A Closed-Circuit Television Course in Criminal Law.

Abstract

The University of Nebraska-Omaha criminal justic department has cou se , students, and faculty on its Omaha (UNO) and Lincoln (UNL) cam puses which are located approximately 50 miles apart. Special problems develop in dual-campus programs that do not generally occur in single-campus programs. Faculty tend to identify with "their" campus, which is detrimental to a unified and cohesive program. This "them and us" attitude is contagious to students. Students also do not obtain the maximum benefit from a multi-discipline faculty since they ordinarily take courses from faculty on their campus. Faculty occa sionally teach courses on both campuses as part of their regular teaching load, but this results in high transporta tion costs to the department and faculty resistance to the travel required. These concerns led me to develop a telecommunica tions project to learn about student attitudes toward interactive Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) courses. Favorable attitudes by learners might encourage faculty participation in CCTV courses. Eventually, the inter campus distance of faculty and students might be reduced. Thus, criminal law was taught simultaneously on CCTV to undergraduate classes in Omaha and Lincoln during the spring semester, 1981.