Diverse Models of Distance Teaching Universities

introduction and background

Universities offering studies through distance teaching methods vary enormously in how they were initiated, the clienteles they aim to serve, how they are funded, and the kinds of programs they offer. Distance teaching at university level is provided currently through at least five major organizational models: Single-mode distance teaching universities; dual- and mixed-mode universities; extensions; consortia-type ventures; and virtual technology-based universities.

Each of these models can be divided into additional sub-groups. The fully-fledged distance teaching universities, for instance, are treated in the relevant literature as a generic group, but differ from each other in many respects (Guri-Rosenblit, 1999). Some are operating as huge national universities, while others function on a limited provincial level. Few adopted an open admission policy, while most others require the same entry requirements as their conventional counterparts, etc. The dual- and the mixed-mode universities, as well as the consortia-type ventures, constitute nowadays the leading models of distance teaching provision. They operate in many national settings, and represent a rich composition of diverse higher education institutions, such as: research versus mainly teaching-oriented universities; large and small establishments; fully accredited or experimental in nature; offering mainly continuing education courses versus full academic degrees. However, this overview analyzes only the underlying premises of distance teaching in each of the five major models. Its scope does not allow discussing in detail the sub-groups contained in each model.

In spite of the visible differences between the various models of distance teaching at university level, there is a common trend of blending boundaries between distance and campus universities that took place in the last decade all over the world. Institutions that traditionally offered solely conventional instruction are now becoming distance education providers. The democratization of higher education and the emergence of the new information and communication technologies constitute the main reasons for this change of boundaries. The new technologies have prompted nearly all higher education institutions to enter the ‘distance education business’ at various levels of experimentation and application (AFT, 2001; Allen & Seaman, 2004; Bates, 1999, 2005; Bradburn, 2002; Collis & Moonen, 2001; Evans & Nation, 2000; Littleton & Light, 1999; National Research Council, 2002; Selinger & Pearson, 1999; Trow, 1999).

The new information and communication technologies have drastically changed the status of distance education within the academic world. Traditionally, distance teaching was considered as operating on the margins of higher education systems (Guri-Rosenblit, 1999, 2005). Since the nineteenth century, correspondence institutions, extensions and distance teaching universities opened the gates of academe to diverse clienteles that for a variety of reasons were unable to attend regular face-to-face classes and remained outside the conventional universities. The target populations, studying through distance education, were considered as distinct and special, usually older than the age cohorts at classical universities, and mostly ‘second chance’ students according to a variety of criteria. Nowadays, millions of people, both traditional students and working adults, are studying through distance teaching methods for a plethora of reasons and purposes.

This overview puts a special focus on examining both the merits and problems associated with the utilization of the new information and communication technologies in the context of each of the five major models of universities teaching via distance education methods.

Main Focus: Diverse Models of distance learning

Single-Mode Distance Teaching universities

Most of the large single-mode distance teaching universities were established since the early 1970s, following the model of the British Open University. There are currently over thirty such institutions in various parts of the world. Some argued that the distance teaching universities have been a natural evolution from prior generations of distance education, as they raised much of the same concerns as their predecessors (Bell & Tight, 1993). But most others perceive the single-mode distance teaching universities as unique institutions that have marked a new era in distance higher education and have provided it with a new legitimacy and pride (Daniel, 1996; Guri-Rosenblit, 1999). One conspicuous characteristic that distinguishes these universities from most of their early predecessors is their being a product of top-down governmental planning as large scale universities aimed at broadening access to higher education at a lower cost as compared to campus-based universities (Daniel, 1996; Peters, 2001; Rumble, 1996).

One of the main areas in which the single-mode distance teaching universities choose to excel is the development of high quality study materials, produced by teams of experts and designed to stimulate and improve self-study (Bates, 1999, 2005; Daniel, 1996). The well-articulated study materials replaced the ordinary textbooks and the low-level correspondence courses, and have been used extensively not only by the distance teaching universities’ students, but also by many students at conventional universities in different national settings. The production of such courses is most expensive. But they are developed by a small number of academics and studied by large numbers of students. The simple underlying formula of the distance teaching universities’ operation has stated that, as the number of students increases, the cost per student decreases (Peters, 2001). This simple formula constitutes one of the main raisons d’etre of the mega distance teaching universities (Daniel, 1996).

