LETTER(Sanitized)FROM R. B. BECKMANN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP93-00791R000200080008-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2003
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: August 1, 1974
• Content Type: LETTER

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 COLLEGE PARK. MARYLAND 20742 0 [phone]
?t
t
August 1, 1974
y
STAT
..The purpose of this letter is to'bring you up to date
on the Maryland - ITV plans and prospects, and to outline the future
course of events as well as can be anticipated at this time. Early
this past Spring we had anticipated that we would have reached the
firm decision stage by this time, but an unfortunate, and unpredict-
able, series of events has caused a delay.
At the present tine we have.firm commitments from nine
organizations (.government and private .industry) with an additional
? five that have indicated (orally) a very strong positive intent. As
a consequence of the "firm" commitments assuring us approximately
(2/3) of the funding, income necessary, we prepared a proposal to the
Chan.cEllor of the College Park Campus recommending that we proceed
with the installation utilizing internal University resources and
amortizing the capital requirements over a five to seven year period.
The Chancellor endorsed the proposal, added more specific details on
funding resources and procedures, and the intent was to seek the
approval of the University President and Board of Regents in April.
If this had materialized, we estimated that we would be in operation
for the Spring Semester of 1975.
urtice ot raining
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Central Intelligence Agen
Washington, D. C. 20505
Unfortunately, due to a variety of circumstances the
Chancellor was not able to place the proposal before the. Board of
Regents before their summer recess period and the earliest possible
consideration by the Board would not appear to be September. Many
of you have probably read, also, where Chancellor Bishop has resigned
to become President of the University of Arkansas System and this
adds an additional unknown complicating factor. We will shortly have
an Acting Chancellor while the search proceeds for the new Chancellor.
Just what effect this will have on our planning is unknown although
I am sure it will undoubtedly cause some additional delays as the new
Chancellor will want to thoroughly revi.ew the situation.
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We still hope to place our proposal before the Board
of Regents at the earliest opportunity once the Fall Semester begins.
If the Board's decision is negative, this will. obviously terminate
the project. If the Board's decision is positive, one of our first
actions will be to seek a representative from each of the sponsoring,
government/industry organizations to serve on an advisory board to
assist and advise us with the necessary details and planning to get
the sytem operational. I would anticipate this group to meet at
monthly intervals. With approval at this late date, the system
would not be operational until the summer (late) of 1975, in time
for that Fall Semester.
Again, it is unfortunate that the sequence of events of
this Spring and Summer caused this further delay in reaching a
definitive decision. With the College of Business and. Management
now a partner in sponsoring the ITV Network and the participation
of the physical sciences such as mathematics, physics, and computer
science we are certain the Network will be a major asset for educa-
tional and employment opportunities in the area.
As further developments progress I will keep you informed,
land thank you for your patience.
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A PROPOSAL FOR
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION NETWORK
Prepared by
The College of Engineering
College Park, Maryland 20742
February 1972
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Limitations of Existing Educational Programs
for Employees
The Instructional Television Network and Its Uses
Video Taping
Comprehensive Educational Programming
Administration of the Off-Campus Television Class
Scope of Educational Programming Available to
Participating Organizations
Effectiveness of Television Teaching
Description of Proposed Television System
-Charges for Television Courses
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LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1 - Student Categories 7
Figure 2 Coverage Area Map 10
Figure 3 - Rear View: Typical ITV .University Classroom 11
Figure 4 - Front View: Typical ITV University Classroom 12
Figure 5 - Estimated cost of ITV Equipment and Services
Required by Participating Organizations 14
Figure 6 - Typical Off-Campus ITV Classroom 15
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 INTRODUCTION
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? The University of Maryland's College of Engineering plans to bring
to the Baltimore-Washington, D. C. metropolitan area an entirely new advance
in continuing education. This new concept will involve a TV Network linking
the classroom and the part-time student's place of employment. This concept
will enable organizations to plan and carry out a "continuous continuing
education program" for their employees. The planned program will make it
easier and more convenient for employees to participate where they work. It
impacts on a broad cross-section of types and levels of employees and it can
be carried out at a cost comparable to an organization's present education
budget. All of these attributes are inherent in the Maryland plan.
The University of Maryland Instructional Television Network is the
"Educational Delivery System" which makes it possible for employees to partic-
ipate in educational courses where they work. Live TV broadcasts (supplemented
by video tapes) of courses originating from classrooms on the Maryland campus
will be transmitted throughout the Baltimore-Washington D. C. metropolitan area
to participating organizations. Students at those organizations will participate
in the regular course offerings from the regular faculty without leaving their
place of employment, and "talk-back" to the instructor by means of FM radio or
telephone lines during the regular class.
