Learning Technology Research

The Traditional University is Dead: Long Live the Distributed University

Steve Wheeler

Keynote Address for the European Universities Continuing Education Conference
University of Bergen, Norway
May 4-7, 2000

Change

We are living in an age of change unparalleled in history. Technological, cultural and social upheavals have impacted upon us with regularity and increasing ferocity, radically changing the way we live, work and learn. In particular, these changes have been all pervasive in the field of education, sliding the traditional university system into crisis (Daniel, 1996: 1). It is notably the traditional frameworks of teaching and training that are being challenged by technological innovation. Further, there is a methodological challenge where increasing numbers of academics suspect that traditional approaches are no longer adequate and that new approaches to pedagogy must be found and practised, as Laurillard has pointed out:

"The academic system must change. It works to some extent but not well enough. Teachers need to know more than just their subject. They need to know the ways it can come to be understood, the ways it can be misunderstood, what counts as understanding: they need to know how individuals experience the subject. But they are neither required nor able to do these things. Moreover, our system of mass lectures and examination ensures that they will never find them out." (Laurillard, 1993: 3-4).

Picture a scene so familiar in higher education: Several hundred students gather together into a lecture room to sit for two hours at the feet of a professor. Some time later they are required to 'regurgitate' the information they have 'learned' out onto paper in a manner that is pleasing to the examiners. If they keep to the rules they will earn a pass mark. This is the prevalent model of higher education and it is evidently hopelessly inadequate to meet many of the needs of the contemporary information society. It is also poor educational practice. We are presenting information in the oral format and examining in the written format, without offering the student any clues as to the links.

In spite of a series of reviews and government initiatives, antiquated practices are still very much in evidence, underlining the fact that generally the traditional university is not moving with the times. The traditional university cannot survive in its present format, because global trends are ensuring that alternative methods are gaining ground. One key factor in particular is already contributing to the demise of on-campus university education:

"New technologies may now begin to be an increasing factor in the decreasing demand for residential education" (Smith & Webster, 1997:12)

However, it is not only technology that is driving the change. There is growing opinion that the very fabric of the current educational system must change, or society must face the consequences. Some have argued that the education system must change purely because it is a system originally set up to meet the needs of the industrial revolution, and is now therefore hopelessly outmoded. Sociologist Alvin Toffler (1980) for example, has claimed that our current education system was set up as a means to prepare children for work in factories. The industrial revolution demanded the synchronisation of human behaviour with machinery, and mass education was instrumental in preparing generations of regimented workers.

More than 20 years ago Botkin et al highlighted the outmoded nature of education provision in a blistering attack on traditional universities:

"Learning processes are lagging appallingly behind and are leaving both individuals and societies unprepared to meet the challenges posed by global issues. This failure of learning means that human preparedness remains underdeveloped on a global scale. Learning is in this sense far more than just another global problem: its failure represents, in a fundamental way, the issue of issues. (Botkin et al, 1979: 9)

Embedded in this statement are concerns about the provision of education at several strata, including the societal, communal and individual levels. Implicit within the above quote, are social, economic and pedagogical issues.

Separating out these issues, I shall argue that there are seven fundamental reasons why the traditional university is dying. I have already alluded to some, but in order, they are:

  • the rise of technology supported learning
  • adverse economic climate
  • mounting commercial competition
  • demands for greater flexibility
  • subject proliferation
  • erosion of academic staff base
  • globalisation

    The Rise of Technology Supported Learning

    There can be no doubt that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have already made a significant impact on higher education. Current debate now focuses on the extent of this impact (Watson and Downes, 2000: 4). Generally, ICT is set to change forever the face of traditional education as we know it. This process has been slow but relentless, and where once distance education and open learning were considered to be new fads and little more than a 'pipe dream' to the traditional educators, these twin interlopers are now firmly established as serious contenders.

    Indeed, academic journals are replete with references to the impact technology supported learning methodologies are having on higher education, in terms of evolution of the technology itself;

    "The introduction of Information and Communication Technology into the educational system has been hailed as a major catalyst of the long dreamed-about educational revolution". (Katz, 2000).

    "The widespread availability of satellite and terrestrial networks, as well as the increased use of personal computers and the Internet has catapulted distance learning into the forefront of educational change." (Wisher and Priest, 1998)

    ...from the perspective of educational trends and innovation;

    "In this new era university teaching increasingly requires reaching across time and distance through on-line courses and 'virtual universities'." (Wolcott, 1997).

