Research Summaries

Back Developing Cost Effective DL Strategies for Naval Officers

Fiscal Year 2014
Division Research & Sponsored Programs
Department Naval Research Program
Investigator(s) Gates, William R.
Sponsor NPS Naval Research Program (Navy)
Summary The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy (GSBPP) have a long history of providing distributed learning (DL) degrees and certificates. In particular, GSBPP, then organized as the Systems Management Department, introduced its first DL degree programs in 1999 (the Master of Science in Program Management (MSPM) and the Master of Science in Contract Management (MSCM)). The DL Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA) was first piloted in 2002. NPS and GSBPP have also introduced various forms of hybrid programs, involving DL and face-to-face delivery.
The EMBA is delivered by Video Teleconferencing (VTC) technology; MSPM and MSCM are delivered using Elluminate, a web-based conferencing technology. These technologies, and NPS' DL programs, were clearly state-of-the art when they were first introduced. Other universities sought our advice in developing their own web-based programs. Since NPS has entered the DL world, there have been significant developments in DL methodologies throughout civilian educational institutions. Other universities are moving beyond VTC and web-based conferencing to asynchronous delivery and massive open online courses (MOOCs). To date, NPS has not widely embraced many of these new DL pedagogies. There is growing interest in expanding distributed learning (DL) opportunities for Naval officers unable to attend NPS, and possibly providing tailored education to DoN civilians. While NPS was a leader in DL education, being early adopters of Video Teleconferencing, Elluminate, hybrid programs, and other DL methodologies, it is appropriate to question if NPS and GSBPP can exploit currently evolving technologies in efficient and cost effective applications.
This research will examine the current DL programs within NPS and across other civilian institutions, explore the costs and benefits of alternative methodologies, and propose new DL methodologies for future NPS students, as appropriate.
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Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal