Characteristics of Media Service Departments at Mid-size Universities

By Larry Johnson

M edia administrators and their institutions benefit from having comparable information about the knature of similar media service programs. This

study stemmed from a need for information about the structure, staffing, physical space, and types of activities of media service departments at colleges and universities of similar size and type--public institutions with student enrollments between 5,000 and 10,000 students. A sur- vey research project was completed to gain a "snapshot" of media service programs at those four-year state-sup- ported colleges and universities with student enrollments between 5,000 and 10,000. Data for the study, which was conducted during the fall of 1992, were collected and analyzed during the following spring. Analysis of this data was used for long-range planning and decision making at the University of Southern Indiana.

Earlier Studies Were Broad-Based In recent years, few empirical studies of this type

have been published. The most well known, a survey of media centers at 196 public and private colleges and uni- versities, was reported by Albright (1983). Among the findings of this Association for Educational Communica- tions and Technology sponsored study were:

�9 Media centers (65%) at public institutions were generally staffed by five or more persons in 1982-83.

�9 Media centers were known by a wide variety of functional titles.

�9 22% of the respondents reported activity in the area of instructional computing; distance learn- ing efforts and involvement also appeared to be minimal.

Larry Johnson is the Coordinator of Media Services at the University of Southern Indiana.

20 TECH TRENDS

McConeghy and McConeghy (1990, 1990, 1991) surveyed 240 post-secondary institutions, including tech- nical schools, all with enrollments over 1,000. The results showed large variances in the levels for staffing, budgets, and the activities of the media service depart- ments--a reflection of the broad scope of the population sampled.

Albright's AECT study was conducted over a decade ago and, like the McConeghys' research, cov- ered a broad range of higher education institutions: pub- lic, private, and schools with varied student enrollments. Speculating that limiting the sample population might increase information accuracy, I intentionally focused this study on a much more narrow group and type of higher education institution.

Designing the Survey One hundred and forty-one state-supported, four-

year colleges and universities with enrollments between 5,000 and 10,000 students were identified in the United States (Wells, Henne, and Harrigan 1990). A three-page questionnaire composed of 47 items was designed. After this instrument was developed it was evaluated by three professional colleagues, two with media administration experience and the other with related expertise. These content experts, from institutions outside the research population, each provided recommendations for survey revision. The questionnaire was then revised and mailed to media service departments and their administrators at each of the 141 institutions in the study population. One follow-up letter was sent to non-responders. Completed questionnaires were received from 90 colleges or univer- sities (64%). Figure 1 shows the locations and enroll- ments of the institutions that responded to the survey.

Patterns Begin to Emerge Respondents provided data on their media service

operations, organizational structure, media staff, physi- cal space allocation, and types of instructional support provided. Those requesting survey results also provided administrator and media service department titles.

Eight distinctly different titles for the media admin- istrator were reported, but "director" (66%) far sur- passed "coordinator" (8%). The variety in department names extended to 34 different headings, with the most frequent occurrence being "media services" (21%), fol- lowed by "audio visual services" (8%).

SEPTEMBER 1994

Figure 1: Locations and Enrollments of Survey Respondents.

A. Professional Personnel

Category No. %

Director/administrator 83 92

Assistant administrator 29 32

Instructional designer 11 12

Other professionals 31 34

Mean 2.05 FTE

Median 2.0

Standard Deviation 1.49

* FTE represents a full-time worker or their equivalent in part-time work hours.

C. Clerical/Secretarial Personnel

Category No.

Admin. secretary/clerk 60

Additional secretary 14

Additional clerk 12

Other office personnel 6

Mean 1.11 FTE

Median 1.0

Standard Deviation 1.12

%

67

16

13

7

Table 1: Staffing of Media Service Departments.

SEPTEMBER 1994

B. Technical Support Personnel

Category No. %

Graphic artist 26 29

Computer graphics 27 30

Photographer 35 39

Equipment maintenance 53 59

Video production 40 44

Other technical support 35 39

Mean 3.71 FTE

Median 2.05

Standard Deviation 4.82

D. Student Personnel

Category

Equipment circ., delivery

Media production

Clerical, office

Other student personnel

Mean

Median

Standard Deviation

No. %

57 63

67 74

58 64

29 32

147 Hrs/wk

98

151

Media administrators were asked about their academic prep- aration. Forty-five (50%) responded that their highest degree attained was the masters, while 19 (21%) had earned a doctoral degree. But 56% of the respondents reported that they did not have a degree in an instructional/educational media or technology program. Adminis- trators also indicated the number of years they had been at their job assignments. Twenty-four (27%) had been their department leader from 6 to 10 years, 21% for 3 to 5 years, 13% from 10 to 15, and 14% had been at their position for over 25 years.

