Master of Engineering in Professional Practice (MEPP): A Case Study in Online Learning Leadership

1. CAVE 811 Leadership Case study Master of Engineering in Professional Practice (MEPP) William McGraw December 2003 CAVE 811 William McGraw

2. Case Study • Principle to examine…expensive, labor intensive, technology driven programs needing local support may not be scaleable or available to some learners • Situation…MEPP is labor and technology intensive, can schools afford? Resources there? admitted? • Symptoms…half-million $ /yr for 60-90 students, versus Open Univ w 200,000 students. • Characters…Tom, Philip, Karen-says it can • Questions…does a quality online program need to be expensive and technology intensive? labor and technology intensive, can schools afford? Resources there? admitted? CAVE 811 William McGraw

3. MEPP and 811 • Good example of program that follows course topics • Good example of leadership and coordination of a program • Good example of problems with online learning • Good example of future directions for online learning based on problems CAVE 811 William McGraw

4. Multiple decisions and “local” leadership issues • MEPP was created by key people working in a committee (e.g. chair) for years. • Members in committee lead their particular areas to achieve goals and duties. • Decisions made by the committee members shaped the program • Continuing effort in quality, service and improvement CAVE 811 William McGraw

5. What is MEPP? • The Master of Engineering in Professional Practice (MEPP) is advanced e-learning for practicing engineers. Our problem-based, application-oriented curriculum prepares you for growing responsibilities and technical leadership roles. We offer convenient Internet-based delivery, learning integrated with job responsibilities, a world-class faculty, and unmatched student success rates and satisfaction. In short a 2 year Master’s degree! CAVE 811 William McGraw

6. Who can earn MEPP?(selective admissions) • Admission to the Master of Engineering in Professional Practice program is based on the following: • A BS degree from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) or the equivalent • A minimum of four years' post-baccalaureate engineering experience • A minimum undergraduate grade-point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) for the equivalent of the last 60 semester hours (Applicants with less than a 3.0 may be admitted at the discretion of the department.) • For applicants whose native language is not English, a minimum acceptable score of 580 on the written Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 243 on computer version • For international applicants, a degree comparable to an approved US bachelor's degree CAVE 811 William McGraw

7. Why MEPP? • complete this degree from home, work or on the road • practical, results-oriented learning • learn today as you will work tomorrow • fast-track program • top-quality library resources and support • graduate degree from a highly respected university • successful, proven program CAVE 811 William McGraw

8. Why distance education? • Less expensive than brick and mortar • Less expensive than new campuses • High initial costs, then lower costs • High initial faculty time, then less time when students get used to the system • Only choice with some adults • MEPP benefits • NCA accredited • Financial aids available • Portable, flexible and convenient to adults CAVE 811 William McGraw

9. MEPP courses (2 year program) • Year One: Summer • Network Skills for Remote Learners • Year One: Fall • Engineering Economic Analysis and Management • Technical Project Management • Year One: Spring • Engineering Problem Solving with Computers • Communicating Technical Information • Year Two: Summer • Independent Reading and Research in Applied Engineering • Year Two: Fall • Engineering Applications of Statistics • International Engineering Strategies and Operations • Year Two: Spring • Quality Engineering and Quality Management • Engineering and Business Data Communications CAVE 811 William McGraw

10. The fine print • MEPP curriculum • Technology intensive • Campus resource intensive • Learner time and effort intensive CAVE 811 William McGraw

11. 4 years for leadership to bear fruit (planning) • Started with an idea in 1994 and took 4 years to make it a reality. First course in Fall 1998. 30 people in cohort, • Combines the talents of many people • Each team member leads in their particular area • Passionate about quality service to learners • Excited about program, quality, learner support • 1995 literature search in content development, employers and engineers, needs assessments, working adults, and content delivery • Specific learner in mind…out of school >4 years, engineer, mature, wants degree CAVE 811 William McGraw

