how to compare the learning experiences of remote and campus-based students
- what are the criteria by which to judge effective modes of educational delivery (video, audio, text, etc)
- how do students acquire new types of study skills (browsing, online information searching, etc)
- how to judge the effectiveness of technology-enabled interaction.
16. The project will review and identify good practice within UK HE and more widely, provide a national information and advice service, and disseminate the outcomes to UK HEIs. A maximum of £80,000 per annum for 2 years is available for this project in the first instance.
Costs of Networked Learning
17. Many of the costs of developing and supporting networked learning are hidden: unrecorded academic staff time, increased demands on technical support, more complex administration, additional telephone costs, etc. CALT wishes to fund a study that will more accurately document the costs of a number of different approaches to networked learning. CALT wishes to see the study lead to a planning checklist for networked learning and a schema for estimating costs. A maximum of £30,000 is available for this study over a six month period.
Communication Skills
18. C&IT, when used to enable communication between staff and students at a distance, requires both educator and student to learn new communication skills. CALT would like to fund a study to explore the characteristics of each communication medium and define the communication skills required. The study should encompass videoconferencing in its various permutations (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many and desktop), text-based communication (email, bulletin boards, etc) and voice-based communication (audioconferencing, etc). A maximum of £50,000 is available for this study over a one year period.
Supporting Studies/Guidelines
19. CALT has identified two further activities which it would like to fund in the coming academic year. A maximum of £30,000 is available for each study over a six month period.
International Audit of Best Practice
20. CALT is keen to fund a study which identifies specific institutions worldwide that have been at the forefront in pilot projects relating to change management and change agent initiatives. The study should provide a comprehensive review of such projects, focussing on the costs, benefits and income streams for the institutions brought about by these initiatives.
Real Costs of Implementing C&IT Systems
21. CALT is keen to fund a study to reveal the real costs of procurement and implementation of C&IT systems in HEIs. The study should have particular regard to including non-technical related costs such as human effort and resource, retraining, rewriting of materials etc.
Format of Proposals
22. Proposals should include, but need not necessarily be restricted to, the points below.
a) An elaboration of the problem selected from the list, indicating the theoretical perspectives which the applicants propose to adopt in reviewing and investigating the problem. Comments on and expansion of the topics detailed are welcome, but at this stage there is no scope for the inclusion of new topics. This section of the application should clearly detail the objectives of the study.
b) A statement of the methodologies by which the objectives of the project or study will be realised.
c) A schedule of milestones and deadlines of the intended outputs and deliverables. This should give an indication of how it is anticipated that the deliverables will be of utility to the Funding Councils and JISC (in their role as policy makers), and to the broader HE sector. This schedule should include provision for a final report.
d) Project management details.
e) A dissemination strategy. Effective dissmeination is considered to be one of the key deliverables.
f) An exit strategy (if appropriate).
g) Where appropriate, how the project fits the bidding institution's strategy and its commitment to the project. A covering letter of support is required from a senior representative of the HEI.
h) An indication of the skills and expertise of the applicant(s), clearly indicating the particular qualities and relevant experience which they will bring to the project.
i) A summary of anticipated costs, including a rough indication of the breakdown of this cost and the contribution from the host institution(s). JISC will not normally make any contribution towards broader institutional overheads.
Selection Criteria
23. The selection process will take place in November 1998. The selection criteria will include:
- applicants' evidence of understanding of the problem;
- the appropriateness of the methodology and evaluation techniques selected;
- the experience of the proposers and any linked consortium;
- the feasibility and detail of the workplan and timetable;
- project management;
- value for money;
- the likely effectiveness of the dissemination strategy;
- the viability of the exit strategy (where appropriate);
- institutional commitment (where appropriate); and
- the value added to CALT and the wider HE community.
24. Other criteria may apply to some of the specific areas.
Submission of bids
25. Applications may be submitted by any individuals or groups in the higher education sector in the UK, or by independent organisations which maintain close links with the HE sector, provided that such applicants can demonstrate a credible track record in blending academic and practical perspectives. Collaborations between institutions are welcomed where this is of clear benefit to the project.
26. Grantholders under this programme must be prepared to assign publication rights (including electronic publication rights) to JISC or its nominee(s). For its part, JISC will ensure that full credit will be given to authors and contributors in any resulting publication(s). Proposers should normally expect to present the findings at a workshop, which may be stand-alone or attached to some suitable event.
27. 8 copies of each proposal must be submitted in hard copy, printed single sided on A4 white paper. Proposals should be up to 10 sides in length (and in the case of bids to undertake short studies no more than four sides of A4). Composite bids covering more than one of the identified projects/studies will be considered.
28. Each proposal must include a cover sheet. The cover sheet must include:
- the area of the project(s) under the headings in this circular;
- the name of the contact individual, together with telephone and fax numbers and email address;
- the name and address of the lead institution/organisation;
- details of any collaborating organisations;
- an executive summary of the project;
- the total cost of the project;
- the timescale for completion.
29. Bids should be submitted by 5pm on Tuesday 20th October 1998. Fax, electronic mail or late applications are not acceptable. Bids should be addressed as follows:
Ms Alice Colban
JISC Secretariat
Northavon House
Coldharbour Lane
BRISTOL BS16 1QD
30. Each bid will be considered by a panel of independent experts, who will recommend to the CALT which projects should be funded, and who may also recommend that bidding institutions form collaborative groups with other sites.
31. Funding under this programme will, if approved, commence as from 1 December 1998. Successful projects will be expected to start work on that date or shortly thereafter.
32. JISC funds are allocated annually by the funding councils. Although the JISC intends to continue funding successful proposals which run beyond 1998/99 AY, those funds can only be fully confirmed on an annual basis.
33. While the areas listed above are the current main priorities, CALT is willing to consider suggestions for other areas which could be included in later calls. These suggestions should include a description of the topic, how the work would further the JISC strategy and an indication of the scale of the work required. This should not exceed 1 side of A4 in total, and should be submitted by the same deadline as above.
Further Information
34. Further information about this circular is available from the CALT Secretary, Ms Alice Colban, email: A.Colban@jisc.ac.uk tel: 0117 931 7257.
Alice Colban
Secretary, Committee on Awareness, Liaison and Training