Higher Education Challenges and Solutions

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Higher Education Challenges and Solutions
Professor J C Taylor Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Global Learning Services) The University of
Southern Queensland
Microsoft Executive Breakfast 6 May 2003
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Thesis
Powerful technical, economic and social trends
facilitated by the Internet are revolutionizing
the traditional concepts of business and
economics their effects on higher education
will be especially profound.
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• Joseph Schumpeter (1934) predicted that every 50
  years or so, technological revolutions would
  cause
• "gales of creative destruction
• in which old industries would be swept away and
  replaced by new ones.

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Technological Changes

• Steam Power - 1780s to the 1840s
• The Railways - 1840s to the 1890s
• Electric Power - 1890s to the 1930s
• The Motor Car - 1930s to the 1980s
• Information Technology - 1980s to ?

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Pace of Change

• 1. Radio
• 50 million users in 38 years
• 2. Television
• 50 million users in 13 years
• 3. The Internet
• 50 million users in 5 years
• Common Prediction
• One billion users by the year 2003

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Internet Access Population (millions)

• USA 168.6
• China 56.6
• Japan 51.3
• Germany 41.8
• UK 30.4
• South Korea 27.8
• Brazil 19.7
• Australia 10.6
• Netherlands 9.2
• Sweden 6.1

Total global population estimated at 580 million
Source A C Nielsen, 2002
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e-Readiness Rankings Leaders
e-Readiness ranking Country
e-Readiness score

• 1 Sweden 8.67
• Denmark 8.45
• 3 (tie) Netherlands 8.43
• 3 (tie) US 8.43
• 3 (tie) UK 8.43
• 6 Finland 8.38
• 7 Norway 8.28
• 8 Switzerland 8.26
• 9 Australia 8.25
• 10 (tie) Canada 8.20
• 10 (tie) Hong Kong 8.20
• 12 Singapore 8.18
• 13 Germany 8.15

Source The Economist Intelligence Unit
eBusiness Forum, March 2003
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The Knowledge Explosion
Over 90 of the relevant literature in many
technical fields, such as biotechnology,
astronomy, computers and software, and
environmental sciences, has been produced since
1985. J B Quinn (2001)
Traditional programmatic approaches to education
simply cannot keep up...
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The Knowledge-based Economy
There are increasing signs that our current
paradigms for higher education, the nature of our
academic programs, the organization of our
colleges and universities, and the way that we
finance, conduct and distribute the services of
higher education may not be able to adapt to the
demands of our time. J J Duderstadt (2001)
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From Elite to Mass Higher Education
In 1946 8 Australian universities teaching
about 26,000 students. In 2003 37 Australian
universities teaching about 888,000 students.
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Prediction

• 'The death of distance as a determinant of the
  cost of communications will probably be the
  single most important economic force shaping
  society in the first half of the 21st century'.
• Cairncross (1997)

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Thesis
Interaction between Internet systems, economic
forces and educational processes will
revolutionize traditional approaches to higher
education.
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The transition from the Industrial to the
Information Age was encapsulated by Dolence and
Norris (1995), who argued that to survive
organisations would need to change from rigid,
formula driven entities to organisations that
were fast, flexible and fluid.
Fast, Flexible and Fluid
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Trying to change a traditional university is like
trying to move a graveyard ---
Organizational Inertia

• it is extremely difficult and you dont get much
  internal support.

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Why should universities change?
Organisational Challenge

• Increasing competition on a global scale.

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Increasing Competition

• Unext (Business education only)

• London School of Economics and Political Science
• University of Chicago
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Columbia University
• Stanford University

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Increasing Competition
Britains e-University
The Higher Education Funding Council and the
Department of Education and Employment has asked
Treasury to provide an extra 100 million
(approx. AU300 million) to fund the
e-University.
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Increasing Competition
The Cambridge e-MBA
Cambridge Universitys business school has joined
forces with FT Knowledge, part of the global
communications group Pearson plc, to offer this
new degree from September 2001.
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791 years ago Cambridge University passed a rule
Requiring all students to reside in the town of
Cambridge, England. In 2000 that rule was
revoked. The 800 year-old rulebook had to be
altered to make way for the universitys first
Internet-enabled program, the global e-MBA.
Fast, Flexible and Fluid?
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Increasing Competition
AllLearn (an e-learning partnership between
Oxford University, Stanford University and Yale
University) is offering 75 short courses in a
dozen disciplines in the Fall Semester, starting
7th October, 2002
http//www.alllearn.org
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Increasing Competition
UCLAs OnlineLearning.net

• has enrolled over 20,000 students in 1,700 online
  courses since 1996.

• Has offered student discounts, refer a friend
  gift certificates, frequent flyer points,
  opportunities to win free tuition.

