Support Vermont Interactive Television

Support Vermont Interactive Television

To the Editor:

The governor’s budget recommends no funding in the next fiscal year for Vermont Interactive Television. If funding is not restored, it will cease to exist beginning July 1.

I am a Vermont Technical College nursing student. The college has two main campuses, in Randolph Center and Williston, Vt. For prospective nursing students who do not live within commuting

distance of the college’s main campuses, it has contracted with other schools for classroom space at which it teaches using technology provided by Vermont Interactive Television. For example, my nursing classes are held at the campus of the Community College of Vermont in Hartford, where we join other students from satellite classrooms in Newport, Lyndonville and Springfield who also participate via interactive television.

By means of the interactive broadcasting technology and extraordinary teachers, my school has been able to provide me and my classmates an excellent classroom experience even though we may live hundreds of miles from each other.

Interactive television makes it possible to ask questions and engage in learning as if we were all in the same room. But for VIT and the availability of satellite campuses near our home communities (where we are not only taking classes but doing our clinical training in hospitals and clinics where we aim to work in the future), I believe a significant number of us would have decided the practical challenges of going to nursing school were impossible to overcome.

VIT is an incredibly effective use of technology to educate nurses spread across a large geographic area. Please support continued funding.

Nina Lloyd Hanover

February 25, 2015

House Appropriations (VT)

My name is Cindy Martindill. I am the interim associate dean of nursing at Vermont Tech and I am here today to speak on the behalf of our educational partner Vermont Interactive Technologies.

The mission of the Vermont Tech nursing program is to provide accessible nursing education to Vermonters. This fall Vermont Tech will enroll a total of 333 nursing students in our LPN and ADN programs Of these 333 students, 117 (35%) are expecting to attend a distance education site in their home communities of Lyndonville, Middlebury, Newport, Saint Albans, Springfield or White River Junction. The Vermont Tech nursing program can be provided at each of these 6 sites only because we use Vermont Interactive Technologies as the educational modality to offer our distance nursing

program.

Becoming a nurse requires gaining knowledge, learning technical skills, learning and practicing problem solving skills, learning how to work in groups, and perhaps the hallmark of nursing…developing a true sense and practice of caring about others. We have used VIT as our delivery model because it allows us to provide opportunities for students to learn and practice each of these aspects of nursing. Vermont Tech nursing has developed a very effective use of distance education through the use of VIT. Our use of VIT for distance education was recently cited as “best practice” by ACEN, the national nursing accrediting body.

The use of VIT as a nursing program delivery model works. It not only works, it works well. The success of our distance nursing program is measured by positive program outcomes. The distance PN graduates last year had a 100% pass rate on the licensing exam, tops in the nation and our distance RN students had an 89% pass rate on the RN licensing exam, tops in Vermont. Our graduates tell us that 90% of them felt ready to take their licensing exam and felt clinically competent to begin a career as a nurse. The employers of our distance site graduates agreed 100% that the graduates were prepared. We have a very successful distance education program, which is delivered through the use of VIT.

Therefore, as the interim associate dean of the Vermont Tech nursing program, I have two major concerns related to the sudden decision to discontinue Vermont Interactive Technologies without providing adequate planning time for VIT users to research and trial alternatives to determine the effect of those alternatives on program outcomes and student learning.

My fist concern is for the current and potential students in our distance nursing program. We know that the use of Vermont Interactive Technologies works well in delivering our nursing program to our 117 distance site students. Not only are our graduates are successful in passing their licensure exam and entering the health care workforce as valued employees but they are highly satisfied with their educational experience using VIT. On this year’s program evaluation, 92% of our students agreed that VIT provided an adequate learning environment and 94% agreed that VIT met their learning needs. A change in the delivery modality of our program to distance students has the very real potential of jeopardizing our very positive program outcomes. These positive outcomes are essential for the continued national accreditation of our PN and ADN nursing programs and for the continued Vermont Board of Nursing approval of our programs. Without Vermont Board of Nursing approval, we could not continue to provide distance learning to our 6 rural communities.