The new information and communication technologies challenge this very basic formula, as well as the whole organizational infrastructure of the single-mode distance-teaching universities. The shift to new technologies demands a major overhaul of their whole operation, and another huge investment in setting up a totally new infrastructure for developing and delivering their courses (Bates, 2001; Guri-Rosenblit, 1999, 2005). The new technologies enable the updating of study materials on an ongoing basis, and facilitate interactions between students and teachers, and among students. In other words, they alleviate two of the major disadvantages of traditional distance teaching, but at the same time they highlight the importance of interactions with expert teachers in the actual study process. Most of the large-scale distance teaching universities are based on relatively small academic staffs, and cannot afford the hiring of many more academics in order to facilitate student-professors interaction in most of their large courses, studied frequently by thousands of students (Guri-Rosenblit, 2005). So, the new information and communication technologies have their pros and cons in the contextual setting of the large distance teaching universities.

In the debate on the ‘life expectancy’ of the large distance teaching universities, some claim that the days of the large distance universities have passed. Their sheer size and industrial way of working have made them vulnerable to increasing competition in the markets of higher education. Both factors will hinder them from responding to meet rapid developments in the post-industrial society (Evans & Nation, 2000; Rumble, 1996). The fact is that most large distance teaching universities have incorporated the new technologies so far to a very limited extent (Bates, 2001, 2005; Guri-Rosenblit, 2005). Their study process is still based, by and large, on printed self-study materials. The establishment of new large-scale distance teaching universities has slowed down since the mid 1980s. It is likely that very few new single-mode distance teaching universities will emerge in the future. Part of the reason is that there is no need for more than one large distance teaching university in most national systems. The well-established distance teaching universities are likely to continue functioning and to have distinct roles in the framework of their higher education systems.

Dual- and Mixed-Mode universities

The dual-mode universities constitute a leading model in current distance education provision. Before the emergence of the new technologies, this model has been activated mainly in Australia and in Canada, as well as in several Eastern European countries (Evans & Nation, 2000; Guri-Rosenblit, 1999). Dual-mode universities teach simultaneously on-campus and off-campus students, and the same admission requirements apply to both categories of students. The underlying idea behind the dual-mode model is that the same curricula can be offered to both on- and off-campus students through appropriate channels of communication.

Distance education at university level has a long history in Australia and in Canada due to the vastness of their lands and the huge distances between different cities and inhabited areas. The sheer size of these two countries has turned the provision of distance teaching from elementary to tertiary level education to a must. Australia has deliberately decided not to establish a single-mode distance teaching university, but rather to distribute responsibility for distance education provision between different campus universities. In 1989, eight national distance education centers were established in leading Australian universities. Many Canadian universities offer various forms of distance education to part-time adults since the end of the nineteenth century. Canada operates both single-mode and dual-mode distance teaching universities. In the former Soviet Union, hundreds of departments within conventional universities offered correspondence education since the 1920s (Guri-Rosenblit, 1999, 2001).

Evidently, the new information and communication technologies facilitate the provision of courses to distant students, and enable an ongoing interaction with them in the study process. The new technologies have actually turned the dual-mode provision into a leading model in most higher education systems worldwide, as many conventional universities decided to adopt them for offering various forms of distance teaching.

The mixed-mode model has evolved from the dual-mode universities, and was initiated mainly by on-campus students, that take online courses concurrently with attending regular face-to-face sessions. It came as a surprise in some universities when some enrolled students on campus decided to take courses online in preference to attending classes on campus (AFT, 2001; Bradburn 2002; Trow, 1999). Those students have testified that they are glad to have the freedom to do the work of these online courses at their own convenience and their own speed, and that they like the combination of the two types of academic delivery. It is most likely that the dual- and mixed-mode universities will expand considerably in the near future.

There is a great variety of mixed-mode institutions that range from elite research universities to community colleges. Obviously, different-type higher education institutions operate on different premises. The academic goals, potential clienteles and organizational infrastructure of the elite research sector, for instance, differ meaningfully from those of huge mega-universities, teaching dozens of thousands of students. These differences influence the goals and the ways in which new technologies are mobilized in each context to achieve different end-products (Blumenstyk, 2003; CHEPS, 2002; Collis & Moonen, 2001; Harley et al., 2002; Littleton & Light, 1999; National Research Council, 2002; Ryan, 2002; U.S. Department of Education, 2002; Van der Molen, 2001).

