranged from asking the students if they have taken online classes, the reasons for taking online classes, and a section for grading reasons for taking online classes on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest (poor) score and 5 being the highest score (excellent). The students were also asked to comment on several aspects regarding online classes. The other part of the questionnaire asked the students if they planned to take online classes in future, if they thought online classes were worthwhile and if they thought online classes should be banished. The questionnaire also contained a section that required the students to comment more about the issue of online classes, their individual suggestion concerned the improvement and benefits of online classes. Distribution of questionnaires to the students was done by one of the administrators of the Engineering Department. The questionnaires were completed over a period of a week (March 4-11) and set in a selected place in the department. Surveys were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. In regard to quantitative analysis, each aspect of the online classes was conducted on how the students rated it; poor (1), fair (2), good (3), exceptionally good (4) and excellent (5). Total rating number for every location was also calculated. This was done because not every student uses writing center. In regard to qualitative analysis, the students’ comments for each aspect of online classes were compiled. Observations and recommendations of the students were linked so as to obtain a better understanding of the need to maintain online classes. Broader categories and themes were generated by us the researchers. Secondary research Results from the data collected The Mechanical engineering department acknowledges that online classes have several benefits to students such as convenience, accessibility, ease of use among other. Moreover, the number of student intakes have increased putting a strain on the classroom resources, thus there is need for a quicker and more appropriate solution. According to the interviews comments and questioners provided by the engineering students, online classes should not be cancelled because they are convenient and extremely beneficial to students. Primary Research Results from the Data Collected Interview Survey Mechanical Engineering Department has grown in the last five years by the high increment of the student population students. Below is data collected from questioners. As per the results, most students have taken online classes within the last two years and they plan to take online classes in the future, this means that the students value the use of online education. Online classes at Oklahoma State University have been tremendously beneficial to the students. This is displayed by the high percentage of students who register for the online classes. Most of the students who register for online classes do so for convenience and to save time. With the introduction of online classes in both universities and colleges, an increase in the quantity of students has been noted. Professors have been assigned to teach the new courses as per required, but the number of the students is increasingly overwhelming to the professors thus this leads to stress on the side of the professors. As a strategy to relive the stress, online classes were founded. This initiative has also eased the burden of the professors and lecturers; as this has led to them attending a reduced amount of classes and spare leisure time is created for them. Students Questionnaire Results From the questionnaire given to the students, 11 students ranked online classes poor while 10 ranked it excellent in terms of ease of use. With regard to convenience, 4 students thought that online classes were poor while 16 others ranked it excellent. In accessibility, 5 students ranked online classes poor while 18 students ranked it excellent. Concerning cost, 13 students considered online classes poor while 7 students considered it excellent. Finally, in the overall rating 7 students regarded online classes as poor while 17 others thought it was excellent. The percentage outcome on the aspects of online classes showed that convenience was 30%, required 26%, Ease of use 14%, accessibility 25% and finally other (time) 5%. Conclusion Although online education is expensive, many students still pay for it and prefer it due to convenience reasons. Most of the students who register for online classes do so because they will not be able to attend classes at that period. The role of the new dean in removing online classes will lead to stress load on the professors’ side. The new dean has to be convinced to return the online classes program as it is supremely valuable to most students in the institution. The situation of online classes before the new dean was progressing; this is clear by the number of increase of the student population since the implementation of online classes. The action of removing the online classes is not a wise decision as discussed. Therefore, OSU should reconsider their decision to cancel online classes and instead enhance and encourage creation of more online classes. References Gross, P. A. (1997). Joint curriculum design: facilitating learner ownership and active participation in secondary classrooms. Mahwah: Erlbaum. The journal: Technological horizons in education. (1974). Acton, Mass: Information Synergy. Newman, P. (1982, January). [Interview with William Epstein, editor of JEP: Human perception and performance]. APA Monitor, pp. 7, 39. Carrio?, P. M. (2006). Online activities in English for engineering purposes. Valencia: Editorial de la UPV. Bowdon, M. A., & Carpenter, R. G. (2011). Higher education, emerging technologies, and community partnerships: Concepts, models and practices. Hershey PA: Information Science Reference. Read More