    ...and also regarding the forseeable future of higher education;

    "In a few years, high performance computing and communications will make knowledge utilities, virtual communities, shared synthetic environments, and sensory immersion as routine a part of everyday existence as the telephone, television, radio and newspaper are today." (Dede, 1996).

    A growing number of graduates (myself included) can claim to have earned their first degree by studying completely at a distance. As any distance learner will confirm, this is not an easy route to a qualification, requiring no small amount of commitment and more than a modicum of self discipline and motivation. Distance education and open learning are beginning to replace the traditional 'set time, set place' education provision, and the trend is set to continue. Traditional education is slowly dying, and nothing short of a radical overhaul of educational attitudes and practices will be sufficient to save it.

    Whilst some would suggest that this is a polemic argument and that distance education and traditional approaches to education should be compatible, the fact remains that a dichotomy exists. Traditional universities are struggling to survive in an adverse economic climate whilst conversely, distance education and open learning are thriving and are on the increase in all sectors.

    Adverse Economic Climate

    For some time there has been an unfavourable economic climate of global proportions. Education has been particularly badly hit. The centralised funding universities once took for granted has been gradually dissipating. In several nations, students are less supported than previously, as governments withdraw grant arrangements. Prospective students are now forced to borrow substantial amounts of money to see them through their course of study, and this creates a culture of reluctance for many. This state of affairs presents many traditional universities with a problem - reduced student numbers means reduced government funding. Furthermore, the emphasis in much of the West has shifted from liberal financing policies towards more meritocratic funding regimes where universities receive the income they 'deserve' rather than the income they need. Whereas before, income was 'collected' by universities, now it must be 'earned' (King, 1995: 116).

    Traditional universities are thus beginning to struggle for survival and are often forced to rationalise, cutting back on research programmes, slashing faculty budgets, coercing academic staff into early retirement or in the most extreme cases creating job redundancies. Simultaneously universities must attempt to increase class sizes to compensate for the general shortfall in income. This of course becomes a vicious cycle, as fewer students are willing to go to residential universities. There does not appear at present to be a light at the end of the tunnel of this economic stringency, and the sustained assault on the fabric of established universities shows no signs of abating.

    With government funding being reduced, and resources stretched, universities will be forced to seek other means of regular, guaranteed income. For some this will mean incorporating distance education approaches and technology supported pedagogy into their strategies to widen access. For others, partnerships with industry, technology transfer schemes and diversification into other non-traditional activities may also be required. For those universities that will not or cannot adapt to global trends and technology innovation, the future looks decidedly bleak.

    Commercial Competition

    Universities operating on a commercial basis are discovering that one of the best routes to financial survival is to increase their market share by widening their catchment area. For the first time in the history of education, a course provider can enrol students anywhere on the globe, regardless of the geographical location and time zone of the student. Monash University in Melbourne, Southern Australia, may be one of the first truly global distributed campus-based universities. Monash already boasts at least 4 campuses established across the continent of Australasia, and has a further partnership campus in Malaysia. It now has plans to establish another major campus in Johannesburg, South Africa. Indeed, by 1996, at least half of Australian universities were reported to have twinning arrangements with private colleges in Malaysia. The situation is similar in Singapore with several UK universities represented (THES, March 31, 2000).

    We must also of course acknowledge the role of the Mega-universities. Mega-universities as identified by UK Open University Vice Chancellor Sir John Daniel (1996) are institutes with over 100,000 students enrolled on higher education courses at any one time. One of the better known Mega-universities, the UK Open University (UKOU), has been one of the pioneers of modern distance education, revolutionising higher education provision for learners. The strength of the UKOU is founded on quality. A comprehensive mix of mail outs of high quality learning materials, broadcast media support and technology supported tuition, coupled with face to face seminars and tutorials, and university based summer schools ensures something for everyone. UKOU has an annual intake of over 30,000 foundation level degree students. It has achieved this impressive logistical feat by utilising a vast network of over 7000 part-time academics and 250 local study centres in the UK alone (Rickwood and Goodwin, 2000). This year sees the establishment of the US Open University, an American version based on almost identical principles. Ten other nations have established similar Mega-university systems operating on open distance models including Spain (UNED), France (CNED), Germany (FernUniversitat), Turkey (Anadolu University), India (IGNOU), and South Africa (UNISA). In much the same way as the corner shop met its demise with the advent of the hyper-market, small universities are in danger of being squeezed by the global campus based Mega-universities.

