NOTES FROM THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY FORUM:
STRATEGIES FOR CAMPUS LEADERSHIP
A synthesis of four presentations from the Forum that can be considered relevant to online teaching and learning in higher education.

ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION: IS TECHNOLOGY THE SOLUTION OR THE PROBLEM?

Levine also referred to the recently published National Survey of Student Engagement Annual Report 2006, titled "Engaged Learning: Fostering Success for All Students" (see http://nsse.iub.edu/index.cfm). The report had a small section on distance education where survey results were compiled from 4,000 distance learners from 367 colleges and universities. In brief, distance learners:

• reported higher levels of academic challenge,
• engaged more frequently in deep learning activities,
• participated less in active and collaborative learning activities,
• reported greater development gains, and
• were more satisfied overall with their educational experience.

What are the pluses and minuses of online learning for access, giving your experience in the field, not theory?

What are you doing in terms of online learning and access? As a profession and field, how are you responding?

• Adding an online learning option for some campus-based courses can increase enrollments and help take the pressure off departments that need to increase enrollments.
• Helps to address differences in learning styles.
• Offers opportunities for learning that are different than classroom-based courses.
• Is a great way to improve capacity for access while not having to grow your physical plant.
• Can easily track student progress.
• Is an opportunity for collaboration across universities.
• Provides access to new markets.
• Some disability issues are overcome.
• Is a constant threat to the status quo (seen as a positive influence).
• Keeps the issue of access on the front burner.
• Decreases security and safety issues.
• Some students could not attend college at all if online learning were not an option.
• There is an increase ability to share resources.
• Allows for the possibility of experimenting with new teaching and learning innovations in ways that you cannot do in a traditional class.
• Exposes students to different learning environments and learning styles.
• Features both a moral and economic necessity related to preparing students for the future.
• In an increasingly competitive marketplace, online learning is needed to compete and to survive.
• Promotes anonymous risk-taking by students who normally would not participate in a traditional class.
• It is durable, repeatable, and scalable, with marginal costs.
• For adults looking to increase their career-advancement skills, online learning improves access and attracts motivated students.
• It is economically efficient.
• It is easier to tell how much learning is occurring in a given course, such as in an English composition course.
• Community colleges can benefit when online learning opportunities are provided in a 2 plus 2 initiative.
• In higher education systems where enrollments are expected to increase significantly in the near future, investments in online learning can help decrease the need for large investments earmarked for the construction of new campus buildings.

Online Learning Cons

• Online learning can increase costs. For example, at one institution, enhancing its video conferencing capabilities for education-oriented communications between American and European institutions required more staff time, more support, and better facilities that made the educational experience more efficient,
  but it did not make it less expensive.
• Online learning has the stigma of being perceived as less valuable than traditional classroom instruction.
• It is difficult to hold continuous online conversations over adequate periods of time.
• It reduces community.
• Technology does not reduce cost, content is expensive, and up-front and infrastructure-maintenance costs are high.
• There are training issues for many students who enroll in online courses who do not have the requisite technology skills.
• Requires a culture change that is very difficult to bring about.
• Not good for traditional-aged students who need socialization.
• In some cases it can have a negative impact on retention.
• Access to computers and broadband is very limited for those who really need it most.
• There is a need to have 24 x 7 support.
• There are intellectual property and course ownership issues.
• Federal and state regulations are often based on seat time, which is not relevant to online learning.
• There’s a strong need to have faculty incentives to develop online courses, particularly if these courses are going to be owned by the institution.
• Some disability issues are exacerbated.
• In some cases, people are lucky if they can get a decent dial-up connection without it being a long-distance telephone call.
• Even with all the new interactive tools, there is something lost when compared to a face-to-face teaching and learning environment.
• There is a technology learning curve for professors, and training takes time to implement.
• Some institutions are unable to sell online learning as effectively as they sell traditional course enrollments.
• Students have to re-learn how to register and participate in online courses.
• It puts more pressure on faculty to prepare for courses, at least up-front.
• Copyright issues may be more prevalent than in a traditional class.
• For disaffected students (low income, minorities, first timers) online learning will not work. Without the learning support services and study skills instruction that are typically provided in face-to-face learning communities, the disaffected will not succeed in an online environment. So, for example, a community college with open admissions might be wiser to invest in people resources that help the disaffected succeed one at a time.
• The growth of online learning might be moving toward the corporatization of higher education, whereby we are selling knowledge to customers. This, in turn, will create "Wal-Mart University" education systems where access increases but quality goes down.
• Online learning does not apply to traditional tenure-achievement and promotion.

Overall
Finally, it was determined that, overall, each institution must decide on its own if online learning is right for their respective campus. "We are all different, and it means different things to different people," said one attendee.