Profile Comparison
The Master’s Page Page 3 Volume 4, Issue 2
Rhea Fix Alumni interview
What will EDTEC 590 about? The plan is to explore the art and science of pro- gram and product evaluation. In this class, you'll serve as a performance technologist who assists a community- based client with a pressing evaluation need. To complete your task, you'll con- ceptualize an evaluation study, conduct a brief review of relevant literature, design tools for collecting key data (surveys, observation guides, interview protocols, action plans), analyze that
data, and produce an interpretive report.
As important, you'll also have an oppor- tunity to meet evaluators in the field (both internal and external), research hot topics in the discipline, and work with high-end technologies that are rapidly affecting how evaluation unfolds and whom it involves.
To learn more about the course, point your browser to: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/ courses/EDTEC590/ -- or email Jim or Marcie. They can be reached at: mar- shall@mail.sdsu.edu or bober@mail.sdsu.edu.
Evaluation Continued from Pg. 2
"There will always be a warm place in my heart for San Diego State," says Rhea Fix of Little Rock, Arkansas who one of the first online master’s candi- dates to graduate in spring 2005. While completing the program, Rhea worked as an Instructional Designer for a Little Rock-based telecommunications com- pany. In 2001, she made the decision to leave the corporate training department to open her own consulting firm. "I spent so many long hours at work, then spent evenings and weekends working on my degree. My family got the left- overs. So, I decided to make a change." Influenced by a Covey course, Rhea decided to align her life with her priori- ties. She reflects, "I always said family and education were important priorities, but every day I made decisions that said otherwise. So, I gave my boss six months' notice, and took the first steps towards starting my own design com- pany." She ended 2001 by leaving her staff job and started 2002 as an inde- pendent consultant and president of Red Pepper Consulting, Inc. Reflecting on her first five years in busi- ness, Rhea states, "Your first years are focused on survival, break even, and growth. There are many lessons learned from good years and bad years and all
the surprises that come with failure and success." Her degree program contrib- uted heavily by providing new knowl- edge, skills, and experiences to apply to new client relationships and projects. "I found myself using information from courses on projects the same week I'd received it. Everything applied and transferred to what I was doing regularly in the field. I also found that I was pick-
economy, she shares what's on her horizon. "After years of planning, my husband and I decided we were ready for two big steps: having a second child and getting my husband through his master's degree in engineering." As a result of these changes (Rhea’s second child was born in May) Rhea now focuses on training and products for small to medium businesses. She explains, "Trends show that small businesses generate an increasing vol- ume of revenue for our economy. Small companies are interested in in- creasing revenue and efficiency, but they're lass likely to look to training as a means of doing that. So, I have to be bottom-line focused in the solutions I present. They have to be affordable and provide direct impact to the busi- ness." Her new marketing campaign stresses performance improvement through increased profitability: "'Training Tapas: Small Bites for Big Impact,'" is her latest slogan. “We're focusing on coaching, off the shelf products com- bined with custom job aids that focus on core business tasks and business support products that aid in building the business and retaining employees.” Rhea also co-teaches the online sec- tion of EDTEC 685 in SDSU's online program. When asked what the future holds, Rhea is optimistic. "I'm interested in building my firm and attracting tal- ented designers and consultants." She's contracted and partnered with SDSU grads in other states, "My online edu- cation at SDSU really contributed to my desire to build a virtual corpora- tion. We don't need brick and mortar buildings to build quality work prod- ucts and team with others. SDSU grads know this, because they success- fully work and collaborate in cyber- space. I'm always looking for students who bring this savvy to their design skill sets."
ing up things that graduates of other programs didn't necessarily have, like performance technology skills and online development experience." Those skills combined well with her radio/TV/film and writing back- ground. As Red Pepper Consulting approaches its sixth year in business and a tough