Extensions

University extensions are mainly an American model (Rasmussen, 1989; Trow, 1999). The foundation of a correspondence program at Illinois State University in 1874 can be taken as the start of distance education at university level in the USA. In 1883 the State of New York authorized the Chautauqua Institute to award degrees through its methods. Chautauqua was a summer training program for Sunday school teachers who continued to receive instruction by mail after they returned to their homes. The University of Chicago under William Harper offered the first university sponsored correspondence course in 1891; and the University of Wisconsin offered an extension course in 1892 (Guri-Rosenblit, 1999).

Distance education courses at American universities have been provided by independent study divisions within the extension colleges or continuing education departments of conventional universities. Many university extensions have been initiated by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914. The extension movement purported to aid in diffusing useful and practical information on a variety of themes among the people of the United States by the land-grant universities. Currently, most of the American universities, including many of the leading research universities, have an extension division, providing courses for adults in a large variety of subjects. Many of these courses are not in the framework of degree programs, but rather in the domains of continuing education and professional upgrade or are delivered for widening general knowledge and recreational purposes. Many of the extensions have adopted eagerly the new technologies for their use (Bradburn, 2002; Trow, 1999). Unquestionably, the new technologies have strengthened the status of the extension divisions within American universities, and are likely to contribute in the near future to the blurring of boundaries between conventional campus teaching and the extension operations.

consortia-Type Ventures

Consortia-type ventures for the offering of distance education are another leading model that has developed in the last decade. A number of universities join forces, either within national higher education systems or as an international enterprise, to offer a variety of distance teaching programs. Many university consortia do operate in European countries, such as Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Italy (CHEPS, 2002; Collis & Moonen, 2001; Van der Molen 2001). Many new consortia have been formed in the last decade between universities across oceans. One such consortium was established between English, Canadian and Australian universities to offer business administration programs in Vietnam. Britain is now in the process of establishing a major E-University (Guri-Rosenblit, 2005). Partnerships have been contemplated between British leading universities, including the British Open University, as well as with institutes outside Britain, including universities in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. This planned E-University will focus solely on teaching and will carry no research. Instruction will rely on web pages enhanced with hyperlinks, video, sound and graphics.

Many of the consortia partnerships are created between universities and the corporate world. For instance, Microsoft has launched at the end of 1999 a collaborative venture with MIT to create an ‘ I-Campus’. Microsoft has devoted $25 million for that purpose for a period of five years. Under terms of the agreement, the intellectual property financed by Microsoft, but done at the MIT, will belong to the university. But Microsoft will have the right to license it without paying royalties. In research done jointly at Microsoft and MIT, however, Microsoft will have the first option to patent it (International Harold Tribune, 1999).

The consortium model has been greatly enhanced by the new technologies. At the same time, it raises many crucial dilemmas as to the ownership of the intellectual property produced by several cooperating partners, and the impact of the corporate world on the future development of universities, mainly the research universities (Guri-Rosenblit, 2005; National Research Council, 2002). Partnerships, if successful, create greater strengths. The basic rationale behind cooperation is that the whole may be greater than the sum of its parts. But at the same time, the participating parties in any consortium might feel less dedicated to the common cause of their mutual enterprise, as compared to their main agenda. The reality is that successful collaborations between higher education institutions, and between universities and the corporate world, are immensely difficult to achieve and sustain. Many failures have been reported (Ryan, 2002). Nevertheless, inter-institutional collaborative ventures in distance teaching provision are likely to proliferate in the future.

Virtual Technology-Based universities

The new technology-based universities constitute a most diverse group. This group contains all higher education institutions that are relying more, than any of their predecessors, on distance teaching delivery through the new information and communication technologies. Frequently, these universities are referred to in the distance education literature as ‘virtual universities’. Some are stand-alone fully accredited universities (such as Phoenix University and the National Technology University in the United States) while others operate just as a website with little content of their own (as was the California’s Virtual University). Many are private ventures, while a few are sponsored by national governments (Keegan, 2000; Ryan, 2002). Some are offering a whole range of academic degrees, whereas most of the others provide a limited number of professional diplomas and continuing education courses.

