The results of a visual scan of several grant proposals resulted in the identification of seven
anticipated general categories of NCIH application with 1-13 sub-categories in each. 
Three
individuals from the Needs Assessment Focus Group reviewed a total of 116 grant applications and
completed two tasks: (1) A count was taken of the number of times an NCIH application was
identified within the grant, (2) If an application was identified which was not already included in the
predetermined categories, that application was added to the appropriate general category or a new
general category was listed. If there were any ambiguity within the application, the readers had
permission to make a judgment call on the proper placement of the application within the frequency
list. Following the review of NCIH grant applications, the general category list was expanded to 10
items and sub-categories expanded to 1-15 items in each sub-group.
The results of the frequency count showed that distance education is the most frequently identified application. Within that general category, the most frequently identified need was import/export of courses, followed by equity of access and professional development. There were a total of 421 occurrences of distance education applications in the reviewed grant proposals reviewed. Distance education applications are ranked by frequency of perceived need in Figure 1.
Economic development was the next most frequently proposed application, with the most frequent occurrences being courses specifically for business and industry. This was followed by data/Geographic Information System (GIS) clearinghouse information. There were a total of 169 occurrences of economic development applications within the grant proposals reviewed.Other general categories were library information systems, with a total of 125 occurrences; government uses, with a total of 115 occurrences; health care, with a total of 73 occurrences; data linkages, with a total of 37 occurrences; telecommunications, with a total of 26 occurrences; social service uses, with a total of 23 uses; prison education, with 6 identified uses; and cultural applications with two identified occurrences.
When reviewing the data, with 997 occurrences of identified applications for the NCIH, one can see that the need for these applications exist. It is important to note that the preponderance of grant applications reviewed were public schools, followed in number by community colleges. Other, applications, in smaller numbers, came from city or county governments, public health entities, or acute heath care facilities. Although the ratio of these applications to the various types of organizations within communities was not analyzed, the numbers of applications by organizational type did not appear disproportionate.A summary of number of applications by general category follows in Figure 1.
| APPLICATION | FREQUENCY |
|---|---|
| Distance Education | 421 |
| Economic Development | 169 |
| Library Information Services | 125 |
| Government | 115 |
| Health Care | 73 |
| Data Linkages | 37 |
| Telecommunications | 26 |
| Social Services | 23 |
| Prison Education | 6 |
| Cultural | 2 |
| Total | 997 |
Next, the process of analyzing actual utilization of the NCIH for the various proposed applications was completed. Of the 116 sites represented by the 76 facilitator/site managers, data were received from 28 individual sites in the surveys returned initially. Follow-up phone calls were made to 28 site managers from whom surveys were not received. If the caller was not able to reach the site manager, a voice mail or personal message was left regarding return of the survey. This resulted in the return of 16 additional surveys, bringing the total to 44.
Follow-up phone calls were also made to the randomly selected sample to verify information and solicit additional information. The information gathered from these contacts proved useful in the tabulation and analysis of the data. First, it was noted that in most cases, the same data was provided for two or more applications. This was because the site manager determined that the application fulfilled criteria for more than one category. For example, import/export of courses and dual enrollment courses often had identical data, especially if that was the primary distance education application for that institution. However, since the research question related specifically to use of each application, this interpretation was acceptable. The number of hours and participants to date may be duplicated to some extent between applications.In addition, several respondents indicated that certain applications were underway, but gave no data about the average hours and number of participants. These sites did not have records of data requested. In these cases, a "(+)" was included in the data column for those applications which were in use. The tabulation of response data was then completed. Comments were keyed as stated with parenthetical explanation as needed. Comments were generally made in three general categories, distance education, health care, and communication (with a random comment in other categories).
116 sites were surveyed with 44 responses. This represents a 37.9 percent return. The range of room capacity was 10 to 152, with an average seating capacity of 29.7 seats. The range of hours per month was 4 to 140, with an average number of send/receive hours per month of 46.95. Those sites in operation for longer periods of time tended to have a higher number of send/receive hours per month. The higher number of applications implemented was related to time on line. The number of sites responding by type were: public schools, 24; community colleges, 9; universities, 3; public health/health care facilities, 3; and 5 other types.The results of the analysis of applications underway, send or receive hours per month for each application, and total number of students/participants served, revealed that perceived and actual uses of the NCIH are comparable. As with the frequency rating results, distance education applications proved to be the most often utilized.
In the category of distance education, professional development was the most highly utilized
application with 29 instances noted by respondents. While the number of hours of utilization (189)
and total participants (789) were somewhat less than other more highly utilized applications, this is
not unexpected considering that professional development courses are often of shorter duration and
attract smaller numbers of participants.
The import and export of courses was the next most highly utilized application with 27 instances noted by the respondents with a total of 1626 + send/receive hours per month, and 3,059 + participants to date.
Curriculum enhancement (20 instances), and specific curriculum courses (20 instances) were the applications most similar in occurrence. The number of send/receive hours per month (421.25 +) for dual enrollment/Huskins Bill was slightly higher than curriculum enhancement applications. The Huskins program and dual enrollment provides opportunities for community colleges and high school students to make unbroken movement from high school into community college courses. These programs are voluntary and permit students to take community college courses while still enrolled in their local high school.
Current applications for distance education were the most frequently identified, occupied more time
on the NCIH, and benefited greater numbers of participants. An illustration of distance education by 
number of applications noted, total send receive hours per month by application, and total participants
to date occurs in Figures 2, 3 and 4.
Perhaps even more compelling than the number of applications and the number of individuals benefiting from the availability of the NCIH were the comments made relative to the specific application. The preponderance of remarks surrounded the benefits of distance education in relation to the various applications. In reviewing these remarks, several themes emerged. These included: (a) the unavailability of specific courses and opportunities without the existence of the NCIH, (b) enrichment of the educational experience through exposure to both the technology and the opportunities it provided, (c) savings of time, travel, and personal/system expense, (d) opportunities for college credit for high school students, (e) availability of master’s level and other professional development courses for faculty which in turn benefits students served by those faculty, and (g) enhanced opportunity for innovation in the classroom.
Other applications such as government, economic development, heath care, library, data linkages,
etc., were more scattered in use and were unduplicated in reporting. Therefore, these are reported
as total by general category versus sub-category. Health Care applications were the most prominent,
with 27 total applications, 105.2 total send/receive hours per month, and 2229 total participants to
date. Other applications underway are illustrated in Figure 5.
After reviewing the number of different types of applications noted by each respondent, and identifying the length of time on line, a comparison was made of application activity and time on line. There appears to be a positive relationship between time and activity as illustrated in Figure 2. The table represents time on line, the range in number of different applications from respondents, and the average number of applications identified by sites which came on line in the identified time period. Time periods were chosen in six month intervals beginning at the time of this study and working back toward the initial site development. Therefore, the first time period represented by the table is shorter than the other intervals.
| TIME ON-LINE | RANGE OF APPLICATIONS | AVERAGE APPLICATIONS |
|---|---|---|
| 8/24/94 - 9/30/94 | 1-20 | 9.5 |
| 10/1/94 - 3/31/95 | 1-14 | 7.0 |
| 4/1/95 - 10/1/95 | 1-21 | 6.6 |
| 10/1/95 - 3/31/96 | 1-7 | 2.6 |
The data represented in the above data indicates that, as sites have had an opportunity to utilize and become more comfortable with the technology, the number of different types of applications tend to increase. Additionally, as individuals become skilled in managing the technology, and as networks of people develop, more sharing occurs relative to different opportunities for use of the NCIH.
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