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As more Americans than ever seek higher education, distance education has become a strategic initiative for the nation's colleges and universities. While traditional campuses reach their on-campus limits, academic institutions like Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia, are breaking new ground on the virtual campus of the future.
ODU has long been recognized as a pioneer in distance education, due to its early adoption of a satellite broadcast network. Today, nearly 15% of the university's more than 20,000 students attend classes remotely, completing a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs without ever coming to the main campus. ODU's virtual campus has grown to 50 remote sites and 200 classrooms spanning Virginia, Maryland, Arizona, Washington, and U.S. Navy ships deployed abroad.
As ODU's distance learning program has expanded, the university has endeavored to break down the barriers that separate distance classrooms from their main campus counterparts. The university has also sought to improve the efficiency and cost of delivering courses remotely.
In 2006, ODU made a strategic decision to invest in a satellite network supported by iDirect and X-Analog Communications, Inc., a satellite systems integrator. Through an ambitious three-phase rollout, ODU has been able to reduce its operating costs, increase and improve its video distribution to classrooms around the continent, and make available a wealth of digitally archived lectures to its entire student body.
SATELLITE VOICE CONNECTIVITY CUTS COSTS, IMPROVES CLASSROOM INTERACTION
To offer accredited university programs that connect students directly with the university's faculty, ODU originally extended standard telephone services to remote classrooms, allowing students to ask questions in real time during lectures. However, telephone toll charges incurred over hours of daily instruction across hundreds of classrooms were costly to the university. ODU was being...