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Faculty Reflection

Opportunities for Giving

Campus Collage

	Sigma Chi Rises from the Ashes
	1998-99 Outstanding Advisor, Proffessor, and Service Awards
	New Telecom-munications Master's Degree
	In the News
	Sportsline
	With Respect
	Of Courses
	Visitors of Note

Helping To Make CSU, Chico Better

"It isn't possible to go to school once, get your degree, and then never have to go back to school again. The world has changed," said Terry Curtis, professor of communication design. This change is exemplified by shifts in the telecommunications industry, a rapidly changing field deeply affected by recent events: the deregulation of the telephone industry, the tremendous growth of the Internet, and the extremely high rate of development of new technologies.

People in the telecommunications field typically work at highly specialized jobs. Because of rapid changes in the industry, telecommunications companies need employees who also have the expanded knowledge and broader perspective a master's degree in telecommunications confers. Employees looking for additional career opportunities often can't take two years off work to get that degree. "So, the issue is how can we provide that degree to them where they work?" asked Curtis. Having been a trainer for and a consultant to Telcordia Technologies, Inc. (formerly Bellcore Learning Services), the leading advanced telecommunications training and education company, he saw this demand as a partnership opportunity.

For twenty-five years, CSU, Chico has been a leader in innovative distance education. From its beginnings as an Instructional Television Fixed Service/ Microwave link with UC, Davis to the sophisticated satellite systems of today, the distance education program has been at the forefront of technologically innovative solutions for delivering education beyond the campus. CSU, Chico sends signals to satellite-based classrooms for individual students throughout California, to students in Tokyo, and to corporations throughout the United States. Class offerings vary from undergraduate courses to a master's degree program in computer science.

Curtis knew CSU, Chico could use its distance education expertise to deliver classes to employees at corporate sites. With the offerings in its current curriculum, the university could provide many of the courses required for a master's degree in telecommunications, and faculty could supervise the master's degree projects. The only limitation of distance education was the delivery of laboratory classes, an essential element in a telecommunications degree. Curtis knew of Telcordia's self-contained training facility in Lisle, Illinois, complete with training labs, a 400-bed hotel, and a restaurant, where employees from telecommunications companies take intensive week-long laboratory courses.

"I suggested to them that we ought to work on a master's program. For many years, it seemed like a good idea but hard to do," explained Curtis. "But things changed at both ends."

The university has been increasingly encouraged to collaborate with business; the industry increasingly needs employee education programs. Collaboration between the university and Telcordia resulted in the California State University, Chico Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies: Telecommunications.

CSU, Chico and Telcordia each will provide two of the four components of the degree program. Students will take five university satellite courses and work with the university program coordinator on a master's degree project. Video instruction will be supported by resources, references, exercises, and other materials accessible over the Web. Students will take four Telcordia lab courses and attend six elective Telcordia seminars on advanced topics in telecommunications.

The program is open to employees of companies who are part of the Chico Education Network, including PG&E, Lucent Technologies, Hewlett-Packard, and AT&T, and about twenty other current members of the network. To participate, a corporation provides a site, equipment, and an on-site coordinator and pays a one-time participation fee of $5,000 to $15,000.

As the demands for ongoing education have increased and changed, CSU, Chico has led the response. In this newest program, partnerships, technology, and education come together to enhance the future of telecommunications companies and their employees.

Visit the program's Web site at rce.csuchico.edu/cen/mstelecom.

Barbara Alderson, University Publications