High Technology and the Future of Education. Occasional Paper No. 122.

Recent technological advances have imposed dramatic changes in all areas of the U.S. labor market. In particular, the continually increasing demands for technical training and retraining have created an increased demand for continuing education for engineers throughout their working lives. The National Technological University (NTU) represents one innovative method of meeting the lifelong learning needs of workers in a technical field such as engineering. Representing a merger of corporate and academic concerns, NTU broadcasts instruction nationwide via satellite. NTU was created in January 1984 to award accredited masters degrees in selected fields. The NTU academic programs feature approved courses of instruction offered by the 21 universities that have joined together to form the Association for Media-based Continuing Education for Engineers (AMCEE). NTU also provides research seminars in each discipline taught; operates a modern telecommunications delivery system for convenient, flexible on-site service; offers AMCEE noncredit short courses, seminars, and workshops to introduce newly advanced technology concepts to a broad range of technical professionals; and has established a sophisticated satellite network infrastructure between industry and the university communities. NTU has participated in a study to address the accreditation and state licensing issues raised by a nationwide instructional network such as AMCEE and has undertaken an intensive 3-year test of using computer communications to enhance student-teacher interaction. (MN)