This concept is not new or experimental. It is proven. Similar
systems have been in successful operation in Florida, Texas, Michigan, New York,
California and Minnesota for several years.
The Maryland ITV-Networkwill.program a broad.cross-section of
90urses directly responsive to industry's needs. These programs include courses.
for credit leading to the Master of Science degree as well as some of the courses
leading to the Ph.D. degrees. In these same courses employees---perhaps for
"refresher" purposes---can participate "not-for-credit" but with testing and
grading or alternatively, as auditors with no testing or grading. Maryland will
utilize the Network for graduate courses (plus undergraduate) in engineering and
some related sciences. However, special non-credit courses will also be offered
in subjects which could impact on employees at all levels and in most disciplines.
These courses may be chosen by the users to be directly responsive to their needs.
They will be administered by DELTA, a non-profit educational corporation to be
formed by the users of the Maryland ITV Network. DELTA is discussed in more
detail in a later section of this proposal.
Cost is an overriding consideration. Even the most enlightened
organizations, which believe strongly in continuing education to upgrade and
update their employees, are limited in what they can do by cost considerations.
In general, costs have been tied to individual student participation; i.e., the
more students involved, the greater the cost. In the Maryland plan unlimited
student participation at a fixed cost is a vital ingredient. This fixed cost
is sufficiently small that it is within the present budget allocations for
education of most large organizations or, in some cases, may require a budget
comparable to the existing budget.
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For the first time, organizations can evolve a "continuous continuing
education" program where employees are "expected" to participate, not merely en-
couraged or even discouraged from doing so. With the attributes built into the
Maryland plan, continuing education becomes a management and scheduling problem
with a programmed cost rather than a variant and unknown increasing financial
burden. Further, long range programs directly aimed at organizational needs-
can be planned and implemented. By.offering this program, the University is
demonstrating its desire for increased involvement and service to the community.
LIMITATION OF EXISTING EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR EMPLOYEES
Although existing educational programs in the Baltimore-Washington,
D.C. metropolitan area have contributed greatly to the education of government
and industry personnel, they have fallen short of the impact required. One of
the inhibiting factors has been the problem of commuting. Many employees work
or reside so far from the campus that they are discouraged from undertaking a
program of advanced professional development by.this method. Present programs
require students to travel to the campus with a loss of valuable time---both
personal and company.
Although some attempt has been made by the University to alleviate
the commuting problem by offering courses at remote sites, it is clear that ex-
isting faculty resources could never provide the. required diversity of courses
nor make the best teaching abilities simultaneously available to all interested
students.
The student who must take his courses on campus in the evenings is at
a particular disadvantage. Besides the burden of commuting, h--must devote one.
or more evenings to class attendance and several more for preparation and study.
Moreover, after a full day's work and the fatigue of travel,..the benefit he de-
rives is often below his normal capabilities. Only the most..dedicated student
can maintain such a regimen over a long period of time. After'years of con-
fronting these obstacles, the student often abandons his educational goals, or
at best, carries on a protracted and discontinuous program from which he derives
marginal benefit. Clearly, government and industry could benefit greatly if some
way could be found to overcome this situation.
Another serious problem facing the part-time student employed in a
governmental or industrial position is the priority demand often placed on his
time by his organization for travel, meetings and emergency schedules which
causes him to miss classes, sometimes several in succession. These absences
are impossible to fully make up and the corresponding disruption of the stu-
dent's program often discourages him from long-term educational efforts.
Finally, there is a large potential body of government and industry
employees who do not participate at all in postgraduate educational efforts, but
who need to upgrade, update and broaden their technical knowledge and proficiency.
These problems are all resolved by the Maryland approach. It includes
diversified educational offerings, both degree and non-degree oriented, at the
graduate and undergraduate level, presented to the government/industry employee
as an extension of his normal work routine, the convenience of taking courses
where employed and the fixed cost which overcomes budgetary constraints which
have previously inhibited upgrading of many employees.
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THE INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION NETWORK AND ITS USES
The University proposes, with the support of the industrial and
governmental community, to establish a network through which each participat-
ing organization can receive up to four simulaneous channels of diversified
educational programming, eventually from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the evening.
A. Academic Programming
The academic programming would be planned and coordinated by the
University of Maryland ITV Network offices within the College of Engineering.