12. Pilot program issues and leadership challenges (planning and coordination) • F2f content made more explicit and online compatible and graphic • Work around no proctors, so exams online • How write reports? (use Placeware, teleconferencing and chat) • How write group reports? (use Docushare) • Network skills course to learn technology • Pre and post exams • Full access to library CAVE 811 William McGraw

13. Excited and passionate (staffing & resources • Team members take initiative to seek out and fix problems • Team members build bridges with other parts of campus and have good external relations • Individual do what needs to be done and report back to the committee • Each team members put themselves in student position to fix problem • E.g. student in Singapore CAVE 811 William McGraw

14. ***Bridge-building(external) e.g. student in Singapore • MEPP team had to work with campus administration to fix problems for students • Admissions • Register for courses with long distance touch-tone and problems with overseas long distance systems • Residency requirement • Financial aids and the interview process • Student health insurance for non-citizens (needs special handling due to Federal program) • Grades (customize ISIS) • Graduate school and new online degree • Quizzes but no exams (proctor problems) CAVE 811 William McGraw

15. One part fits with other parts (external, coordination & resources) • Distance education experts & technicians • Curriculum and instructional design experts • Content designers • Finance and budget • Administration • Student support • Topic leadership + committee + chair=success etc CAVE 811 William McGraw

16. CAVE 811 topic areas & MEPP • Planning…4 years to first course, new PhD program • Roles…Chair+committee+support+ • Priorities…student support, quality and growth • Participation…marketing, niche,word of mouth • Staffing..10+ people • Resources…School, campus and student local help • Coordination…2,000 postings, lessons, reports, & grps • Development…excited, enthusiasm, & “mission” • External…building bridges to campus administration • Leadership…Tom, Philip, Karen etc • Issues…scalable, adequate support, expensive, CAVE 811 William McGraw

17. Leadership Background • Began with an idea in 1994 by Tom Smith • Alternative to f2f Master’s degree • Need Professional Development degree • Needed own curriculum to meet demands of practicing engineers far from campus. • Work with department chair Philip O’Leary • Began with seed idea and then expanded to include chair, campus and external people CAVE 811 William McGraw

18. Leadership, coordination and planning challenges*** • Remember original goals and focus • One member’s work or problem may impact other people’s work • Stay current • Very busy • New PhD Professional practice degree, Technical leadership, develop resources • Maintain good relations with campus and external • Train & develop new faculty in MEPP ways • Explain MEPP culture • Re-design course every 5 years • Read and reply to 2,000 daily postings for 1 course (5) CAVE 811 William McGraw

19. Degree Purpose • This degree is designed for early to mid-career engineers who are planning to continue working in a technical capacity and who seek to improve their professional skills. • Engineering team leaders seeking to improve their technical and team skills • Staff engineers seeking to have greater impact on decisions in their units • Plant and facilities engineers seeking to improve their project management skills • Municipal engineers seeking to improve their ability to deal with governing bodies and the public • Sales engineers seeking to improve their professional credentials • Application engineers seeking to improve their skills in customer support • Consulting engineers seeking to improve their practice CAVE 811 William McGraw

20. Selected team leaders • ~10 people operate MEPP • Wayne P. Pferdehirt • Chere Campbell Gibson • Karen Al-Ashkar • Donald R. Schramm • others CAVE 811 William McGraw

21. Use as model for other de courses • MEPP awards • Student satisfaction • Experienced faculty • Convenient Internet-based delivery • Courses with immediate application to work • Designed for practicing engineers • Advantages of this online master’s degree • Seems program is successful-$, enrollments.. CAVE 811 William McGraw

22. Use as a model?*** • High costs..1/2 million for 60-90 students • Campus support and flexibility..which campuses have? • Only 30 students per course, limit class size, residency • Heavy volume of postings (2,000) • LOTS of work to create, maintain and revise • At present nothing similar to it • $500,000 per year PLUS campus support (DoIT, Library. Graduate School, etc) • Assumes willingness and ability campus to support program. • Assumes able to scale-up program..cost effective • Assumes faculty development and resources CAVE 811 William McGraw

