I found that supporters of distance education, in general, seem to like this term - "mainstreaming" - because it lends a relatively new level of insight to discussions about all these interesting and exciting online teaching and learning environments that are being fully developed and implemented inside higher education institutions today.

I first heard this term, recently, when I spoke with Chris Geith, director of the Michigan State University Global Institute. Chris happens to be on the Educational Pathways Board of Advisors, and I called her for advice in relation to putting together this special summer issue. Chris has an uncanny knack for asking the right questions. I explained to Chris that I wanted to interview a group of leaders of distance-education-related organizations but was not sure what to ask them. "Ask them how the mainstreaming of online teaching and learning is affecting their memberships," she quipped. At that moment I had my springboard for this particular article.

Before I go any further with this notion, however, I must refer to Mike Simonson, a professor at Nova Southeastern University who represents the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). The first thing Simonson explains relates to terminology. "The correct and more general term is distance education [not online learning], which is comprised of distance teaching and distance learning," he says, adding that online learning and teaching are subsets of distance education. (This article is written in that context. For more clarification concerning terminology in the field, see the AECT publication "Distance Education: Definition and Glossary of Terms," by Lee Ayers Schlosser and Michael Simonson.

Interestingly enough, Janet Poley, president of the American Distance Education Association, adds that "We don’t use the word ‘online’ anymore because wireless is increasingly a big factor [in distance education]." Makes sense. . .

But getting back to this notion of the mainstreaming of online teaching and learning - it can safely be said, according to all 11 education organization leaders interviewed for this article, that the use of online teaching and learning technologies for fully online, partially online (blended) and as add-ons to face-to-face classes are no longer on the periphery of higher education as they become increasingly integrated within the overall fabric and make-up of colleges and universities across the country.

Using online technology in education is "no longer unusual," says Judith Boettcher, former executive director of the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking. "Effective and efficient use of technology is expected by most students. Now, as opposed to five years ago, courses without Web sites are causing comment rather than courses with integrated Web sites."

"We have seen the acknowledgment that technology is changing the entirety of teaching and learning in our institutions, not merely courses and programs delivered at a distance," says Janis Hall, chair of the advisory board of the National University Telecommunications Network (NUTN). "The issues that we deal with are no longer at the edges of our institutions but are much more integrated with the academic units. Our members [in NUTN] are very interested in the core institution and see themselves as leading institutions towards new directions in teaching and learning through technology."

And the demographics for online learners are changing fast. "Increasingly we find that online courses are composed of both distance and local students mixed together," says Hall. In short, more on-campus students are enrolling in a variety of online-technology-supported courses because of the convenience and flexibility of such courses.

"Ten years ago a lot of people thought this was going to go away; it was primarily viewed as servicing off-campus students," says Carol Twigg, director of the Center for Academic Transformation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Today, however, the whole concept of distance education serving only those students physically at a distance is disappearing. "Online learning is becoming generic because it is being used with young and old students, both on-campus and off-campus. It is no longer something off to the side."

And, of course, the integration and mainstreaming of online teaching and learning is not bereft of its problems and challenges.

"When you look at online programs, traditionally many were set up as cost-recovery centers run out of continuing education departments or some other arm of the institution, so they found a way to make their own money," says Sally Johnstone, director of the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications. "As these programs get more integrated into what’s going on throughout the whole campus, the entire financial picture shifts and you get into a whole new realm of policy issues on campus, such as who gets how much money for what, how is it allocated, how does everything play out in a new environment and how do you look at scaling these kinds of programs?"

Add to that mix today’s world of budget cuts and tight purse strings for technology spending at many public and private institutions, and the situation for distance education programs becomes one where cost savings are paramount. "The sagging U.S. economy, combined with the states’ budget shortfalls, are definitely posing challenges for providers of online learning," says Muriel Oaks, current president of the University Continuing Education Association. "On one hand, enrollments in online learning are climbing. On the other hand, instructional resources and equipment budgets are increasingly strained. Finding cost-effective models of development and delivery, and finding ways to effectively scale course development and support within this economic environment are definitely challenges."

So, the question becomes "How can you use technology not as an expense, but to generate wealth and resources?" asks Twigg. Her answer: Look at the Center for Academic Transformation’s Pew Grant Program in Course Redesign. Now in its final year of a three-year study, The Program in Course Redesign, according to its Web site, "has collaborated with 30 institutions to demonstrate how colleges and universities can redesign their instructional approaches using technology to achieve cost savings as well as quality enhancements. Redesign projects focus on large-enrollment, introductory courses, which have the potential of impacting significant student numbers and generating substantial cost savings."

"The redesign of 30 courses in this program are generating savings of 3.6 million dollars annually," says Twigg, adding that the program has helped to free-up many outstanding faculty who regularly have to teach introductory courses to be able to redirect their needed skills and resources to teaching advanced-level courses - "things they typically would not be able to do in times of a budget crises."

Another way in which institutions are trying to tackle fiscal challenges is via a growing trend related to the establishment of newly developed and already entrenched statewide consortial arrangements, typically referred to as virtual university consortiums or VUCs. "I believe we are seeing some movement away from the ‘it-needs-to-be-built-by-us-for-us’ mentality to strategies which seek to utilize the strengths of partner or sister institutions to utilize available capacity, and redirect resources to other courses and program activities," says Bruce Chaloux, director of the Southern Regional Education Board’s Electronic Campus.