Respondents defined the organizational structure of their media service departments. The highest occurring pattern was 34 cases (40%) reporting to the director of the library. In 29 instances (32%), the media department was aligned under the academic vice-president or dean. The majority of media administrators (59%) stated that their assignment was an

TECH TRENDS 21

administrative position, with 17% having joint administrative and faculty appointments. An overwhelm- ing majority (79%) of departments were housed in one location on campus, with 38 institutions (42%) listing another media support department outside their depart- ment. In those instances, the most common types were telecommunications centers and library centers separate from media services.

Information on media department staffing was col- lected in four different categories. The findings are sum- marized in Table 1. For three personnel groups--profes- sional, technical support, and clerical/secretarial-- statistics of central tendency were reported on the basis of full-time employment or the equivalent (FTE). In the grouping for student workers, hours-per-week data were used because those positions are generally part-time assignments.

In the professional staffing group, the most com- mon of the 31 "additional" positions was telecommunica- tions engineer, followed closely by audiovisual/media specialist and television producer or director. Only 11 institutions (12%) had a part- or full-time instructional designer. Leading titles for "other technical support" staff were audiovisual or media technician, electronics technician, and super- visor of a service area such as pro- duction, materials circulation, or equipment distribution. Of the 29 "additional student personnel" reported, the main assignments were as maintenance technicians, video producers/directors, and supervisors. Interestingly, responses showed that student workers were almost as likely to be assigned to a media production or clerical position as they were to jobs in equipment circulation and delivery.

Respondents gave dimen- sions of the floor space used for various media department opera- tions, indicating space in gradua- ted 250 sq. ft. (23.2 m2) incre- ments. Table 2 summarizes the retumed data.

Table 3 shows the reported levels of instructional support or activity. The data are shown as a percentile conversion of the num- ber of respondents in each cate- gory. Combining figures in both the first and second columns pro- vides a total percentage of respon- dents who support that activity within their media service depart- ment. The responding media administrators reported that their departments generally supported materials production in three lev- els or means: facilitating self- help, job-order, and instructional design. The data indicate that the

adoption of computer technology for production of mate- rials is near the 50% level overall, that media depart- ments are still relying heavily on more traditional pro- duction methods. In contrast, the table also shows some activities that were not typical. These included (1) a non- print materials collection other than film and/or video, (2) operation of a print shop or duplication service, (3) photographic support for a print shop, (4) the develop-

Function~Activity

Admin i s t r a t i on

E q u i p m e n t storage

Non-p r in t materials

Main t enance area

Mater ia ls p roduc t ion

Addi t iona l space

% w/th

None

3

3

7

7

7

76

Median

Square feet [ m i

2

251-500 23 .3-46 .4

501-750 46 .5-69 .7

251-500 23 .3-46 .4

101-250 9 .4-23

751-1 ,000 69 .8-92 .9

Table 2: Floor Space Used for Media Services.

Activity I Function * Data listed aa percentage

Media Materials Video & film rental from outside agencies Maintain, circulate video & f'dm collection I~oai~thetain, circulate non-print materials

r man lure & video)

Production Levels Facilitate sr production Provide job-order production Instructional design

51 ~ 14 : 18 : : 17 58 ~ 14 : 17 : 11 39 ! 7 i 33 : : 21

58 i 17 [ 3 : : 22 72 i 7 i 4 i 1 i 16 57 i 14 [ 2 i 3 : 23

Materials Production Transparencies via traditional techniques Computer assisted instruction Print materials (print shop, duplication)

73 [ 12 1 7 21 ! 26 : 22 14 : 14 1 5 0

Signs, pos t e r s&di sp lays 38 : 22 i 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ ~ . . . . :,- . . . . i . . . . . ~ . . . . .

