I. Management of Distance Education
Moore and Kearsley (1996) discussed a number of major issues related to the management of distance education regarding the administration, and the development of policy at institutional and state levels.
Planning is among the critical management tasks that administrators must perform. This emphasizes formulating goals and objectives for the institution; balancing aspirations with currently available resources; assessing changes in student, business, or societal demands; tracking technology alternatives; and projecting future resource and financial needs.
Several staffing issues are of concern to administrators in distance education. These are mainly whether to hire permanent or part-time employees, their knowledge and understanding of distance education, their training and formal qualifications, and supervising their work.
Budget decisions are basic to administrative operations. Important budget decisions have to do with allocation of funds to different components of the system, dealing with priorities at different levels of the institution, and how much to spend on administration itself.
Scheduling concerns consume extra time and effort. They include student completion dates and pacing as well as the development of materials and programs.
There are many policy issues to be addressed at all functional levels. These include teacher credentialing and program accreditation, equivalency of course offerings, the process of deciding to offer distance education courses, and conforming with state and federal initiatives in distance education.
II. WICHE and its Program
Distance education institutions have different ways in saving money in the management areas. The practice of Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) turns out to be a model for other institutions. WICHE facilitates resource sharing and cost effective services among 15 western states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming) and their public and private colleges and universities.
WICHE keeps an eye on the growing and changing western landscape expecting a 31 percent increase in high school graduates in the West between 1996 and 2012. In order to allow the evolving student populations to have access to high quality, affordable higher education, WICHE pursues several approaches to meet these challenges through their proven mechanisms. These include student exchange, policy analysis, information sharing, Western cooperative for educational telecommunications, global collaborations, and faculty diversification efforts.
III. The WGU
The most unique project of WICHE is the largest cooperative distance education project started by the Western Governor's Association, the Western Governors University (WGU). The purpose to establish a western virtual university is to enhance the marketplace for instructional materials and in turn to perform best practices in the implementation of advanced educational technology. The best resources of each cooperating university are used.
These client-centered decisions are to serve qualified students within a given state, region, or service area, ideally without regard to their locations. These meet the internal education/training requirements of a company or industry and respond to community, state, or societal needs by addressing shortages in given areas (e.g., nurses, engineers, electronics technicians). They offer education and potential career advancement to qualified students by offering updating, advanced education, and specific skills training as individuals and companies face change as a result of developments in technology, economy, or competitive factors. They help to address the educational needs of specific populations.
They use the full inventory of information technologies, from live interactive video and high-end computing to videotape, voice mail, and fax machines to deliver course and programs. Support services for distant learners are integrated into all aspects of the administrative and academic infrastructure of the WVU. A two-tiered approach for the delivery of support services for distant learners is practiced. First, a centralized entity which is operated by the WVU guarantees a certain level of instructional and service quality and accountability. It would provide information resources, data gathering, and tuition collection and disbursement. Second, local WVU centers, established by the states with the assistance of WVU, would provide direct learner support and one-stop centers for easy student access. Community sites give education providers an infrastructure for supporting distant learners.
Student potential for the WVU is great. Individuals will come from many different arenas ranging from corporate professionals wanting continuing education, to college students looking for alternative delivery options, to high school graduates beginning their college careers, and to individuals enrolled in school to work programs. Distribution will vary geographically as well.
The planning issues which emerged before the opening of the WGU might include the tasks to 1) work toward increased compatibility among states' transmission systems; 2) work within the SmartStates initiative to set minimal standards for specific technologies; 3) design systems with the capacity to expand to meet increased demand for service and increased use of a variety of technologies; 4) develop efficient ways to handle student services, including the division of labor between the Western Virtual University itself and organizations providing instructional material; 5) address access issues, particularly in rural and poor communities; 6) foster providers' interest in using technology creatively to energize instruction; and 7) focus on state and national financial support systems that restrict growth in technology-based education.
The stuffing is allocated according to three distinct types of student support. The first type is administrative services; the second is learning resources; and the third type of support is technology access. Administrative Services include providing information on the policies, procedures, academic calendars and protocols for completion of programs. As well as providing assistance with registration, student records, and financial aid. Learning Resources are those services which are necessary for success in completing a course including library services, learning resources services and academic support such as tutoring, electronic student discussion groups, study skill assistance and career guidance. Technology Access recognizes the special student services that technology requires such as technology skill training, technical support for students, and the actual hardware, software, and telecommunications networks that are needed for recruitment, administration, and instruction.
The WVU has the task of developing a regional funding mechanism to finance its existence. A multilevel financing approach is considered to fund the local WVU centers. A pool of state dollars might be allocated to support start-up of the centers. An on-going pool of resources would be maintained by the community and/or the state for continuing operational expenses. One options which would sustain local WVU centers might be the establishment of local user fees for student services, library access, or technology access. Another option is to develop a distance education sustainability system whereby to allocate one third each of the tuition to the origination institution, the network and the receive site.
The issue of scheduling of classes and the accreditation and course credit is solved by the applying the mechanism called "the virtual catalog". The virtual catalog for the Western Virtual University is a centralized, on-line source of information on advanced technology-based courses, programs, and learning modules. The catalog entries will be selected based on a screening for quality by a Regional Review Council comprised of representatives of participating western states. It catalog will provide information on the assessment of specific competencies leading to certification in a variety of fields. From a instructional materials provider's perspective, the catalog offers opportunities to 1) increase access to the pool of potential learners; 2) identify needs for instructional or training materials; 3) build alliances with other types of providers; 4) share costs of materials development and promotion, 5) provide an impetus to create common technology platforms; and 6) collaborate with other participants to address policy issues. From a learner's perspective, the catalog offers opportunities to 1) search on a variety of dimensions in terms of a course in a specific academic discipline, courses/modules leading to a particular type of certification, and requirements needed to enter a career path ; 2) find course information, such as credits granted, intended learning outcomes, techniques used to assess the student's achievement of the intended outcomes, and a description of how and when the course/learning module will be offered; and 3) collect data on student retention, records of student achievement of identified competencies, and success in transferring credits and credentials from one provider to another, etc.
IV. Conclusion
From the practice of WVU, we might conclude that to solve the problem in the management of the distance education relies on the team work contributed not only from educational institutions but also from political endorsement. The scale of economy could be achieved by profound centralized student support services. And hence the trade-off between the cost and benefit will be so favorable that it might serve the purposes for all the parties getting involved in distance education. Accreditation and course credit values are a continuous process. Outside reviewers might be involved in maintaining quality and integrity. Troubled programs must be improved or eliminated. Distance learning is a concept that will gain momentum each year in the near future. The continual explosion of information requires both access and organization of data. Competitive forces will help streamline the offerings and reduce costs. Cooperation assures a wide arrange of knowledge and certification be available.
1. Moore, M.G. & Kearsley, G. (1996) Distance Education: A systems View. Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Online
1. Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) http://www.wiche.edu/
2. Western Governors' Association's Western Governors University http://www.wiche.edu/Telecom/projects/projwgu.htm