Inside this issue of Educational Pathways (EP) we have
compiled some of the results from eight in-depth interviews
conducted with professionals in the field of online
education. Not coincidentally, all of the people we
interviewed are members of the University Continuing
Education Association (UCEA).Additionally, we lead off
with an editorial about some of the challenges being faced
today by leaders in Continuing Education, written by EP
Contributing Editor Gordon Freedman.
Many of the people we interviewed (following in
alphabetical order) were introduced to us by John
Ebersole (thank you), dean of
Metropolitan College, Boston
University and president-elect of
UCEA.
- Mary Beth Almeda, assistant dean for online and
distance education,
UC Berkeley Extension
- David Finney, dean,
School of Continuing & Professional
Studies, New York University
- Gerald Heeger, president,
University of Maryland University
College
- Don Kasta, director of distance and continuing
education,
University of Waterloo, Canada
- William Lynch, assistant vice president, product
development,
GWSolutions, George Washington
University
- Bruce Magid, executive director,
Michigan State University Global
Online Connection
- Gary Matkin, dean,
University Extension, University of
California-Irvine
- Muriel Oaks, dean,
Extended University Services, Washington State University
We asked everyone a series of eight questions that led to
more questions. In the end we wound up with a great deal of
ideas and insights, all in the gracious spirit of knowledge
sharing.
We condensed the information gathered into nine broad
categories:
We start with a brief synopsis under each category and
then list some of the answers we recorded. Please note, for
the sake of brevity, we attributed all answers by only the
last name of those interviewed. Also, we used the terms
distance education, online learning and e-Learning as
meaning the same thing, which is providing learning
experiences via various technologies to students who access
education remotely.