23. Other Master’s programs? • Drexel • Other programs • Google search CAVE 811 William McGraw

24. Questions, again • Principle to examine…program costs (positive net difference, transaction cycle) seems ok • Situation…MEPP is labor and technology intensive can other schools duplicate? • Symptoms…half-million $ for 60-90 students, but program seems ok. • Characters…support and faculty ok • Questions…does a quality program need to be so expensive and technology intensive? yes CAVE 811 William McGraw

25. Campus resources issues*** • Admissions • Bursar • Grades • Software training & support • Network training & support • Library • Health insurance • Overseas telephone systems support CAVE 811 William McGraw

26. Conclusions • Excellent quality, but can other de providers afford the costs? • Good example of leadership and coordination process…an idea that grew into a quality program • Scale, costs, support, external relations and resources issues • Can be used as a model CAVE 811 William McGraw

27. The end… CAVE 811 William McGraw

28. Selected example of 811 topics • Planning…Tom Smith, Philip O’Leary and Wayne P. Pferdehirt • Roles…individual team + committee • Culture • Resources…UW Engineering + UW campus (library, DoIT, Bursar) • Development • Priorities…based on pilot program, feedback from students CAVE 811 William McGraw

29. Karen • Karen Al-Ashkar, MA, ABD, is the counselor for the MEPP program. One of her roles is to listen to student concerns and issues and seek resolution when concerns conflict with academic performance. She chairs the MEPP Admissions Committee and is the point-of-contact person for applicants and students.Karen has been counseling adult students since 1991 and working with students at a distance since 1994. She has a BA in clinical chemistry and an MA in counseling. She is completing a PhD in distance education. CAVE 811 William McGraw

30. Donald Schramm • Donald R. Schramm, MS, RA, • is a faculty associate with the Department of Engineering Professional Development at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has responsibilities for courses in building energy systems, creativity, disaster management, workplace design and distance learning. A registered architect in Wisconsin, he holds an architectural degree from the University of Illinois–Urbana and an MS from Wisconsin–Madison. He has been in private practice and taught for a year as a Fulbright professor at universities in Bogotá and Calí, Colombia. He has worked in professional education for two decades throughout the United States and has lived and worked in 40 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe. He directs the University of Wisconsin–Disaster Management Center (UW–DMC), a provider of international distance learning programs since 1985. CAVE 811 William McGraw

31. techno • A modern Web-based platform allows you to download course information, post your assignments and discuss course topics with other students and instructors. Presentations on CD-ROM, study guides, textbooks and other resources will supplement Web-based information and activities. You will also participate in live teleconferences. CAVE 811 William McGraw

32. residency • The only times you will need to visit the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus are during the week-long summer residencies. One week each August you will meet on campus with your instructors and fellow students to prepare for upcoming courses. CAVE 811 William McGraw

33. Wayne • mepp program director • Wayne P. Pferdehirt, PE, AICP, is the director of the MEPP program. Wayne oversees the development and delivery of MEPP courses and ensures that the program meets the needs of current and prospective students. Wayne also serves as director of Distance Degree Programs for the College of Engineering, working with college departments to develop, deliver and improve Web-based graduate degree programs. He has a BS in engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and an MS in civil engineering with an emphasis in regional planning from Northwestern University. CAVE 811 William McGraw

34. Tom Smith • Thomas W. Smith, MS, • is director of telecommunications programming in the Department of Engineering Professional Development. He currently directs a series of short courses in telecommunications and distance education. He has been instrumental in the development of the University's audiographic teleconferencing and satellite communications capabilities. He received his BS degree from Dartmouth College and MS degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. CAVE 811 William McGraw

35. O’Leary • Philip R. O'Leary, PhD, PE, • is chair of the Department of Engineering Professional Development, University of Wisconsin–Madison. In addition he conducts professional development seminars in the areas of solid waste management, hazardous waste control, groundwater quality protection, and related environmental topics. • Dr. O'Leary earned BS and MS degrees in agricultural engineering and a PhD in land resources with a specialization in energy and environmental issues, all from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. CAVE 811 William McGraw