The new ‘virtual universities’ are delivering their courses through different technologies and are based on diverse organizational infrastructures. The National Technology University, for instance, operates as a mediator between leading universities (such as MIT and Berkeley) and hundreds of business enterprises. It has no academic faculty of its own. It offers a limited number of graduate level courses in engineering through teleconferencing by a satellite. A small percentage of the students who take these courses are earning credits towards degrees. The bulk is engaged in professional continuing education (Trow, 1999; Guri-Rosenblit, 2005).

The Western Governors University was set as a very ambitious enterprise between 16 Western American states as a non-profit, independent corporation with a board of trustees composed of the governors from each participating state and one additional person appointed by each governor. It was planned as a fully-accredited university empowered to grant degrees on demonstrated competencies that will be recognized by both employers and the academia. The courses were planned to be delivered through electronic media. The emphasis on assessing competencies, whether learning has occurred, rather than on who provided the learning and how long the student attended classes, constituted a most daring and challenging notion. So far, the Western Governors University has not realized its initial promise, and operates on a most limited scale.

The University of Phoenix is a flourishing distance teaching university in the United States. It is a for-profit institution. It has no central campus, and provides distance courses of its own design. It combines between conventional face-to-face teaching in many locations in major cities throughout the United States and online provision. In many respects it resembles the “older” single-mode distance teaching universities in Europe, in the sense that it combines self-study materials and online communication with face-to-face tutorials.

From this brief description of a few examples representing new technology-based universities, it follows that the meaning of the term ‘virtual universities’ is far from being clear and self-evident. A wide array of different type universities operate under this generic term.

future trends and conclusion

This article examined five major organizational models of distance teaching in various higher education systems with a special emphasis on the functional roles that the new informational and communication technologies play in the context of each model. Distance education at university level will grow in the coming years and will attract new student clienteles. How will the five models be affected by the expansion of distance education?

The status of the large single-mode distance teaching universities will remain stable, and their main mandate will continue to be – to widen access to higher education by reaching out to students who cannot attend or gain access to conventional universities. They will continue to operate mainly on the industrial model paradigm which produces economies of scale and enables to enroll large numbers of students at relatively low marginal costs well below those of campus universities.

Dual- and mixed-mode institutions and consortia-type ventures will constitute the leading models of distance education in academe .A most diversified range of institutions will offer distance education at various levels of higher education studies. Many of these institutions will utilize the communication capabilities of the new interactive media. The new technologies will greatly contribute to growing flexibility in academic study patterns (Bates 2001; Collis & Moonen 2001; Guri-Rosenblit, 2005). Flexible learning offers students many opportunities to adjust their interests, needs and learning styles to a variety of learning settings and media combinations. Hybrid courses, combining various components of face-to-face encounters with online provision will emerge as a growing pattern in academic institutions.

The university extensions in many American universities are likely to grow in the future. The utilization of the new technologies will enable the extensions to reach out to many more distant students. With the growing accreditation of their courses for academic degrees, they will redefine some of their traditional missions, and shift more to providing academic programs towards graduate and post graduate diplomas.

The establishment of totally new for-profit ‘virtual universities’ will slow down in the coming decade. A few years ago many analysts, such as Morgan Keegan (2000), projected billion dollar e-education and e-training markets globally. Virtual networks of colleges and universities became a marker of a new economy. Several years later costly experience has caused many higher education institutions to question the increasing costs of their commitments to digitization and wired campus programs (Ryan 2002). Since many for-profit ventures had failed, it is most likely that new business enterprises will cooperate with well-established campus universities in designing new distance education programs.

key terms

Consortia-Type Distance Teaching Venture: A collaborating venture between several universities or between universities and other partners, joining forces to offer together distance teaching programs.

Distance Teaching Universities: Universities that teach students via a wide range of distance education methods and technologies.

Dual-Mode Distance Teaching Universities: Universities that teach concurrently on-campus and off-campus students. Usually, the same admission requirements and the same study materials apply to both categories of students.

Extensions: Extramural departments or divisions which operate within universities and offer mainly continuing education and professional upgrade courses. Extensions are typical mainly to American universities.

Mixed-Mode Distance Teaching Universities: Universities that provide both traditional face-to-face study frameworks and online courses for their on-cam-pus students, and teach as well distant students.

Single-Mode Distance Teaching Universities: Universities that were founded for teaching solely distant students. Most of these universities were established since the early 1970s, and have followed the model of the British Open University.

Virtual Technology-Based Universities: Universities that teach students mainly through the new information and communication technologies.

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