Distance Education: Players and Changes
In the past couple of years, U.S. university
involvement in distance education has expanded enormously—almost all large and
medium-sized institutions now offer some form of distance learning programming, along with
many smaller institutions. With distance education have risen new types of educational
institutions ("virtual" and "corporate" universities, for example, and
companies providing universities with systems facilitating instructional technology) and
new networks for cooperation among institutions. Below are brief profiles sampling some of
the newer and most notably innovative players that have emerged and their current efforts
to find a place in this competitive new arena.
California Virtual University. Started
with plans to become a degree-awarding entity and competitor to Western Governors
University (see separate entry), CVU restructured after its founding partners (the three
California public university systems and the state's association of independent colleges)
declined to contribute $1 million per year for three years to cover CVU operating
expenses. CVU now has no staff but a searchable database of distance courses offered by
over one hundred California institutions is maintained at its Web site.
Committee on Institutional Cooperation Common
Market of Courses and Institutes. Arrangement to share both distance education courses
and on-campus summer language institutes with students at member institutions, which
consist of the University of Chicago and the "Big Ten" schools (Indiana
University, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State
University, Purdue University, Ohio State University, the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, University of Iowa, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, University of
Minnesota-Twin Cities, and University of Wisconsin-Madison).
Ecollege.com. Formerly called Real Education,
this company is currently the largest on-line educational technology provider, offering
hardware, software, Internet links, and technical support (including "help
desks") for distance education at client colleges and universities. Ecollege.com
recently received a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to develop a
Real Adaptive Intelligent Learning System (RAILS), designed to provide a cost-effective
and efficient way for nonprogrammers to create interactive on-line courses.
International University Consortium.
Established by the University of Maryland University College in 1980, the IUC is a
membership organization of more than fifty universities and other educational entities
worldwide. It develops course materials for members to adapt for their distance programs
and offers professional development and marketing opportunities.
Jones International University. The first
entirely on-line institution to be regionally accredited (by the North Central Association
of Schools and Colleges in spring 1999), Jones International has no central campus and its
faculty are located across the country. It currently offers a master's degree and a
bachelor's degree completion program, both in business communications.
National Technological University. This
alliance of university engineering departments and training organizations delivers
technical education by satellite to worksites and other group locations.
NYU On-Line. In spring 1999, New York
University established a for-profit subsidiary, NYU On-line, to market courses on the
Internet. It is initially focusing on noncredit offerings for corporate and professional
training.
R1.edu. This planned "portal" on
the Web will market the on-line programs of member universities. The consortium started
with fourteen major research university members in summer 1999, and any institution with
Research University I designation under the Carnegie Classification (large universities
focusing on graduate education) may take part. The site is expected to go on the Web in
September 1999.
Regents University. Founded by the New
York Board of Regents in 1971, Regents University now exists as a private, independently
chartered institution. Regents does not itself offer classes but rather helps the student
construct a plan to earn a degree, evaluating instruction offered by other colleges and
universities, reviewing life and work experience, and administering the Regents
examinations and other measures to assess learning.
Southern Regional Electronic Campus.
Coordinates distance learning programs at institutions in sixteen southern states,
involving over one hundred colleges and universities. Cooperating states include Alabama,
Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
SUNY Learning Network. This consortium of
thirty-seven campuses in the State University of New York system have joined together to
offer graduate and undergraduate on-line courses and degrees.
United States Open University. This new
institution is a sister establishment to the United Kingdom's Open University, which has
been offering distance education targeted to working adults for thirty years. The U.S.
institution is a candidate for accreditation with the Middle States Association of Schools
and Colleges and began enrolling students in spring 1999.
University of Phoenix. A relatively small
minority of University of Phoenix students actually pursue their degrees through distance
education, but this university is often cited as a model of the experiential, for-profit
structuring associated with distance institutions. The university's programs are designed
for working adults (students are required to be at least twenty-three and employed). It
maintains classrooms in thirteen states and Puerto Rico as well as distance programs.
Western Governors University. Students at
Western Governors can take distance classes from the hundreds of U.S. and several
international institutions participating in this consortium effort or work towards a
competency-based degree. The university's philosophy regards what students know rather
than where or how they may have learned it as most important, and all students must
complete external assessment and testing to receive a degree or certificate. Initial
enrollment in Western Governors University was considerably lower than expected when it
opened in fall 1998 and the university does not currently provide enrollment statistics
other than to say that "hundreds" of students have now enrolled in classes or
degree programs. Participating institutions include state systems in Alabama, Arizona,
Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
—Lia Hutton, The Advising Quarterly
