Production of CAL-programs in medicine, odontology and veterinary medicine in Sweden1

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Abstract

At the recommendation of the Swedish Government, the Council for the Renewal of Undergraduate Education was established in 1990. In 1993 the Council was declared a permanent National Agency by Swedish Parliament and became part of the newly established National Agency for Higher Education in 1995. The purpose of the Council for Renewal of Undergraduate Education is to promote and support endeavors to develop quality and renewal of undergraduate education. In particular the council awards grants to development activities. Once a year, teachers at Swedish universities, university colleges and professional schools can apply for funding. Applications are accepted for projects directed towards undergraduate education in all disciplines. The Council selects 15–20 projects and each project is funded for 1–3 years. An advisory group—MEDCAL (Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) in MEDicine, Odontology and Veterinary Medicine)—consisting of representatives from all universities supports the Council with registration and evaluation of programs, offers their opinions on the production of CAL and collaborates with similar organizations in other countries, e.g. Australia, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain and USA. In all, 12 projects within the frame of MEDCAL will be reported.

Section snippets

Establishment and functions of the council for the renewal of undergraduate education

In the 1980's academics became more focused on research than teaching. The relation between funding for undergraduate education and funding for research in the early 80's was close to 50/50. By the end of the decade the relation was about 35/65 [5]. In 1988 the Association of Swedish Student Unions wrote to the then Board of Universities and Colleges complaining about the ‘pedagogical environment at the universities’ and suggested a series of remedial steps [5]. It was not unheard of for

Today

Everyone is astounded by the enormous expansion of the INTERNET during the past few years. It is, however quite possible to be drowned in information and it seems quite obvious to the Council that one or several sorting instruments (filters) will be of decisive importance for academics wanting to use the facilities of the INTERNET. Thus, in co-operation with their Australian Sister Council, the authors are developing a clearing-house for multimedia based learning in medicine and the health

Economy

MEDCAL's budget for 1997 is £49 000. This includes expenditure for committee members, project teams and seminars. The medical computer programs do not have a separate entry in the Council's budget, they are included in the general project money. When the Council was a national agency in its own right, the Government earmarked £150 000 per year for ‘The Increased Use of Computers in Undergraduate Education’. The Council has, during this budget year, been given a task by the Government concerning

Conclusion

In a short period of time the Council has achieved and even surpassed its aims. It has been a major contributor to improved quality in undergraduate education by giving teaching the status it deserves and encouraging academics to focus more on teaching than research as was the tendency at the beginning of the 1980's. By recognizing the need for and establishing sub-committees such as MEDCAL, the competence in multimedia production in Sweden has vastly improved. Academics from all over Sweden

References (5)

  • Council for the Renewal of Undergraduate Education—Annual report...
  • Council for the Renewal of Undergraduate Education—Annual report...
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1

Supported by The Swedish Council for the Renewal of Undergraduate Education: MEDCAL.

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