Untitled Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs New Media and Borderless Education A Review of the Convergence between Global Media Networks and Higher Education Provision Stu[.]
Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs New Media and Borderless Education: A Review of the Convergence between Global Media Networks and Higher Education Provision Stuart Cunningham Suellen Tapsall Yoni Ryan Lawrence Stedman Kerry Bagdon Terry Flew January 1998 97/22 Evaluations and Investigations Program Higher Education Division ii Commonwealth of Australia 1997 ISBN 642 23718 This work is copyright Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Australian Government Publishing Service Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the manager, Commonwealth Information Services, Australian Government Publishing Service, GPO Box 84, Canberra ACT 2601 This report is funded under the Evaluations and Investigations Program of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs The views expressed in this report not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs iii Contents Acknowledgments vii Abbreviations ix Executive Summary xiii Recommendations xvii Contexts and Concepts The Brief Methodology Introduction Globalisation Internationalisation of Business 10 International Media: The Limits of Globalisation 11 Media and Communication and Information Technology Convergence 13 Communication and Information Technologies, Media and Higher Education18 Public Sector Reform and Higher Education in Australia 20 Distance Education 23 The Australian Context 25 The International Context 30 Lifelong Learning 32 Towards the Virtual University? 33 Borderless Education: The State of Play Introduction Sectoral Interests: An Environmental Scan Global International Regional National Local Media/Education Convergence: Virtually Here? The Convergence of Media Networks and Higher Education Provision Communication Networks: Content or Carrier? Drivers of Change? The Emergence of New Models of Higher Education Provision Global Campus, Global Course? Summary 37 37 41 41 49 70 77 95 107 107 114 116 120 122 125 iv ‘The Ps’: Issues for Emerging Models of Higher Education Provision Introduction Practical Issues The Bottom Line Core Business Branding Costs Differential Regional Media Take-up Household Take-up Industry Volatility Partnerships/Alliances—and Cultural Clashes Intellectual Property/Copyright Skilling Teachers, Learners and Support Staff Pedagogical Issues Age-related Factors Local Support Education versus Training Competency-based Education Cultural Differences in Learning Styles Technology and Learning Policy Issues Accreditation Levels of Government Support Consumer Protection Philosophical Issues Access and Equity The Nature of the University Cultural Imperialism Personal Issues ‘Learning from a box’ Not-for-credit versus Credit Courses ‘Teaching from the Box’ Conclusion 127 127 127 127 129 130 131 138 139 141 142 145 146 148 148 150 151 151 152 153 156 156 159 159 160 160 162 163 164 164 166 167 167 Scenarios Scenario 1: Harvard-Murdoch U Scenario 2: The Big Mac-Disney-Real Thing U Scenario 3: Virtual U Scenario 4: The Open University Scenario 5: Super Corridor Model Scenario 6: Western Governors University Scenario 7: World U Scenario 8: Free Market U 169 170 175 179 181 184 186 189 191 v Scenario 9: Intensifying Change Conclusion 194 195 SWOT for Australia Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Conclusion Recommendations 199 200 202 204 205 207 208 Appendix Conferences Attended in the Course of this Investigation 211 Appendix Interviewees 213 Bibliography 219 vii Acknowledgments The project team would like to thank all those who gave so generously of their time, knowledge, ideas and opinions during this investigation: the representatives of government, media, education and business organisations in Australia, North America, Europe and Asia who participated in this project We recognise the valuable consultation, advice and guidance provided by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Deputy Vice Chancellor Peter Coaldrake Similarly, we thank Tom Cochrane, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Information Services), Queensland University of Technology, for extensive access to his staff and physical resources Others who deserve special mention: • Michael Zastrocky from the Gartner Group for access to his expert knowledge and network of industry contacts in Colorado; • Tom Reeves and Lynne Schrum, from the University of Georgia, for their information and assistance • Sally Reynolds, project manager, Audiovisual Centre, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and consultant, European Broadcast Union and EuroPACE 2000, for sharing her extensive network of valuable contacts in Europe and Asia, and for her support in the European leg of our