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Chapter 560: An act creating the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications
Abstract
Who were the proponents and what were the circumstances that ultimately led to the adoption of Chapter 560, An Act Creating the Massachusetts Educational Telecommunications Corporation, by the Massachusetts legislature and its signing into law by Governor Edward King on December 23, 1982? To understand the history of Chapter 560, it is necessary to turn first to the Engineering School of the University of Massachusetts where the long process that led to Chapter 560 really began in the 1960's. The School of Engineering recognized the possibilities of the new technologies for offering education at-a-distance. In 1969, it commissioned Genesys Systems, Inc. of Mountain View, California to survey the various technologies available for linking teaching institutions with remote classrooms. The first step had been taken on a road that would eventually lead to Chapter 560. It is the contention of this dissertation that the University of Massachusetts played a sine qua non role in the ultimate passage of the legislation creating an educational telecommunications network for Massachusetts. The process that began with the School of Engineering soon passed on to the Office of the President. In 1973, the first Committee on Telecommunications was created by President Robert Wood. From this time on, all initiatives relative to the establishment of a state-wide telecommunications network employing the latest technologies would be centered in the Office of the President of the University of Massachusetts. The work of the Commissions appointed by President Wood in the Seventies came to an abrupt halt with the resignation of President Wood in 1977. The next stage in the evolution of Chapter 560 would begin with the appointment of David C. Knapp as President of the University of Massachusetts. The Telecommunications Commissions appointed by President Knapp will be the main focus of the dissertation, for it is their work that led directly to Chapter 560. The main sources for the work of the Commissions are the minutes of the meetings, the correspondence that issued from Commission members and Presidential staff and the interviews with key participants. The dissertation will conclude with a careful evaluation of what happened after the signing of Chapter 560.
Subject Area
Higher education|Educational technology|Public administration
Recommended Citation
Morris, James Vincent, "Chapter 560: An act creating the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9207441.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9207441