VOL. 13, No. 2, 74-78
Traditional universities are experiencing considerable pressure to make their courses and programs accessible at a distance. Unfortunately, senior administrators in traditional universities are skeptical and do not understand that there are distance education technologies and approaches that are consistent with the values and culture of their institutions. It is argued that the traditional research universities can accomplish several goals by focusing on the development of relevant continuing professional education programs that are accessible through distance education. Moreover, if the capabilities of collaborative synchronous and asynchronous communications technologies are used to their full potential, the integrity and quality of traditional research universities can be sustained. One important side benefit may be that traditional universities will rethink their approaches to teaching and learning for both on- and off-campus courses and programs.
Les universités traditionnelles subissent des pressions considérables afin de rendre leurs cours et leurs programmes accessibles à distance. Malheureusement, les cadres supérieurs de ces universités sont sceptiques et ne comprennent pas qu’il existe des technologies et des méthodes d’éducation compatibles avec leurs valeurs et leur culture traditionnelles. Nous prétendons que les universités traditionnelles à vocation de recherche peuvent atteindre plusieurs de leurs objectifs en mettant l’accent sur l’élaboration de programmes d’enseignement professionnel continu qui seraient accessibles à distance. Qui plus est, si l’on exploite à fond le potentiel des technologies de communication, synchrone et asynchrone, pour la collaboration, l’intégrité et la qualité des universités traditionnelles à vocation de recherche pourront être maintenues. En outre, ces universités pourraient être amenées à repenser leur manière d’aborder l’enseignement et l’apprentissage, à la fois sur le campus et hors campus, et cela pourrait être une retombée positive.
Traditional universities are experiencing considerable press to use distance learning technologies to offer courses and programs. These institutions are reacting to media statements about how information technologies are going to transform higher education. The message is “get on board or get left behind.” Unfortunately, most academics have a poor understanding of the choices and implications that confront them. The result is that few universities have developed the necessary policies and plans to guide them in this important and challenging task.
The question is why should traditional universities get involved in distance education? Surely this is the mandate of the “open universities”? Is it not the mandate of traditional research universities to provide a quality learning experience based on face-to-face discourse? Would not the adoption of distance education reshape the culture and mandate of the traditional university? In turn, would this not threaten the quality of the educational experience of its core full-time learners?
The purpose of this article is to explore where and how distance education can assist traditional universities in meeting their goals. It is argued that the first application of distance education methods should be in developing and delivering relevant and accessible continuing professional development programs. A vision and model of distance education will also be outlined that is consistent with the legitimate culture and values of traditional universities.
When discussing the application of distance education technologies in traditional universities, perhaps the greatest opportunity and need is in the area of continuing professional development (i.e., education and learning). The reason is that the nature of work is evolving. Global competition and technological innovation have transformed the workplace. Universities have a responsibility and role to play in providing learning opportunities to meet these challenges of a changing society. Moreover, there is a pressing need to collaborate with businesses and professional associations in developing relevant and accessible programs for working professionals. The pay-off is not simply to meet the needs of business, but to position the universities as important partners in a knowledge economy. The credibility and relevance of universities could be at stake if we are not seen as knowledge creators for, and innovators in, the workplace.
Traditional universities are faced with what might be described as a typical postmodern challenge. That is, they must retain their traditional values of being knowledge creators and providing quality learning experiences while ensuring that the knowledge is relevant, has practical application, and the learning experience is accessible to a wide range of students of various ages and work experience. Traditional universities are also faced with the challenge of being multidisciplinary in order to meet the complex challenges of a technological and global economy. Finally, we cannot ignore the political pressures to find economies of scale and create synergies through partnerships. This need to provide first-time basic learning as well as continuous professional learning is causing considerable confusion and uneasiness in traditional universities.
Although knowledge creation may be the distinguishing characteristic of traditional research universities, there is increasing pressure that they disseminate that knowledge in a timely fashion. If we hope to maintain the loyalty and confidence of our professional clientele and alumni, we must be prepared to provide quality, responsive programs and research services. In this regard the Faculty of Extension at the University of Alberta is taking the initiative to create an Institute of Professional Development to provide leadership and coordination in developing links among faculties, businesses, and professional associations for the purposes of providing:
The Institute for Professional Development will provide a single point of presence and will be housed in the world-class Telus Centre. Due for completion in early 2000, the Telus Centre will have the technological capability to link in-house programs with anywhere in the world and extend professional development programs beyond traditional boundaries. We have found that the Institute and the Centre are providing the visibility and credibility to attract projects and partnerships with public and private sector institutions in all the service areas of the Institute.