investigations; • Robyn Mason, UK Open University, for advice and suggestions on appropriate European contacts and for access to her new book on global education; • Noor Shahidah Salleh from the Australian International Education Foundation in Malaysia for her assistance with interviews in Kuala Lumpur, and Helen Tierney of the Australian High Commission for her work in arranging interviews in Malaysia; and • Terry Beven of the Australian Embassy for his work in arranging interviews in South Korea, and Mia Seo for her assistance with interviews in Seoul Of course we acknowledge our debt to the members of the Advisory Committee, who provided valuable advice and support throughout the project: Peter Nicholson, David McCann and Jenny Christmass of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs; Shirley Alexander of the University of Technology Sydney; and representatives of the National Library, including Cliff Law, Warwick Cathro and Adrian Cunningham Finally, we acknowledge the support of colleagues from Queensland University of Technology and its School of Media and Journalism ix Abbreviations AAHESGIT American Association of Higher Education Special Interest Group on Information Technology ACOT Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow African VU African Virtual University APEC Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation ASEAN Australian of South East Asian Nations ASPESA Australasian and South Pacific External Studies Association ATAP Academic Technology Advantage Program AT&T American Telephone and Telegraph AVCC Australian Vice Chancellors Committee AU Athabasca University BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BT British Telecom CAA (HK) Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation Cal State California State University CAUT Committee for the Advancement of University Teaching CBE Computer-based education CECC Colorado Electronic Community College CIT Communication and Information Technology CNN Cable News Network CoL Commonwealth of Learning COMETT Cooperation in Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training CPB Corporation for Public Broadcasting CQU Central Queensland University CR Campus Review CSU Charles Sturt University CTEC Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission CUTSD Committee for University Teaching and Staff Development CVU California Virtual University DBS Direct broadcasting satellite DEC Distance Education Centre DECAL Distributed Environment for Collaboration and Learning DEETYA Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs DEOS-L Distance Education Online Symposium (listserv) DT Deutsche Telekom EC European Commission EdNA Education Network Australia EFTSU Equivalent Full-time Student Unit EIP Evaluation and Investigation Program EuroPACE 2000 European Program for Advanced Continuing Education 2000 GATE Global Alliance for Transnational Education x GKN HECS HKOU HRSCLTS ICDE IDP IMC ISP ISTE IT2000 IU JEC KEDI KMEC KNOU LCD MBA MHWU MOLI MoU MSC NAFTA NBC NCB NBEET NCHEMS NCVER NETO ODLAA OIL OLA OUDP OUP PAGE PATHE PBL QUT RMIT SFU SIM SWOT TAFE TL*NCE UBC UKOU UNESCO UPM Global Knowledge Network Higher Education Contribution Scheme Hong Kong Open University House of Representatives Standing Committee on Long-Term Strategies International Council of Distance Education International Development Program International Management Centre Internet Service Provider International Society for Technology in Education Information Technology 2000 International University Jones Education Company Korean Educational Development Institute Korean Multimedia Education Center Korea National Open University Lowest Common Denominator Master of Business Administration McGraw-Hill World University Microsoft On Line Institute Motorola University Multimedia Super Corridor North American Free Trade Association National Broadcasting Corporation National Computer Board (Singapore) National Board of Employment, Education and Training National Center for Higher Education Management Systems National Centre for Vocational Education Research National Educational Telecommunications Organisation Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia Oxford Interactive Learning Open Learning Australia Open University Degree Program Oxford University Press Professional and Graduate Education Partners for the Advancement of Technology in Higher Education Publishing and Broadcasting Limited Queensland University of Technology Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Simon Fraser University Singapore Institute of Management Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats Technical and Further Education TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence University of British Columbia United Kingdom Open University United Nations Economic Scientific and Cultural Organisation Universiti Putra Malaysia