Distance Education Financial Expenditures in North Carolina Community Colleges
The purpose of this study was to identify and assess direct costs of distance education at the institutional level within the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) in accordance with the System-level mission of reducing barriers to higher education within North Carolina. Through a quantitative analysis of distance education expenditures, this study provides insight into the cost of each of these expenditures to individual institutions and to the NCCCS as a whole. Data provided in this study were used to develop a model through which community college administrators may assess the cost of distance education at their respective institutions in a clear and consistent fashion. Data were collected through a survey of the population, which included chief financial officers and directors of distance education at the fifty-eight community colleges in North Carolina. The survey instrument consisted of electronic, paper, and phone surveys which collected data on thirty-seven research questions and elicited data on personnel, equipment, and support services costs. Responses were received from forty-four institutions. Results of the study indicated that medium-sized institutions spent more on distance education per full-time equivalent student than their small or large-sized counterparts. Additionally, urban institutions had higher expenditures on distance education than rural institutions. Finally, distance education programs typically costs $878.44 more per full-time equivalent student than was generated.
Faculty and administrative strategies for the effective implementation of distance education
Over the past several decades, professionals in the field of instructional technology have witnessed a progression of varying “technologies” that can be utilized for the presentation of educational materials to students in a variety of environments. These technologies have included 16mm films, educational filmstrips, 35mm slides, instructional videotapes, computers, and computer-based instruction, to name a few. While the specific hardware and software varied significantly over time, these systems generally focused on the delivery of educational materials to students within traditional institutions learning through group-based or individualized instruction. 
 
 
 
Within the past several years, however, there has been a re-birth of one type of education—distance education—specifically designed for students who choose to learn at some distance from a formal institution. While there are a variety of options available within this educational format, it typically allows students to study at their own pace, at their own chosen time, and using materials that are specifically designed for learning at a distance from formal teachers, instructors, and classrooms. This type of learning was originally provided primarily through correspondence study (with the written materials sent back and forth between instructor and students), while current materials are generally now provided via computer, video, or the World Wide Web. 
 
 
 
The purpose of the present article is to describe relevant issues in this field as well as various related strategies which may be utilized by faculty and academic administrators to support the appropriate use of this educational format. The discussion of these strategies is particularly relevant at this time given the increasing availability of many new technologies, the mounting pressure on educational institutions to be cost effective in their delivery of instruction, and the growing interest in providing quality education to students who are not easily able to travel to a traditional campus or school location.
Emotional and social intelligence assessment model for student character reinforcement
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to help teachers resolve the difficulties in assessing the students' characters through the development of valid, reliable, goodness-of-fit statistic instrument of emotional and social intelligence assessment for elementary school students.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a research and development model from Plomp with five phases, such as investigation, design, realization, testing and implementation. The research subjects were 345 students of class IV amongst 20 elementary schools in Yogyakarta. Data collection used questionnaires, documentation, interviews, Forum Group Discussion and an observation. Data analysis used descriptive analysis, Aiken's V, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis formulae.FindingsThe research study helps solve the difficulties of teachers in assessing emotional and social intelligence, which have previously been in only one area of psychomotor. The design of emotional and social intelligence assessment instruments is made from three domains of character, namely, cognitive, affective and psychomotor. The form of the instrument is non-test in three variations. The construct of social and emotional intelligence assessment for a character reinforcement has met the validity, reliability and goodness-of-fit statistic.Research limitations/implicationsThis study explains that the Emotional and Social Intelligence (ESI) model is applied for measuring cognitive, affective and psychomotor in children. This study proves that the ESI model is a comprehensive assessment model for evaluating the children's soft skills, includes (1) personal abilities: the ability to make rational decisions, the ability to design the future and (2) social skills: the ability to work together and the ability to understand other people.Practical implicationsTeachers can measure and determine the condition of children's soft skills by operating the ESI model. Based on the knowledge of the correct soft skill conditions, the teacher can adjust the teaching materials and teaching methods that would improve the child's soft skills regarding to their respective conditions. Mastering these soft skills will affect the children's capability in facing the challenge in the upcoming society's life.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study is the design model of the emotional and social intelligence assessment instrument developed comprehensively and practically as it is created from three domains of character and three forms of non-test questions, so that the assessment is not mechanical, and easily practiced by users.