Attending to continuous professional development is not a sell-out to business and an erosion of the integrity, independence, and values of research universities. The rationale for the initiative described above is to address the needs of the part-time learner. Universities generally lag behind other postsecondary institutions with regard to participation rates in part-time study. More disturbing is that there has been a drop in formal part-time learning (Statistics Canada, 1997). While this is happening, the demand for part-time professional learning grows. Businesses, professional associations, and individuals look to the universities for leadership in meeting the demand for quality, accessible part-time professional learning. Initiatives such as the one at the the U of A can complement and enhance the tradition of scholarship and knowledge creation in research universities.
In order to ensure the integrity and quality of learning associated with the traditional universities while addressing the growing demand for part-time professional programs, it is essential that we examine and understand how we would make these programs accessible at a distance. Traditional universities must adopt a model of distance education that is congruent with their quality standards while meeting the needs of the continuing part-time learner. To adopt the wrong model or ignore this expanding professional market would be equally damaging to the traditional university.
At the core of traditional research universities are communities of learners. The challenge for distance education is the quality of access to the academic communities of research universities. Recently I argued that distance education has entered a new era that is challenging the industrialized model of objectified, mass-produced self-instructional materials (Garrison, 1997). Characterized by the quality of the interaction among teacher(s) and students, this approach to distance education is consistent with the values and culture of traditional universities and is perhaps best exemplified by networked computer-mediated communication. Paradoxically, it is an independent (i.e., personalized) yet collaborative approach, using the capabilities of computer-mediated communications and the Internet. Furthermore, there is a synergistic relationship between this and face-to-face teaching. Innovative combinations can be explored to meet the particular needs of the learners and subject matter.
The success of distance education in traditional universities will depend not only on the approach taken, but also on the relevance of the program and the instructional design. Simply having the potential of the technology available will do little if quality learning experiences are not designed into courses and programs. As we are beginning to appreciate, it is what students do with the content that affects the quality of the learning outcomes. For traditional universities, to facilitate learning at a distance it is imperative to be able to facilitate critical discourse and reflection. Simply delivering packaged content without the opportunity to analyze the ideas critically and assess student understanding is deficient in the context of most traditional research universities.
The reality is that distance learning technologies will have a significant impact on enhancing the quality of learning in traditional on-campus courses. It may well have a benefit in shaping how professors approach their teaching. At the same time, for most undergraduate programs, face-to-face instruction will probably remain the dominant approach to the teaching and learning transaction. Part of this is due to the culture of traditional universities and the belief that the quality of learning outcomes is associated with sustained face-to-face educational transactions. Inherent in this is the ideal of a critical community of learners. The core issue, however, is the mandate of traditional universities to be knowledge creators. As Brown and Duguid (1996) state, “the core competency of universities is not transferring knowledge but developing it, and it’s done within intricate and robust networks and communities” (p. 13). There is no advantage for traditional research universities to emulate mega, open universities whose primary mandate is the accessibility and dissemination of existing knowledge.
I believe there is merit in the academic values and culture of the traditional university. That is not to say, however, that there is no place for distance education in the traditional university. However, the distance education model must be consistent with the ideals of critical discourse and a learning community. Moreover, distance educators must be strategic and find those opportunities and market niches that are most defensible with regard to providing access along with a quality learning experience. That opportunity and need is continuing professional education. In this way it can be shown that education at a distance can be a quality learning experience and is not a challenge to the values and culture of the traditional research university.
The message we must communicate to the traditional universities is that, with the synchronous and asynchronous communications technology available today, a quality learning experience can be designed and facilitated at a distance. We must communicate this message both by word and by example. To do this means that continuing studies must become deeply integrated into the mainstream of the university community by partnering with faculties in ways that will meet their needs. Departments of continuing studies must become the incubators and advocates of “disruptive” technologies such as distance education, starting with the opportunities in the field of professional development. This will help position the University as a whole to adopt and adjust to technological changes.
Brown, J., & Duguid, P. (1996). Universities in the digital age. Change, 28(4), 10-19.
Garrison, D.R. (1997). Computer conferencing: The post-industrial age of distance education. Open Learning, 12(2), 3-11.
Statistics Canada. (1997). Catalogue no. 81-003-XPB, 4(2). Ottawa: Author.
D. Randy Garrison is a professor and Dean of the Faculty of Extension at the University of Al-berta. He has authored or co-authored three books and over 70 articles and papers. His area of research focuses on critical thinking, self-directed learning, and communications technology.