Chapter 18
Università
degli Studi di Roma Tre
Category: Distance Education from a University
Country: Italy
Location: Rome
Language of instruction: Italian
Via del Castro Pretorio 2O
00185 Roma.
Telephone: 00395 4957805
Official status
The Università degli Studi di Roma Tre (University
of Rome III). The distance education programme is run by the Department
of Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Education .
Italian University legislation, and in particular articles
16 and 17 of the DPR (Decree of the President of Italy) No 162 , 10 March
1982, authorizes the institution at individual universities of postgraduate
degrees of disciplines and specialized professional fields. The Department
of Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Education of the University of
Rome III (up until the academic year 1991 - '92 this was the Department
of Educational Science of the Faculty of Teaching of ' La Sapienza' - the
University of Rome).
This demand, received from schools and other organisations,
meant many requests for upgrading of teachers. In consideration of the
size of the demand a council of the department in the academic year 1986
- '87 resolved to commence the first post-graduate course at a distance
on the methods of educational evaluation. In subsequent years, due to the
success of the initiative, other courses were added to this first offering.
The target group of these courses is comprised principally
of teachers in schools or of new graduates who envisage entering the teaching
profession. It is important to note that the courses realised by the Department
of Educational Sciences at the University of Rome III were the first post-graduate
courses at a distance which were created in Italy and opened the road for
further initiatives on the part of other universities.
Training provision: Courses
For the academic year 1997 - '98 four post-graduate courses
were offered:
-
Methods of Educational Evaluation.
-
General Didactics for Museums.
-
Didactical Principles.
-
Educational Technology.
In addition a course for teachers of the subject of Esperanto
was also developed. All the post-graduate courses are one year in duration,
whereas the course in Esperanto lasts two years.
Evaluation
At the end of the study programme a certificate of completion
is awarded to each student who has completed all the course requisites.
This Certificate is the normal certificate given by Universities in accordance
with existing legislation at the conclusion of post-graduate courses.
This certification gives the recipient the right to advancement
on the salary scale of the teaching professions in Italy. However, this
advancement of the salary scale is at the discretion of the individual
government departments who for each academic year compile a list of the
recognized professional updating activities of the teachers in their responsibility.
Nor is it possible to guarantee that the post-graduate certificates will
be recognized even if, historically, the courses have always been recognized
in all of the provinces of Italy.
Statistics
Students have been enrolled at the distance training courses
university of Roma III since the academic year 1986 - '87. In the year
1996 academic year the breakdown of the enrolment was:
| COURSE ENROLMENTS |
|
| Methods of Educational Evaluation |
555 |
| General Didactics for Museums |
552 |
| Educational Orientation |
536 |
| Educational Technology |
523 |
| Esperanto |
150 |
|
2,316 |
The general didactics course for museums staff has the following characteristics
for its student body:
-
The enrolment for the course is 88% females and 12% males.
-
The median age is 32.
-
45% of enrolments are at present teachers in the Museum service.
Finances
The post-graduate distance education programme cannot create
any additional costs for the department of educational sciences. All the
expenses, therefore, must be covered by the enrolment fees of the students.
The enrolment fee for 1996 - '97 was 364 Ecu. There is no other cost either
for the state, nor for the University, nor for the students.
Course development policies
Methods of education evaluation
The course consists of 10 modules, each of these modules
comprises a printed volume which included tests specially developed for
distance education and also two formative examinations. The normal hours
of study estimated for completion of the courses is 150 hours.
Dictactics for Museums
With each module there is a printed text which includes tests
specially designed for distance education practical exercises and two formative
examinations. The time required for study of the course is 150 hours.
Dictactic Orientation
With each module there is a printed text which includes tests
specially designed for distance education practical exercises and two formative
examinations. The time required for study of the course is 150 hours.
Educational Technology
The course comprises three modules which contain printed
material video - cassettes and computer-based assignments. The greater
part of the didactic materials have been developed by the lecturers and
professors who form part of the faculty for the courses described.
It is important to underline that the didactic activities
for the distance education courses form a part of the official workload
of the professors exactly as their didactic responsibilities for face-to-face
students. For certain specific themes within the distance education courses
experts from outside the department of educational sciences or brought
in.
The distance education courses are evaluated each year
by a questionnaire administered to the students who take the courses to
this procedure is added a periodic revision of the materials by the course
teacher in order to bring the materials up to date.
Student support: policies
The didactic structure of the post-graduate distance education
courses have a fundamental characteristic of procedures with the objectives
of realizing two-way communication achieved through the offering of the
course and structures to focus on the individualization of the learning
process.
In order to activate the correction procedure and to reduce
the time between the sending in of the assignments and the reception by
the students of the compensatory communications, the department employs
a system of automatic computer correction. This system allows the correction
of the examinations and the automatic production of individualized compensatory
responses.
In addition there are:
-
The two meetings which take place during the year of the
course. These meetings, which are obligatory, take place half-way through
and at the end of the academic year.
-
The provision of a telephone communication service for students
within the department allows students to request information and clarification,
both on administrative and on the content of the course.
With regard to the administrative aspects the students can
speak directly with the personnel of the administration during fixed hours
for two days per week. Whenever the students seek clarification on course
contents the personnel of the department put the students in contact with
the course authors.
The computerized student support services allow students
to contact the administration by e-mail and send in their answers to the
examinations and tests by e-mail.
Employment
For the administration of the distance education courses
the University can only employ people on contract due to legislation controlling
the post-graduate courses and because of regulations governing the appointment
of permanent staff.
The majority of the persons involved in the distance education
programme is comprised of people who work as either lecturers or administration,
who give part of their time to administration and didactics of the distance
education programme.
| Lecturers |
25 |
| Full-time Administrators |
02 |
| Part-time Administrators |
42 |
| Secretarial |
10 |
| Total |
79 |