Assessing the Need.

Rogers State College, Tulsa (Oklahoma), has devoted considerable energy and funds to the development of alternative delivery systems for academic courses. These include telecourses, independent study designs, computer-delivered courses, and multimedia instruction, for both entire courses and course modules. The college has a coordinator of distance education who assists in planning and administration of distance courses. Access to students and financial reasons have been clear motivators for the college. Rogers State College has its own television station, which has spurred the movement to television delivery. Experiences so far have indicated that one of the most serious problems with distance education is the student's high level of uncertainty regarding teacher expectations and student responsibility. The college is addressing this through careful planning and the use of an initial face-to-face orientation for each course. Developing courses that are relevant to students and allow for high levels of interaction is proving challenging but necessary. (SLD) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, NOVEMBER 193