The system will enable the government/industry student to avail him-
self of the regular course offerings (primarily at the graduate level) from the
regular faculty without leaving his place of employment. A "talk-back" system
will be provided which will enable the off-campus. student to participate `In the
campus class in the same manner as an on-campus classroom student.
Government/industry students can therefore participate in the in-
structional television program without suffering lost hours and wasted energies
in commuting and with minimal disruption of their work and their home routines.
It is planned that receiving installations will include video taping
capability with which a temporary library of lectures (erased at the end of each
semester) can be maintained for replaying to employees who miss class during the
term. This minimizes the effect of absences due to priority demands of the stu-
dent's work responsibilities.
B. Non-academic Programming
A new non-profit educational organization, called DELTA, will be
formed to administer and manage the non-academic programming activities spon-
sored by those organizations participating in the University of Maryland ITV
network. DELTA would be formed by and represent all government/industry or-
ganizations participating in this plan. DELTA is an added incentive for gov-
ernment/industry participation as it allows these sponsors to use the network
to provide specialized programs for all their employees, at nominal cost. DELTA
would use the network facilities curing the non-academic hours and give courses
directly responsive to the general. and educational needs of its constituents.
The DELTA network would offer an unprecedented opportunity, outside
of normal working hours, to make available courses which the participating or-
ganizations would like to use for their employees' professional development
other than those obtained through formal degree oriented courses. These cour-
ses may be regular University of Maryland Continuing Education courses, or
courses or seminars especially arranged for the participating 'organizations.
In addition to its non-academic programming activities, DELTA would
also act as the registration/fiscal agent for those students participating under
the non-Regular option or Auditor classifications as described in later sections
of this proposal and appropriate coordination. with the Maryland ITV network ad-
ministration. The management and operational details of DELTA will be finalized
after the basic subscription plan for participation in the program, in general,
? is complete and the installation of the Maryland network is assured.
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VIDEO TAPING
Video taping capability, and use, is an important feature of the
? Maryland Instructional ITV Network system. Video taping will serve two major
functions in the ITV system concept. It will:
a. Enable both on-campus and off-campus students to use video
tapes of the lectures for make-up and review.
b. Enable use of video tapes for students outside of the live
television area so that these students might take courses
originating at the University on the same credit basis avail-
able to those students within the live TV reception area.
Video taping will be allowed at the receiving locations for make-up
and review. This capability negates a major disadvantage of existing continu-
ing education programs. Companies must agree to erase these tapes at the end
of each term. The benefits of make-up and review tapes will also be extended
to on-campus students.
Video tapes of the live classroom TV presentations will be made avail-
able, on a delayed basis, to students of participating organizations located in
areas not reached by the live TV system. Such students will be required to meet
all entrance requirements, standards and regulations established for students in
the live TV area. Regular students taking courses for academic credit will be
encouraged to "talk-back" to the instructor once per week during prescribed of-
fice hours; this requirement may be modified by an individual. faculty member to
? suit particular-course needs. Special registration,.counseling, and advising
procedures will be provided for these students in the "video-tape only'r reception
areas; included is the possibility of periodic (once-a-semester) visits to the
College Park campus for consultation and performance review purposes.
COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
The Instructional Television Network will offer government and industry
in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.educational programming designed
to meet a broad cross section of employee needs and interests. The Network will
transmit not only regular degree courses for both credit and non-credit purposes,
but will also transmit material tailored to meet the specialized training needs of
participant organizations. The regular academic courses will be offered primarily
during the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. daily; the non-academic courses will be
offered by DELTA primarily during the hours of 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.; Noon - 1:00
p.m.; and after 6:00 p.m.
?
The College Park campus of the University of Maryland offers graduate
engineering education leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in such engineering fields
as Aerospace Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil
Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Materials, Mechanical Engineering,
and Nuclear Engineering. In addition, within the above fields or through appropriate
interdisciplinary planning, students may concentrate or diversify their studies to
such areas as bioengineering, applied polymer sciences, environmental and water
resources engineering, transportation and urban systems engineering, biomedical
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engineering, computer systems and a variety of other educational speciali-
zations with an engineering foundation. In general, any regular classroom
course, whether graduate or advanced undergraduate, offered as a part of these
? programs should be available for television transmission, assuming that it is
being offered on-campus and assuming there is sufficient interest on the part
of the off-campus, government/industry, participating students. In addition,
the instructor must be willing to teach the course on television and the
University must be able to schedule it. Every effort will also be made to
augment the programming of engineering courses with appropriate related
courses from the sciences and business-management areas as interest warrants.
