Obtaining a clinical laboratory science degree via distance technology

Clinical Laboratory Science, Fall 2003 by Campbell, Suzanne

Student support should include an institutional commitment for continuation of the program to enable all students to complete the degree in the recommended timeframe. The institution should also provide students with advising, an on-line application process, placement testing, on-line enrollment, and access to financial aid, bookstore services, and library resources. The students will also require ongoing technical support 24-hours per day.8 SCCC currently is able to provide students with Web-based enrollment, bookstore services, and library resources. The contract with a designated Web-authoring platform will include 24-hour technical service for the student.

The assessment of student learning and evaluation of program effectiveness will be conducted through methods such as achievement of course competencies, written examinations, student attitude assessment to determine affective behavior, evaluation of student skills utilizing the CLT/MLT occupational profile and career development skills profile, and graduate performance on an external national certification exam.9 Course evaluations completed by the student will also be considered in the evaluation of program effectiveness. The CLT/MLT program will continue to participate in an external accreditation process with the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) by submitting a self study document and hosting a site visit.

CURRENT DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS

This researcher has identified eight CLS programs that offer Web-enhanced options. These programs are listed in Table 1. Of these eight programs, St Petersburg College (SPC) and Weber State University (WSU) have just completed the first year of the on-line option at the CLT/MLT level, with George Washington University Medical Center (GWUMC) offering the on-line option at the CLT/MLT level beginning fall 2002. The other programs have conducted a distance technology delivery method for over one year.

In order to identify these programs, the researcher posted a request for information via a clinical laboratory educators list serve. The program officials who responded to the request were then contacted via email and telephone. They were asked to complete a survey tool designed to collect data targeted at program format, on-line admission requirements, credit hour requirements, program costs, student costs, faculty workload recording, and student performance comparing on-campus versus Web-enhanced delivery. Of the eight programs identified, seven program officials responded to the survey for an 87.5% participation rate. These Web-enhanced programs offer degrees at the CLT/MLT associate degree level, the CLS/MT bachelor degree level, and the CLS/ MT master degree level.

SURVEYANALYSIS

The Web-enhanced programs utilize Web-based instruction as their primary means of delivery of the cognitive skills. Additional means of instruction include course material on compact disc (CD), video conferencing, conference calls, on-campus student laboratory sessions, asynchronous discussions, and chat rooms. The lecture portion of each course usually contains lecture notes in a PowerPoint format, unit outlines, and unit objectives. The Web-authoring platforms that are utilized include eCollege, WebCT, Blackboard, Prometheus, and WSU's eCampus. Student examinations are administered by paper/pencil either on-campus or off-campus in a proctored setting or via computer assisted testing.