    Non-state funded universities are also exploiting new technologies to deliver courses. In the United States, Phoenix University, a privately funded organisation, turns over a quarterly profit averaging 12.8 million US dollars, earned exclusively from distance education activities. Similarly, the industrial sector is not slow to capitalise on the huge demand for flexible open learning. Microsoft, IBM and Cisco are already offering, or planning to offer corporate degree and diploma programmes in direct competition to the traditional university system. Cisco Systems operates on a similar basis to the UKOU, with a network of bought-in local academics and classroom resources, and awards accelerated diplomas in network engineering, software design and computer science.

    In New Zealand, IBM has recently applied to the government for a mandate to deliver degree level courses, again in direct competition to the established university system on the islands. Here are just a few other examples of recent commercial interest in higher education:

  • 1997 - UK Company Nord Anglia takes over Christchurch Art and Design College, New Zealand.
  • 1999 - Sylvan Learning Systems purchase a 54 percent holding in a private Spanish University.
  • 1999 - Commercial company De Vry takes over Denver Technical College and other HE institutes in the USA.
  • 1999 - University of Phoenix (USA) opens a campus in Rotterdam, Holland. They are planning to expand into Germany, Spain and Ireland.

    (Source: Times Higher Education Supplement, March 31, 2000)

    These trends reflect the realisation by commercial companies that higher education is a lucrative and expanding global market. Several media companies, for example, have also recently jumped on the bandwagon, investing large sums in the development of on-line learning. These include News International's World Wide Learning Ltd., Pearson Group's FT Knowledge, and Addison Wesley Longman Group (THES, March 2000).

    Demands for Greater Flexibility

    This carving up of the global education cake reflects the growing demands for greater flexibility from both students and employers. Students who have previously been disenfranchised by remote geographical location, lack of disposable resources, family commitments or work schedules, are recognising that opportunities now exist for part time study. For example, many courses are now available on a mixed delivery basis, incorporating correspondence materials, web based materials and face to face tuition. Distance learning materials are now generally equal to, and in many cases even supersede, the quality of materials offered in traditional educational provision.

    Employers are demanding highly skilled, flexible and responsive work forces. They are beginning to recognise the benefits of 'just-in-time' training, and are seeing that flexible, part-time opportunities for training their staff are not as onerous as sending them for days or even weeks to local (or not so local) universities to receive professional updates and training. Travel and subsistence expenses for training may soon be a thing of the past, as students and trainees learn at home or in the workplace, using the new technologies and high quality learning materials.

    Ultimately, if universities wish to cater for the needs of industry, they must collaborate to ensure that they identify the needs of employers; develop differentiated learning curricula to respond to 'just in time' demands; and reformulate education into modular, flexible pathways.

    Subject Proliferation and increased demand

    The demand for more knowledge has resulted in a major upturn in applications for places at university. It was predicted that by the start of 2000, student applications will have risen by 50 per cent in ten years. However, a high proportion of these new applications are for part-time places from mature students (CBI, 1994). Demand has also resulted in an increase of subjects offered in higher education. A glance through a prospectus of a decade ago and a comparison with this years offering from the same university, will doubtless show that there has been a big increase in the number of course offered, and the diversity in range of subject matter.

    This is a consequence of universities diversifying in an attempt to capture new student populations. However, in many cases, universities have created a rod for their own backs - there are either not enough faculty staff to teach the subjects, or the student to teacher ratio is too high to be economically viable. Furthermore, the subjects are becoming so specialised, that those who enrol on them are fewer, and the economy of scale is becoming unrealistic for many universities. For example, even the UKOU is hit by this phenomenon - this year's post graduate certificate in education, a course for graduates wishing to train as teachers - has had to be postponed due to current economic non-viability.

    Universities must either focus on what they do best, delivering courses that are both economically viable and high in quality, or they must diversify using a strategy based on distributed learning. In this way they can maintain the quality using technology whilst maximising the time and resources of well qualified academic staff to create materials and support courses. It is a well known economic feature of on-line courses, for instance, that many more students can be tutored individually than in conventional face to face environments (Bunker, 1998).

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