Reorganization focuses educational services

This reorganization, formally approved by the MUSC Board of Trustees at their regularly scheduled board meeting in August, is the result of an objective, outside review process followed by recommendations from a blue-ribbon panel representing each of MUSCâs six colleges.

ãThey found that over time the department had been asked to take on a number of wide-ranging responsibilities without a substantial increase in resources. This made it difficult for the department to prioritize its various functions and serve all of the needs of their constituents,ä said vice president for academic affairs and provost Dr. Ray Greenberg. ãBy reassigning these responsibilities, they can be driven by the educational programs they service.ä

Under the new organization, the Clinical Evaluation Center and Parallel Curriculum fall under the supervision of the vice president for medical affairs and dean of the College of Medicine; Media Services, which includes the Health Communications Network, television services, photography and graphic arts will report to the vice president for finance and administration; and the vice president for academic affairs will oversee Evaluation Services and the Educational Technology Laboratory.

No personnel were displaced as a result of the reorganization, Greenberg said. ãThis will ensure that all of our educational programs on campus will have equal access to key educational support services,ä Greenberg said. ãAlso, some services, such as computerized evaluation of courses, should be available to all instructors without cost, so we are moving to eliminate the financial barriers that limited utilization over the past few years.ä

Internet technology use available in courses

MUSCâs new Educational Technology Laboratory is developing ways to use emerging Internet technology to teach more effectively and expose students to a world of information that would have been unavailable to them only a few years ago.

ãWeâve developed sites to offer portions of courses delivered over the Internet,ä said laboratory director Mary Mauldin. Mauldin, with programmer Robbin Cullum and graphic artist Kathy Downey, work with faculty members to design instruction packages that incorporate course curriculum with the information resources and interactivity of Internet technology.

Take a look at the Educational Technology Laboratoryâs Web page at <http://edtest.musc.edu/modelproject/menu/menu.html>.

Itâs an Internet Course Delivery model set up to demonstrate the full range of offerings available on the instructional website. A class augmented with an instructional website can offer online a syllabus, post assignments, give access to the library, and provide a variety of communication links, including list serves, chat lines, videoconferencing, and e-mail. It facilitates discussion with its two-way communication capabilities and even offers opportunities to discuss issues, and view instructional video and images.