! 2 4

! 3

8 ! 29

17 i 14

Computer Graphics Forms Signs Charts, graphs Laser prints & transparencies Desktop publishing Color transparencies Film Recorder slides

Photography Location photography Studio photography Photographic copywork Darkroom, photolab Black & white film, print processing Color slide development, processing Photography support for print shop

Video Production

25 33 40 46 27 36 36

44 42 61 50 49 37 22

i 18 ! 23 i 22 ! 17 ! : 22 : : 10 ! : l0 :

:: 12 i : 6 : : 8 : : 10 : : 10 : ! 6 : ! 8 :

! 29 ! 20 i 13

14 28 16 14

18 15 11 18 15 12 29

: 1

2 : 1 :

4 �9 3 "

, - : . . . . :

: 6 i ~ 2 : : 4 : : 7 : ! 23 : : 4 :

! 27

Limited video production, wo editing & studio Studio production Field production with editing facilities

Distance Education Satellite, teleconference reception Program origination, distribution

35 i 44 : 50 !

53 i 24 i

16 i 7 i 10 : 14 : 11 : 11 :

11 i 10 i

Table 3: Types and Levels of lnstructional Support Activities.

11 i 13 :

4 : 3 :

1 i

23 24 21 22 34 36

21 31 18 18 19 22 37

41 27 24

23 53

22 TECH TRENDS SEPTEMBER 1994

ment and processing of photo- graphic color slides, (5) the production of computer assisted instruction (CAI), and (6) the origination of distance education programming.

A "Typical" Profile One summary of the sur-

vey data described a "typical" media services department for a university within the study population. That description was based on the most com- monly reported situation in each category. The typical department would be housed in one location. It would be named media services and administered by a full-time director. The media administra- tor would have been in his or her position from 6 to 10 years and have completed a masters degree. The degree would not likely be in instructional media or a closely related technology or media field. The administrator and department would be structurally aligned within the university library administrative sys- tem. Department staff would most likely include one additional professional (either an assistant director or media specialist), two technical support people (possibly equipment maintenance and production technicians), and one secretarial or clerical person. The department staff would also include 10 to 15 student workers, covering 100 to 150 work-hours each week. The average depart- mental support to instruction would include: (1) the maintenance and circulation of a video and film collec- tion, (2) rental of additional titles from outside sources, (3) the local production of media materials, (4) photo- graphic support for instruction, (5) video production, and (6) satellite video reception. Photographic services would include location photography, copywork, and black-and-white film and print processing. The depart- ment also would have its own television studio, but sup- port video field production and editing.

The study outcomes were statements of what existed or was perceived to be the case by the respon- dents and the researcher. Although an argument might be ventured that some of the information spoke to the quality of media service programs, actually the data reflected what was "out there" instead of what should have been or how it should have been. The results are generalizable to a specific group of media service depart- ments. Though the information gained provided a bench- mark and basis for future actions, the data should not be interpreted as presenting an optimum way for organizing

. . . the data should not be interpreted as

presenting an optimum way for organizing and

delivering media support.

and delivering media support. Indeed, a lack of

resources may keep staff and equipment at minimum lev- els. The challenge for any media service department head is to maximize the resources that are available while seeking support for more funding.

Further Investigation This research points to

several other areas for investi- gation. The characteristics of media service programs at other types and sizes of edu- cational institutions should be assessed, leading to possible contrast and comparison. The study of technology utiliza- tion within media services could be expanded to a wider range, including examination

of the adoption and use of CD-ROM, computer-based inventory and circulation systems, desktop presentation systems, and voice, video and data networks. Further investigation of the attitudes of media administrators, the department staff, and their faculty and clients is needed. This research also provides recent baseline data that could be used as a benchmark for measuring future changes in size, structure, and technology.

Note: The original text of this article is now avail- able as an ERIC database document, # E D 364 186.

References Albright, M. J. (1983). The Status of Media Cen-

ters in Higher Education (Report No. IR01108). Wash- ington: Association for Educational Communications and Technology. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 242 306).

McConeghy, G. & McConeghy, J. (1990). Higher Education Media Management in the 90's: Part One, Administration of Media Centers. Tech Trends, 35(5), 54-57.

McConeghy, G. & McConeghy, J. (1990). Higher Education Media Management in the 90's: Part Two: Media Distribution. Tech Trends, 35(6), 44--46.

McConeghy, G. & McConeghy, J. (1991). Higher Education Media Management in the 90's: Part Three: Media Production. Tech Trends, 36(4), 31-33.

Wells, J., Henne, R., & Harrigan, D. (Eds.) (1990). Peterson' s Register of Higher Education (3rd ed.). Princeton: Peterson's Guides, Inc. �9

SEPTEMBER 1994 TECH TRENDS 23