HOBOKEN, N.J. -- In what is billed as the world's most prestigious distance-learning prize, the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) honored Stevens Institute of Technology's Professor Steven R. Savitz for his work in the school's e-learning unit, WebCampus.
Savitz, who directs WebCampus' graduate Technology Management Program, teaches online and mentors new online instructors. A champion of web conferencing as a key pedagogical advance, he meticulously tracks feedback from students about how well online courses meet their needs. He then benchmarks his data against courses conducted in conventional classrooms.
"As an instructor, developer, program director, faculty coach, and champion of quality in online teaching, Steve Savitz's performance has been in the best tradition of WebCampus," said Robert Zotti who manages the school's online program. "Professor Savitz tirelessly campaigns to maintain online quality."
Savitz presented the results of his three-year study at this month's Sloan Consortium conference in Orlando. He showed that once faculty gain deep experience teaching online, student positive response increases substantially and, in some cases, some say their online learning experience is better than in face-to-face classrooms.
He also reported that online and blended learning enabled the school to deliver degree and continuing education courses globally.
An Executive-in-Residence in the Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management, Savitz worked in industry for 30 years before joining Stevens, where he was responsible for strategic management, design and development of high-technology products and medical systems. Savitz has worked at Columbia University, Union Carbide, Johnson and Johnson and, most recently, at Becton Dickinson as Vice President of Research and Development. A graduate of Columbia University, Savitz holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management.
USDLA Awards acknowledge major accomplishments in the distance-learning industry. Savitz received USDLA's Bronze Prize for Best Practices.
About WebCampus
WebCampus.Stevens (www.webcampus.stevens.edu), the online graduate unit of Stevens offers more than 160 courses, 13 masters degrees and 33 graduate certificates, taught by more than 110 faculty. The unit recorded its ten-thousandth enrollment this fall. Students from 44 states and 41 countries have enrolled since it was launched in 2000. Partnerships with prominent professional societies and corporations extend its impact, including new blended programs in China (http://www.stevens.edu/gradadmissions/china.html). In addition to the present award, WebCampus has been honored by the Sloan Foundation as the best online learning school in the nation and by USDLA as the best online graduate school.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Established in 1870, Stevens offers baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science, management and technology management, as well as a baccalaureate in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. Located directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan, the university has enrollments of approximately 1,780 undergraduates and 2,700 graduate students, and a current enrollment of 2,250 online-learning students worldwide. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.Stevens.edu. For the latest news about Stevens, please visit www.StevensNewsService.com.