The non-academic program to be developed by DELTA will consist of
a wide variety of courses that could provide for the personal development of
all segments of participating organizations' personnel. Typical offerings
might include: computer programming, review of differential equations,. basic
electronics, secretarial skills, review of business law, labor relations,
supervisory training, accounting, rapid reading, and financial management.
In short, any course government/industry believes it needs for its own pur-
poses.may be programmed. When available, regular University courses will
support this program.
The policies and registration procedures for students taking .
courses by television are described below. The various student categories
are listed in Figure 1.
1. Regular Student: the regular student is the fully-qualified
part-time degree-seeking or non-degree student who is admitted to the University
in accordance with the existing requirements and standards. The regular student
? may-complette a major part of his course requirements for the Masters degree via
televised course offerings. The regular student may take any of his courses
either by television or on campus. Fully-employed regular graduate students
may not take more than two courses per semester without special permission
from the appropriate academic department and the Graduate School.
2. Non-Registered Option Students (NRO): this category is reserved
for students who may take regular academic courses only by television (not-on-
campus) for no academic credit. The non-registered option (NRO) student may,
for example, be someone who seeks to demonstrate his academic abilities and
qualify later for admission as a regular graduate student. He may also be
someone who wishes to develop his knowledge and capability in selected tech-
nical subjects, but who does not wish to participate in a recognized degree
program. Or, he may be someone who already has a degree but is in need of
updating to keep abreast of rapid changes in his field. In all these cases,
the student may wish to be tested and graded in order to ensure his full
participation or because he requires a record of performance and successful
completion for his own or his organization's records. Enrollment and record
keeping for non-registered option students will be handled by DELTA, which
will issue certificates of completion and grades if appropriate.
Permission for participation in the NRO category must be obtained
from the appropriate academic department. Although the NRO student will be
tested, graded and provided class materials, he will normally-not engage in
classroom discussion nor avail himself of professors' office hours without
?
prior approval and arrangement. His grades will not be allowed to affect the
grade distribution of regular students. After the grade distribution is estab-
lished for regular student performance, NRO students will be graded relative
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to that distribution. NRO students who perform well in competition with
? regular students may subsequently petition the appropriate academic depart-
ment and the Graduate School for award of credit for courses taken, to be
applied'to a regular degree program, provided they are accepted, by the
Graduate School, as a fully matriculated student.
3. Auditor: auditors may not be tested nor graded but will
receive class materials. The auditor will not be permitted to ask questions
during class nor take advantage of professors' office hours. Students who
wish to audit courses may take them only via television (unless they wish to
attend campus classes under regular University rules and charges pertaining
to on-campus auditors).
4. Seminar Attendees: any employee of an organization partici-
pating in the Instructional Television Network may attend televised seminars
or other special event lectures at no cost, except that if the seminar is
taken for University credit, costs will be assessed as though it was a regular
course. Prior notification or registration is not required. All seminar
attendees can participate in active discussion. Attendance at seminars on
campus is, of course, permitted subject to normal campus rules. Seminars
will generally be scheduled for the late afternoon.
5. Students Taking Continuing Education (DELTA) Courses: another
category of student is the employee who registers for special courses offered
through DELTA. These courses may be taught by experts from industry/government
or by faculty members of various teaching institutions. DELTA will issue cer-
tificates of completion for courses taken. In.many instances, these courses
will replace current efforts to provide after-hours instruction for employees.
These courses are typically the "short courses" given by many institutions
throughout the country. They are frequently three to ten day intensive effort
courses in specialized fields. The DELTA system provides a means of offering
such courses over a more extended period and at a lower net cost.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE OFF-CAMPUS TELEVISION CLASS
An ITV Director will be designated by the University. In order to
simplify registration procedures and other details of the program, he will
work with government and industry representatives in setting up operational
plans. All students who take degree courses by television will be registered
in the appropriate department of their major and the Graduade School in the
usual manner. Degree seeking students will be advised and administered by the
faculty in the same manner as the full-time, on-campus students. Because of
this personal contact with the faculty and the campus will be maintained.
No specific limitation on total class size (i.e., the on-campus
class plus its television extension) is presently contemplated except that
actively participating students in a class will be restricted to a manageable
number with respect to the effectiveness of the two-way communication feature
of the Network.
Participating organizations will be permitted to video-tape lectures
as outlined in the section on Video Tape Recording.
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