IntroductionIndependent study. Correspondence study. Self-paced credit classes. Distance learning.Answering to these names and many others, the type of educational format generally known as "independent study" is undergoing a transition of late. Educational institutions are incorporating into their programs new technologies and a new understanding of how students learn. For example, available today are dynamic self-taught educational experiences utilizing the advances of the World Wide Web, CD-ROM materials, and other techniques. Independent study is also identified as a type of "distance learning," which occurs when the instructor and student are separated by physical distance and often by time. University System of Georgia Independent Study (USGIS) is part of the changing academic landscape and has a number of programs in process that will significantly expand the credit options for its students. USGIS offers University System academic credit courses to System students and other individuals who are interested in earning academic credit through distance learning methods and technologies. Headquartered at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, USGIS offers courses through six senior higher education institutions in the University System - Armstrong Atlantic State University, Georgia College and State University, Georgia Southern University, North Georgia College and State University, The University of Georgia, and Valdosta State University. Presented here are overviews of independent study as a field; what formats and services the USGIS program offers today and its future plans; and an "I've Been Thinking..." section by Sylvia R. McLaurin, USGIS coordinator for instructional development, and Nancy P. Thompson, head of USGIS, about the past and future of "correspondence study." Concepts of Independent StudyTeaching YourselfTeaching yourself is not a new concept. American history abounds with notable figures, such as Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Banneker (colonial surveyor and mathematician), and Maria Mitchell (astronomer, first woman member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences), who were largely self-taught, acquiring their knowledge through reading and observing.While courses featuring self-taught education have been and still are offered by legitimate and accredited schools and colleges, to the popular imagination "correspondence study" may have associations outside of academic credit - "learn bookkeeping in your own home," "draw this clown," or "play the guitar in 10 easy lessons." Today's collegiate independent study is a carefully controlled, academically sound program that provides credit courses to both traditional and nontraditional students. Rather than a mere facsimile of traditional (some would say "real") classes, independent study is actually based on the concept of facilitated learning - the learning of the 21st century. What Does Independent Study Bring to The Student?In today's business, employees must continually acquire new skills and knowledge, which more often than not must be self-taught. Knowing how to learn is foundational. Independent study encourages, even requires, the acquisition of learning skills that serve in the marketplace as well as in the educational venue. Independent study provides today's learner with specialized information accessible in almost any setting or circumstance, a different though equally valid learning experience. Independent study:
University System of Georgia Independent Study Serves the People of Georgia and BeyondUniversity System of Georgia Independent Study (USGIS) provides independent learning for students in Georgia, the United States, and throughout the world. Open to all high school graduates or adults interested in completing academic-credit courses for careers or degrees, USGIS is designed to maximize both learning and convenience for its participants. High school students who are joint-enrolled in a college or university may also enroll in USGIS courses to gain post-secondary experience prior to attending classes on campus. Students may register and obtain textbooks via mail or the Internet.Courses are available through a variety of delivery methods including print, electronic disk, or online. Print courses provide students with a portable, bound manual containing lesson objectives, course assignments, and the instructor's comments and suggestions for each lesson, often including Internet resources. Electronic disks provide the same material as the bound guide, but in a form accessible via computer, making it simple to complete assignments in word processing and e-mail them to USGIS. Online or Web courses are the most recent addition to USGIS course options. These courses are accessed via the Internet and provide ready links to online resource materials. Flexible Formats, Personalized Student ServicesThe independent study course has basically the same content as the on-campus course; the course format, established jointly by USGIS and the faculty member, is adapted for distance learning. For example, a campus classroom assignment may suggest a collaborative project in which three students together interview a company officer and write a paper about management styles, incorporating their various observations. The independent study version would require the student to interview a business executive in his/her own city and write a paper incorporating specific points of observation. For students with certain disabilities, incarcerated students, or others with limiting circumstances, the assignment would be modified to accomplish the same purpose in more accessible ways. To pace the learning experience, students may submit no more lessons per week than indicated by the schedule in their course guides, though they have up to a year from the time of registration to complete their courses.Under the control of the faculty member, who grades each assignment according to the standards set for the course, academic rigor is maintained. In many courses, reading and writing assignments are even more extensive than in the on-campus course, as covering material cannot be accomplished by the usual classroom methods. In USGIS, students receive grades for individual assignments, but they also must pass the final examination in order to be eligible to pass the course. Final examinations are administered and monitored in a university or college testing center near the student. USGIS students are under the jurisdiction of The University of Georgia academic policy and academic honesty guidelines, and USGIS operating policy and procedures. Their lessons are logged by a computer system, and they must be enrolled for eight weeks prior to course completion. Beginning with July 2001 registrations, a student who fails to complete a USGIS course will receive a "WF," rather than simply a "W," to iterate the general academic enrollment policy at state universities. USGIS offers personalized student services administered by student representatives who stand ready to process registrations and answer programmatic questions during the course. Students may register, as well as request extensions and exam appointments, by mail or online. A limited number of walk-in registrations are also available for local students who need special assistance. USGIS's Web site and literature deliver information ranging from the listing of courses available to how to study at a distance. The USGIS Student Handbook contains information helpful to students who are currently enrolled in independent study courses. USGIS students may also access the resources of UGA's Library as well as libraries statewide through the GALILEO (Georgia Library Learning Online) system. Future PlansUniversity System of Georgia Independent Study currently offers more than 120 courses to supplement students' academic programs. Although individual courses are helpful to students who wish to complete a few courses without having to travel to campus, many working adults have also indicated an interest in completing degrees or certificate programs from a distance. These and other options will be explored in coming months. For example, during the past year, a Certification in Turfgrass Management was developed in conjunction with UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. This nine-course certification has provided an example of career enhancement options for non-traditional students and has been endorsed by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).Although the development of online courses remains a priority, there are also several other initiatives in the planning stages. With student and faculty preferences in mind, USGIS is moving toward the production of courses on CD-ROM (the first course is scheduled for release in Fall 2001). Using various media, CD-ROM tends to offer both stability and portability beyond current Internet linkage. More self-contained than the Internet course, CD-ROM features include potential hypermedia audio and video clips, animation, additional text, and "looping" refresher material, while still providing for links to Internet resources when the computer is online. Balancing the preferences of both faculty and students, USGIS may also offer courses via television and as online "cohort" classes that can provide some face-to-face meetings. Such development, however, will depend on two factors - (1) the content of the course requires this type of delivery, and (2) students and faculty demand the dimensions offered by these media. USGIS continues to be committed to accessible learning, "any time, any place," that meets both academic rigor and student/ faculty life circumstances. USGIS is also collaborating with other distance-learning providers such as Georgia G.L.O.B.E. (Global Learning Online for Business and Education; www. georgiaglobe.org/) to provide specific student services, as well as augmenting working relationships with computer, student, and faculty services at UGA and other institutions. Keeping abreast of educational developments through its own public service faculty, USGIS can help instructional faculty choose among new technologies those that are feasible and complement a variety of teaching and learning styles, as well as assist with updating course materials and delivery.
From its early beginnings in the 1930s to the present (see "A Brief History," p. 6, right), USGIS has evolved into a full-service unit, able and willing to offer students and faculty a full program of course resources with the flexibility to schedule academic endeavors to suit their lives. Formal higher education is no longer bound to campus; faculty members are free to teach and students free to learn in other places and in other timeframes.
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