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Increasing Competition
General Motors University
General Motors University now offers an eMBA to
provide online learning to as many as 86,000 GM
salaried employees.
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Increasing Competition
University of Phoenix Online has 37,600 students.
It made a profit of 31.8 million in 2001, and a
profit of 23.6 million in the first six months
of 2002.
Source The Economist (2002)
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Increasing Competition
IBMs Mindspan Solutions workplace and training
systems employs 3,000 people to develop
customised e-learning content for 900 clients
in 57 countries.
(Source K Dearne (2002), The Australian IT)
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The Big Picture

• Change is the only constant.

• Growth is the only certainty.

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Future Projections

• A recent IBM report forecasts a threefold (US4.5
  trillion) jump in global education expenditure
  during the next 13 years.
• (Source Richard Gluyas, New Nabs e-School Deal
  http//finance.news.com.au, 22 April 2000).

• The World Bank expects the number of higher
  education students will more than double from 70
  million to 160 million by 2025.

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Future Projections

• By 2005, e-learning will be the single most used
  application on the web.
• (Source Harris, Logan Lundy, Gartner
  Research, 2001).

• Corporate investment in e-learning will grow from
  US2.1 billion in 2001 to US33.4 billion in
  2005.

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Leadership Challenge
A market-driven restructuring of higher education
as an industry while perhaps both alien and
distasteful to the academy is an important
perspective from which to view the future of
universities.
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What type of institutions will survive?
The Global Lifelong Learning Economy

• Will your institution survive?

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Five Generations of Distance Education Technology

• The Correspondence Model
• The Multimedia Model
• The Telelearning Model
• The Flexible Learning Model
• The Intelligent Flexible Learning Model

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First Generation
MODELS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION AND
ASSOCIATED DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES
CHARACTERISTICS OF DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES
INSTITUTIONAL VARIABLE COSTS APPROACHING ZERO
HIGHLY REFINED MATERIALS
ADVANCED INTERACTIVE DELIVERY
FLEXIBILITY
Time
Place
Pace
THE CORRESPONDENCE MODEL
Yes Yes Yes Yes No
No
Print
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Second Generation
MODELS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION AND
ASSOCIATED DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES
CHARACTERISTICS OF DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES
INSTITUTIONAL VARIABLE COSTS APPROACHING ZERO
HIGHLY REFINED MATERIALS
ADVANCED INTERACTIVE DELIVERY
FLEXIBILITY
Time
Place
Pace
THE MULTIMEDIA MODEL
Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No
No No No No No

• Print
• Audiotape
• Videotape
• Computer-based learning (eg CML/CAL)
• Interactive video

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes
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Variable costs tend to increase or decrease
directly (often linearly) with fluctuations in
the volume of activity.
In traditional distance education delivery, the
distribution of packages of self-instructional
materials (printed study guides, audiotapes,
videotapes, etc) is a variable cost, which varies
in direct proportion to the number of students
enrolled.
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Third Generation
MODELS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION AND
ASSOCIATED DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES
CHARACTERISTICS OF DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES
INSTITUTIONAL VARIABLE COSTS APPROACHING ZERO
HIGHLY REFINED MATERIALS
ADVANCED INTERACTIVE DELIVERY
FLEXIBILITY
Time
Place
Pace
THE TELELEARNING MODEL
No No No No Yes No No
No No Yes

• Audio-teleconferencing
• Videoconferencing
• Audiographic communication
• Broadcast TV/Radio and Audio-teleconferencing

No No No No
No No No Yes Yes No No
No Yes Yes
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Fourth Generation
MODELS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION AND
ASSOCIATED DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES
CHARACTERISTICS OF DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES
INSTITUTIONAL VARIABLE COSTS APPROACHING ZERO
HIGHLY REFINED MATERIALS
ADVANCED INTERACTIVE DELIVERY
FLEXIBILITY
Time
Place
Pace
THE FLEXIBLE LEARNING MODEL
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes
Interactive multimedia (IMM) Internet-based
access to WWW resources Computer mediated
communication (CMC).
Yes Yes No
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
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Fifth Generation
MODELS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION AND
ASSOCIATED DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES
CHARACTERISTICS OF DELIVERY TECHNOLOGIES
INSTITUTIONAL VARIABLE COSTS APPROACHING ZERO
HIGHLY REFINED MATERIALS
ADVANCED INTERACTIVE DELIVERY
FLEXIBILITY
Time
Place
Pace
THE INTELLIGENT FLEXIBLE LEARNING MODEL
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes

• Interactive multimedia
• Internet-based access toWWW resources
• CMC, using automated response systems
• Campus portal access to institutional processes
  resources

Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes
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Ask a question/send an email
NO
Incoming new admin question from student
USQAssist Self-service Knowledge Base
Search / Match
Previous Questions
Previous Answers
USQ staff member New Answer
Immediate admin feedback to student
YES
Trigger
5th GenerationApplication
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Metadata Schema Model
NO
Duty Tutor
Incoming new academic question from student
Reusable Learning Objects Database
Search / Match
Previous Questionsltmeta tagsgt
Previous Answersltmeta tagsgt
New Answer
Immediate academic feedback to student
YES
5th GenerationApplication
Trigger
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Enrolled Students USQ 2003

