The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and the University of Hawai‘i Center at Maui Community College are collaborating to bring a Bachelor of Arts in Hawaiian Studies degree to Maui. To complete this degree program, a student must earn a minimum of 120 credit hours. Maui Community College will offer 75 of these credits and up to 45 credits will be offered by UH Hilo. The BA in Hawaiian Studies program from UH Hilo will include courses given through various means: on site, via the Hawai‘i Interactive Television System (HITS), supplemented by the Internet and e-mail. It is anticipated that the courses will be held during late afternoon and evening hours, on a part-time basis.
Students entering this program must pass a language proficiency test prior to enrolling in the third year Hawaiian language course. Students who are deficient may require taking a bridge course in the summer prior to enrolling. UH Hilo also proposes to offer this degree with a cohort model. The first cohort will be limited exclusively to Maui and will run from Fall 2000 through Spring 2003. We anticipate that more than 20 students will enroll. The second cohort will start in Fall 2002 and run through Spring 2005 and the program will extend to Maui, Kaua‘i, and west Hawai‘i.
To support the distance-delivered BA degree in Hawaiian Studies, the College of Hawaiian Language must upgrade its Internet server and produce new web-based curriculum materials. At this time, the College operates the only World Wide Web in Hawaiian supporting students statewide. With the new initiative in distance learning, new web-based curriculum materials need to be developed and made available on the web for off-site students. Students will be trained in the usage of computers, asynchronous Internet access and access to chat rooms, e-mail, etc. These forums will be provided in the Hawaiian language.
The ultimate goal of distance learning is to make the program delivery in asynchronous mode. It will allow students to "learn anywhere and anytime." This will not only support in-state students who can't come to class at a specific time and place, it will also allow native Hawaiian students who reside on the mainland to have the opportunity to earn a certificate or a degree. We propose to provide training to the faculty, assistance in converting class materials to a totally asynchronous environment, and delivery of three courses asynchronously on the Internet by Fall 2005.
From our experience, faculty members require time to design their course work for distance learning. Some of the activities require careful lesson planning, developing interactive exercises, and most importantly, learning the technology of delivery. Subsequently, each of the 45 credits delivered in the cohort will be equivalent to 45 credit hours of release time granted for developing the program coursework. The grant will fully subsidize the 45 credit hours of delivery time.
It is also our experience that off-site students need some personal contact with faculty members delivering lessons from a distant location. We intend to provide site visits between these students and their distance learning instructors twice during the semester in order to facilitate interpersonal contact and counseling.
The training for asynchronously delivered courses will be more intense as most faculty members have minimal or no experience in this paradigm. We propose that faculty who will deliver instruction in this medium be allowed to receive the necessary training off-campus. Additionally, a full time Education/Computer Specialist must be hired to assist faculty in designing and developing theses specific instructional materials and for resolving any technical problems during the delivery of such.
At the end of the five year grant period, it is anticipated that a vast majority of the developmental work will be accomplished and that all distance learning courses will be delivered and subsidized by other institutional resources. Revenue generated from tuition for enrollment into these specific courses in addition to general funds allocated by the System for distance learning will be used to cover the ongoing cost of this activity.