A Video Tape Graduate Power Engineering Program

This paper describes and evaluates an unusual continuing education program which is offered to practicing power engineers from the Engineering College at Iowa State University. This program provides credit courses from the central campus via video tape to seven different power utility companies as well as a consulting engineering firm in the state. The program permits the power engineer to take graduate courses and if interested to complete a graduate degree without returning to campus to satisfy residency requirements. This is made possible by a system of video taping of courses taught to on-campus students. The faculty is encouraged to teach via video tape with the full knowledge that providing this educational service remote from the central campus is of considerable importance to the Engineering College. This relatively new continuing education concept has grown significantly and has enjoyed considerable success. Over a six year period 38 different courses have been offered. Nine different college departments have been involved in this off-campus effort, although the largest interest of the power engineer has been in the areas of Electrical Engineering and Industrial Engineering course offerings. Historically the power industry has had little interest in university offered continuing education programming for their practicing engineers. Through this program, however, a dramatic change has taken place with regard to continuing education and the power industry in the last few years. This may be attributed to a number of factors.