• All students 22,908
• On-campus 5,720
• Off-campus (Australia) 12,606
• Off-campus (Overseas) 4,582
• Note Students studying solely online 887

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USQs International Students 2003

• Singapore
  1,598
• Malaysia
  2,327
• Hong Kong
  565
• South Africa
  288
• United Arab Emirates
  114
• Japan 93
• Pacific Islands
  180
• India
  18
• Canada 98
• China 195
• Germany 188
• Total, incl. students from 67 other countries
  6,976

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Organizational Development
In many universities the development of web-based
initiatives is not systemic, but is often the
result of random acts of innovation initiated by
risk-taking individual academics.
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Organizational Development
The implementation of education technologies
including web-based applications at USQ is
strategically planned, systematically integrated
and institutionally comprehensive.
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USQ A guiding objective To be a leader in
flexible learning and the use of information and
communication technologies
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Management Structure of Online Initiatives
Information Infrastructure and Services Committee
Academic Board
VCC
Online Teaching Management Committee
Online Systems Management Committee
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The GOOD System provides a simple way
to Create, Manage Re-purpose
content
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XML (eXtensible Markup Language)

Print
Web
CD
DVD
RENDITIONS

STYLE SHEET
XSL
XSL
XSL
XSL

XML
CONTENT REPOSITORY
DTD(Document Type Definition)

INPUT
XML Editor
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Ask a question/send an email
NO
Incoming new admin question from student
USQAssist Self-service Knowledge Base
Search / Match
Previous Questions
Previous Answers
USQ staff member New Answer
Immediate admin feedback to student
YES
Trigger
5th GenerationApplication
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USQAssist Self-Service Knowledge Base
During S2, 2002, the system had a hit-rate of
100,491 from 29,367 students, only 1,375 of whom
used the Ask a Question facility . During S2,
the e-CRM also managed a further 29,647 email
queries.
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USQAssist Self-Service Knowledge Base
Student support staff also save 25 of their time
through the use of the knowledge-base for the
automatic generation of suggested answers to
email, phone and face-to-face enquiries
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USQConnect

• Entry point to web-based systems for over 25,000
  users (staff and students).
• Written entirely in ASP.NET based on a modified
  version of the IBuySpy Portal code.
• Hosted on Windows 2000 utilising load balancing
  with SQL2000 as the database server.
• The foundation for a single sign-on solution
  being developed in-house.

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The PC-ePhone
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http//www.usqonline.com.au
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Communication Areas
Content Areas
Group Areas
StudentAreas
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Relevant Instructional Design Theories

• ZPD Zone of proximal development (Vygotsky,
  1978 1981)
• Reflective practitioner (Schon, 1987)
• Communities of practice (Brown, Collins
  Duguid, 1989)
• Situated cognition (Lave Wenger, 1991)

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Brown Duguid (2000) emphasised the importance
of regarding learning as a social act

• Practice is an effective teacher, and community
  of practice an ideal learning environment.

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• Lave Wenger (1991) emphasised the importance of
  the social context in which the learner is
  immersed, and learning as legitimate peripheral
  participation in a community of practice.

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• In the online context, legitimate peripheral
  participation has become associated with the term
  Lurker.

One of the silent majority in an electronic
forum one who posts occasionally or not at all
but is known to read the group's postings
regularly. (The Jargon
dictionary, 2002)
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Student Participation Profiles

• Proactive
• Peripheral
• Parsimonious

Workers
Lurkers
Shirkers
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Overview of Participation and Performance
Average Number Discussion Board
Hits 193 129 36
Average Number Messages Posted 38 13 4
Average GPA 5.43 5.41 4.30
Student Sub-Groups The Workers The
Lurkers The Shirkers
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Outcome
The academic performance of the lurkers was on
average not much less than that of the workers,
thereby supporting the notion of learning as
legitimate peripheral participation.
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The Future
The success of the lurkers augurs well for the
use of e-learning facilitated by intelligent
databases and the flexibility inherent in
interacting with virtual cohorts of students.
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Metadata Schema Model
NO
Duty Tutor
Incoming new academic question from student
Reusable Learning Objects Database
Search / Match
Previous Questionsltmeta tagsgt
Previous Answersltmeta tagsgt
New Answer
Immediate academic feedback to student
YES
5th GenerationApplication
Trigger
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5th Generation
As the intelligent databases become more
comprehensive, the institutional variable costs
for the provision of effective student support
will tend towards zero.
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5th Generation
In effect, fifth generation distance provides
students with better quality tuition and more
effective pedagogical and administrative support
services at lower cost.
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Clicks and Mortar are not enough

• To survive and prosper organisations need to
  develop the institutional capacity for

habitual and radical innovation. (Gary Hamel,
Inside the Revolution, 2001)
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The USQ Philosophy ?

• Why not create rather than predict the future?

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The institutional capacity to execute an
integrated approach to technology deployment
.
USQs Potential Competitive Advantage ?
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