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ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Coursework—In and Out of Class
Q: How does the campus use technology to enhance teaching, learning, and access to information in your areas of interest?
Examples include online syllabi, Web-based discussion groups and project teams, and electronic portfolios.
A: Currently, the University offers over 600 courses in mixed modalities (online, hybrid, supplemental) via our course management server. Courses taught within this environment, offers additional mechanisms for increased classroom interaction between the students and faulty that traditional to classes could not provide. Electronic course content is available at the users' convenience.
Examples of the classroom capabilities include but are not limited to, real-time virtual classrooms, discussion boards, electronic voice discussion meeting rooms, video conference etc.
Q: Are classrooms technology-enhanced?
A: Sacred Heart believes strongly in the benefits of technology in the classroom and as a result, we have established a goal of outfitting all general purpose classrooms with multimedia capabilities. Currently 100% of our general purpose rooms have static multimedia equipment that is flexible, secure and user friendly. Classes scheduled in rooms that are not multimedia equipped have the ability to utilize the portable multimedia hardware available on loan from the AV office.
Q: In both introductory and specialized courses, what opportunities are there for you to collaborate with other students using technology on project teams?
A: At Sacred Heart University we provide a number of different ways for students to collaborate using technology. We provide free and unfettered network storage space for student and faculty use, web and database servers that are dedicated to student projects, as well as discussion boards that are specific to each course that is published via our Blackboard course management system.
Q: Does the school give credit for courses taken electronically (online/at a distance) from other institutions and sources of instruction?
A: The University does accept credits from other accredited institutions towards various programs of study at Sacred Heart University.
Support Services
Q: How does the campus provide access for students to work with multimedia (audio and video)?
A: Sacred Heart University provides access to multimedia for all students, from the capturing of the multimedia streams with camcorders and microphones or the creation of original animations with various software products, to the editing, duplication services, and the distribution via personal web sites. The University has provided a dedicated streaming server for this particular application.
Our training department offers multimedia training routinely to support the integration of these artifacts with the classroom environment. Students that do not own the necessary hardware to accomplish the varying multimedia projects are encouraged to use the resources available in the AV office.
Q: Are library collections and resources—such as catalogs, research databases, special collections, course reserves, full-text electronic journals, books, and streaming media—available online and accessible off-campus?
A: Off-campus access to the Ryan Matura Library is available to all currently affiliated students, faculty and staff via http://library.sacredheart.edu. Our users simply provide the necessary credentials to authenticate and gain access to the online resources. Online resources include the library's 57 research databases that include over 12,000 full text journals, the library catalog of books and journals, electronic course reserves, and a small collection of full text electronic medical textbooks.
Q: Can the library deliver documents to you electronically, either via e-mail or through Web posting? Does the library charge a fee when information resources that you need are not available in its collections?
A: The library has an Inter-Library loan system for access to materials not currently held by the Ryan Matura Library. This is a free service available to our library patrons. If the resource required is available and online from our partner libraries, then the documents can be delivered electronically for free in most instances.
Q: Does the library provide research assistance in a variety of ways, such as in person, by phone, by e-mail, and through Web services? When are these forms of assistance available?
A: Research assistance is available to all currently affiliated students, faculty and staff either in person, by phone, and by e-mail. The library staff teaches library instruction classes to students at the request of the faculty, either in the library or in the classroom. Professional librarians are available at the reference desk 88 hours a week and the reference e-mail service is managed several times daily.
Looking Toward Graduation and a Career
Q: Does the campus offer general or profession-specific training programs that will ensure you are fluent in current information technologies when you graduate?
A: The University offers software training routinely, to ensure the preparation of our students for today's workforce. These workshops are free of charge to all students. The classes are taught in small classroom environments and promote the effective use of these products within the user's daily activities.
Students are provided with several mechanisms by the University to help develop their computer competency to ensure that our graduates are recognized as assets in today's workforce. The Computer Science department provides training for the entire student body in the form of an introductory computer class, which educates users on the basic computing concepts. The Academic Computing department offers additional technology training in support of the University's desire to increase academic technology utilization on campus. A subset of the courses offered includes Microsoft Office training, Adobe Photoshop courses, Web development courses, etc. These courses are free of charge to all students.
All full-time students and a small segment of part time students are issued laptop computers to ensure their technological needs are met and maintained. Students majoring in Art or Media Studies have been provided with Mac laptops to expose them to the dominant software packages utilized by the professionals working in those industries.
The University's multimedia classrooms and computer labs are in high demand from our faculty primarily because of the ability to demonstrate courseware and interact with students through the use of current technology. The resulting learning experience exposes students to a variety of interactive technology tools to further their technology awareness and preparation after University life.
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