My second concern is for the future of the nursing workforce in the communities of Lyndonville, Middlebury, Newport, Saint Albans, Springfield and White River Junction. The Vermont Tech nursing students in those communities receive their education in their home community and after graduation are hired by the local health care agencies. In many of those communities, it is difficult to recruit nursing staff; thus the agencies have come to rely on the pipeline of local nursing graduates that is supplied by the Vermont Tech nursing program through the use of Vermont Interactive Technologies. There is the potential that without the program delivery modality of VIT and thus the loss of a local nursing

education program, these 6 communities will lose a significant nursing workforce (117 potential nurses each year), thus potentially jeopardizing the health of rural Vermonters.

Vermont Interactive Technologies has been an integral part of the delivery of the Vermont Tech nursing program to rural distance locations for many years. It provides an educational opportunity for 1/3 of our PN and ADN nursing students. We have a history of very positive program outcomes and we have been able to supply the rural communities with a well prepared, sought after nursing workforce. There is an absolute need for Vermont Interactive Technologies as they support the delivery of distance nursing education and thus aid in meeting the health care needs of all Vermonters. Thank you.

VERMONT LICENSED PLUMBERS ASSOC. (VLPA)

PO BOX 222

RANDOLPH CENTER, VT. 05061

TEL: (802) 728-5400 Email:

[email protected]

To the Hearing committee members, fellow advocates, and all Vermonters in

general:

I am Brad Talbot and I am director of the Vermont Licensed Plumbers

Association. We provide licensed Plumbers and certified GAS and Fuel Oil

technicians with state approved continuing education unit (CEU) training

classes required for renewal. This is our 20

year of using the VIT distance

learning network.

Over those 20 years, nothing has shaken our belief that the ready

access and helpful number of VIT sites throughout Vermont provides the

perfect venue for continuing education classes in this rural state. For

example, it’s not unusual to have the VIT site in Newport and the site in

Bennington (or Brattleboro) both involved in a typical class presentation.

Attendees need only arrive at start time, sign in, pick-up the class handout,

and attend the classes. We use 9 of the VIT sites and, on average,

activate 5 sites per class session. Owing to VIT’s flexibility, over the course

of a year’s time, we are able to rotate site activation, so that each particular

site will be active and providing class at least 3 times per year. By rotating

site activation, we can offer our target audience choices concerning class

content and attendance dates. Additionally, the VIT network’s size allows

us to keep attendee drive times to no more than 30 minutes. This fact is

ideal for dealing with rural Vermont and its often inclement weather. VIT’s

network is truly interactive; at each site, attendees have microphones

available for questions during the PowerPoint presentation. VIT’s network

is reliable. On our own count, within the last 5 years, not one site has been

compromised for longer than 15 minutes due to technical difficulties.

Above all, VIT’s technology provides clear and unwavering video and audio

reception. This is a fact very much appreciated by our target audience.

We use the VIT network for 9 months out of 12 each year. The numbers

tell the tale of success. For example, summarizing our VIT use during the

last three years, we have instructed a total of 1,550 attendees. On average,

we instruct 57 attendees per class date. While it is true that other

technologies, such as wireless ‘Skype’ and Apple are available, they are no

match for VIT’s current technology and will not be on par with VIT in the

foreseeable future. Will someone please tell me how to ‘Skype’ an average

of 57 attendees per class? Add to that, keeping the ‘Skype’ interactive for

four hours without a ‘flicker’ or ‘hiss’? No other current technology in

Vermont and, for that matter - New England, can come close to VIT’s

dependability, clarity, and efficiency

My job allows me to interact with a large percentage of Vermont licensed

Plumbers, heating technicians, gas, and fuel oil technicians. I became

aware of the zero funding of VIT on Monday, since then I have spoken with

over a dozen licensees concerning this issue. Out of deference to

everyone’s sense of propriety, I will not repeat any of the content of those

conversations. In summary though, let me say that none of them were

supportive of the de-funding.

My previous statements illustrate a small amount of the enormous

benefit provided by VIT to both my Association and those who we serve.

I’m sure you have heard from many others whose education programs

would be eviscerated by closing VIT. To that end, I’m sure Tara Lidstone,

VIT’s Executive Director, has provided testimony and materials describing

the scope of VIT’s inherent value to thousands of Vermonters. What is

important now, is that we all get on the same page and work to restore the

funding so necessary to keep Vermont’s technological ‘crown jewel’, VIT,

fully functional. This is to the befit of us all. And, it’s the right thing to do.