"Budget cuts are forcing many colleges to pool their resources to work together, often by creating statewide consortia or networks to provide services to their distance learning students, such as online library access, tutoring, academic counseling and mentoring programs," adds Christine Dalziel, executive director of the Instructional Technology Council.

Johnstone adds that she believes a number of VUCs "are working pretty well," and that it should be noted that there is not one universal model, with many having unique blueprints for success.

The University of Texas (U.T.) system’s UT TeleCampus, for instance, comprised of 15 universities and research facilities that make up the U.T. System, is a good example of how the sharing of resources for providing online programs can result in cost savings. For instance, the UT TeleCampus MBA Online degree (which is only one of many collaborative efforts) is conferred from any one of seven participating U.T. system campuses, with all these campuses contributing courses to the degree plan.

As noted on the UT TeleCampus Web site, "this collaborative model continues to be utilized in many of the programs offered via the UT TeleCampus since opening the doors to the virtual classrooms of the U.T. System. To support the development of these degree plans, the UT TeleCampus returned over half of its operating budget to the campuses in 1999. This provided funding for course development ranging from approximately $25,000 - $40,000 per course. Additionally, extensive support services are provided by TeleCampus staff . . ."

Twigg offers another viewpoint about VUCs. In her recently published monograph titled "Expanding Access to Learning: The Role of Virtual Universities," Twigg writes in the preface that "for now, state and system leaders view VUCs as a vital part of the solution for meeting statewide educational and economic needs, yet these consortia have yet to prove their long-term viability."

When interviewing Twigg relative to the aforementioned monograph, she said that "collaboration is overrated. It’s as if people have said collaboration is the answer without saying what is the problem." She does, however, point to three consortia which she claims are the "most successful": Colorado Community College Online, UMassOnline and the Tennessee Board of Regents Online Degree Programs. She concludes that these three "are not traditional collaborative models; they are much more entrepreneurial and are managed in a way that leads to a high level of success." She then offers five key success factors, which are, in short:

One of the other notable directions that runs through this notion relative to the mainstreaming of online is the growth of blended learning environments (also called hybrids), which are often defined as classes conducted at least one-third of the time through online education technologies, with the remaining portion of the class held in a traditional face-to-face modality.

John Bourne, executive director of the Sloan Consortium says that "one trend that appears identifiable is that more colleges and universities are interested in blended approaches. However, as yet, there is not a clear consensus on what blended precisely means."

"The biggest rise right now that is clearly coming into the mainstream is the rise of hybrid courses," adds Mark David Milliron, president and CEO of the League for Innovation in Community College. Milliron explains that adult online learners living within the close geographic region of their community college are typically "more than willing to give up four or five hours on a Saturday to attend a face-to-face class and then spend the rest of the time in online environments where they can learn at their own pace." He adds that night school face-to-face classes are not the best options for adult learners who are parents and like to spend evenings with their families.

Plus, "many students in online environments, really do miss the human connection," Milliron continues, adding that often the challenge is to provide "useful" face-to-face interactions. "I think the questions we are going to have to ask is how do we really maximize the face-to-face time so that it is not just a provision of the standardized lecture."

Milliron also refers to several curriculum areas at the community college level where blended learning seems to be taking hold. One is inside health care programs, "where they put the didactic instruction online and the clinical stuff face-to-face." Another curriculum, surprisingly, is auto mechanics, as well as other vocational trades, where some kind of hands-on learning environment is a must-have component of a course of study. "We are even looking at physical education," says Milliron.

Of course, no matter what kind of online learning environment happens to be in place, the impact on faculty is growing and the challenges and issues it portends seems, for many institutions, to be unresolved.

"There is a lack of understanding in the area [of online learning in general] by many in the upper echelon of higher education and governance boards," claims Poley. "There are lots of faculty in the game now, but the organizational set-ups, rewards and incentives don’t necessarily support the new systems. There are too many senior people still stuck in the dark ages not recognizing how powerful these tools can be when in the hands of very knowledgeable and skilled faculty."

Additionally, she says that "faculty are afraid of being overwhelmed by too much e-mail" and that "cut-backs in funds means less margin for experimentation, with everybody being asked to do more with less."

Administrators need to consider the issue of "unbundling of faculty functions," says Hall. Some of these functions are very much related to course design and development, course delivery, assessment and student support, for instance, all of which have a significant impact on faculty workloads and, ultimately, compensation.

Finally, how is the mainstreaming of online teaching and learning really affecting student learning? According to Twigg, there are too many courses being taught online today that are simply replicating traditional face-to-face classes without any measurable improvement. She says that educators need to examine more closely what, exactly, they are trying to accomplish online. "Are you trying to improve student learning? Are you trying to reduce costs? Are you trying to really reach out and expand access in a significant way rather than just sort of doing what you have always been doing, but doing it online?"

Perhaps the key is to look at today’s high school students and examine more closely how they are using technology both academically and in everyday life. "We don’t yet know how these technologies are impacting their brains," says Boettcher. For example, "What technologies are going to support all these students who are instant messaging right now?"