The NCIH evaluation project consisted of multiple initiatives to assure that an unbiased and objective assessment was made of the application effectiveness and the technical capabilities of the NCIH. Independent contractors were hired to interpret and document the evaluation findings. One contractor was Mr. Glenn Dunlop who had written the report for Governor Martin's Executive Order 136, Telecommunications in Education, in 1992. The other was Ms. Debbie Lee-Averitt. Ms. Lee- Averitt wrote the final report for the GPAC Study in 1992. A diagram of the evaluation process is shown on Figure 3.

An overview of the evaluation methodology is described below:

I. Evaluation Committee

 As part of the efforts to address the General Assembly's concern about the cost effectiveness of the NCIH and its long term funding impact, the OSC established a NCIH Evaluation Committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the NCIH as a delivery method for distance learning and the other types of current usage. The committee was made up of individuals who had research and evaluation experience and represented the wide range of sites that are operational (public schools, community colleges, universities and health care facilities).

The NCIH Evaluation Committee was divided into the following three focus groups:

1. Needs Analysis

Ted Kummer Beaufort Community College Beaufort County
Ken Burrows UNC Charlotte Mecklenburg County
Linda Phillips Catawba Valley Community College Catawba County
Mike Parrish Guilford County Schools Guilford County
Parks Todd Department of Community Colleges Wake County
Bill Randall Stanly Community College Stanly County

Charter

Review documented needs and actual NCIH usage, including:

Figure 3. NCIH Evaluation Process

2. Effectiveness

Mary Ruth Colman Statewide Tech. Assoc. - Gifted Children Orange County
Al Guthrie Area L. AHEC Pitt County
Ed Shearin Carteret Community College Carteret County
Walt Plexico Haywood Community College Haywood County
Pat Comeaux UNC Wilmington New Hanover County

Charter

Through customized surveys and interviews, assess effectiveness of:

3. Value Added

Linda DeGrand Department of Public Instruction Wake County
Terry Bledsoe Catawba County Schools Catawba County
Tom Griffin Mecklenburg County Schools Mecklenburg County
Tim Stephens UNC Chapel Hill Orange County
Patty O'Leary Cunningham School of Public Health Wake County

Charter

Identify and quantify other NCIH benefits, including:

II. Interviews

In order to gain the benefit of the knowledge, observations, and recommendations of those individuals who have been closely associated with the planning and deployment of the NCIH, a series of interviews were held with the principle parties.

NCIH Staff Interviews

The purpose of interviewing the NCIH staff was to document both the successes and problems associated with the NCIH project, and to get their recommendations on future deployment of the NCIH.

Interviews with the key NCIH staff and management included:

Ed Renfrow, State Controller
Charlie Williams, Chief of OSC/SIPS
Jim Broadwell, Director of State Telecommunications Services (OSC)
Richard Kelly, NCIH Technical Manager
Dennis Perry, NCIH Education Coordinator
Ed Finerty, NCIH Operations
Bill Bruwer, NCIH Engineer
Ken Neubler, NCIH Regional Coordinator
Ev Smith, NCIH Regional Coordinator
Margaret Melvin, NCIH Regional Coordinator
Mark Johnson, Telecommunications Systems Analyst (OSC/STS)
Ilse Kemp, Systems Integration Specialist (OSC/IRM)

Interviews With Key Stakeholders

A wide range of principle parties involved with the NCIH were selected for interviews to provide a perspective on the NCIH from the General Assembly, Governor's Office, IRMC, NCIH Advisors, all levels of the educational community, state agencies, local government, and the major local exchange carriers. The individuals interviewed were:

Jane Patterson, Governor's Advisor on Technology
Alan Blatecky, Vice President of Information Technology, MCNC
Bill Willis, Associate Provost for Academic Computing, NCSU (Chair of IRMC TAC)
John Harrison, Vice President for Academic Affairs, UNC-GA
Sandy Cooper, Director of the State Library, Dept. Cultural Resources
Parks Todd, Director of Telecommunications Services, Dept. of Community Colleges
Elsie Brumback, Director of Instructional Technologies, DPI
Linda DeGrand, Section Chief, Distance Learning Services, DPI
Lee Mandell, Dir. of Research & Information Systems, NC League of Municipalities
John Freidrick, Executive Director, NC School of Science and Mathematics

III. Regional Meetings

The OSC is in the process of holding seven geographically dispersed regional meetings to bring together public officials and community-based leaders to develop a consensus and document the findings as to the value and future directions of the NCIH, and related technologies, at the local level. In addition, these meetings are also intended to increase community awareness of state technology resources that are available, and heighten the interest for local cooperative ventures using today's communication capabilities. To assure that the discussion and recommendations of these meetings were not biased by the OSC staff, Mr. David Norman, an independent contractor and professional facilitator was hired to serve as facilitator and to document the results of these meetings.

To date, three of these meetings have been held with the remaining four scheduled or planned. The first meeting, covering the southeast region, was held at Fayetteville Technical Community College on February 15 with 80 attendees. The second meeting was held in the western part of the state at the Regional High Tech Center in Clyde, NC on March 20 with 55 participants (even with an unexpected snow and ice storm). The third was held on April 17 at Beaufort Community College in Washington, NC with 55 attendees.

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