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| New Media and Borderless Education A Review of the Convergence between Global Media Networks and Higher Education Provision |
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97/22 Stuart Cunningham January 1998 |
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| Evaluations and Investigations Program Higher Education Division Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs |
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©Commonwealth of Australia 1998
ISBN 0 642 23718 2
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.
Executive Summary
This report examines and tests the available evidence for the interest and involvement of global media and communication networks in higher education provision across borders, against the background of worldwide trends towards globalisation of markets, communication, and culture.
Chapter 1 therefore provides an overview of globalising trends, and counteracting localising forces, which have direct relevance to the ability of global media networks to carry higher education across borders with appreciable degrees of success. Other trends examined are: the convergence of communications and information technologies and industry sectors; the rapidly changing nature of government and public sector service provision in response to competition policy, including contestability between and among public and private sector organisations and the redefining roles around ‘core’ business; and the background of distance, open and flexible learning both in Australia and overseas. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the prospects for ‘virtual universities’ and the potential role global media may play in developing them.
There is no shortage of scholarly, journalistic, governmental or institution-specific material on the impact of communications and information technologies, media influence, the globalised economy, or the future of higher education. There is, however, an acute shortage of thorough and realistic analyses of the intersection of these areas. Chapter 2 maps in detail the main players by industry sector and scale and scope of activity, presenting a snapshot of the state of play in the late 1990s in major education markets of the world—the United States of America, Western Europe, and the East Asian region, as well as Australia.
Chapters 3 and 4 analyse the data presented in Chapter 2. The specific foci of Chapter 3 are the issues most pertinent to whether large media and communication firms will develop, or are developing, an interest in the provision of higher education: media convergence; content and/or carriage; the actual catalysts of change; and the possibilities for global campuses. Given the lack of substantial evidence for the imminent direct involvement in content provision of higher education by communications and media networks, Chapter 4 widens the focus to examine the factors which may impede or impel the entry for providers of higher education. These factors are grouped under five ‘Ps’—practical, pedagogical, policy, philosophical and personal issues—within which all significant concerns about these emerging trends are framed by a wide range of expert players and commentators in the major educational markets of the world.
Chapter 5 extrapolates into the short- to medium-term future (up to five years), examining nine scenarios which test a suite of potential developments. These range from the one most frequently mooted—a partnering of a globally-branded university with a global media network to offer a high quality prestigious set of degree programs which might threaten to destabilise the structure of higher education provision in countries like Australia—through to a scenario of increasingly rapid but still incremental change. This scenario sees traditional higher education providers offering a greater amount of course content using flexible delivery methods based on an increased use of communication and information technologies, with a greater mix between on-campus and ‘distributed’ (including international) course participants. This last scenario is a direction that is likely to characterise the short- to medium-term future of higher education in many Australian universities, indeed in universities around the world. However, other scenarios of more accelerated change could occur in parallel, particularly if further deregulation of higher education markets occasioned by a student voucher system and/or other developments emphasising greater contestability in service provision were to be factored into the equation.
Chapter 6 summarises the threats and opportunities for Australia in the context of these worldwide developments.
While there is a good deal of ‘hype’ relating to the involvement of global media networks in higher education, there is currently little evidence of this involvement, and, at least in the declared strategies of many of the global media networks, little intention of involvement beyond current interests in the carriage of educational content produced and controlled by other providers. The greatest single involvement by large corporations is via the ‘corporate university’ model. Rather than global media networks penetrating the higher education sector, this model describes the provision of training (distinguished from education) within a large and often international corporation which may result in the growth of a sector increasingly competing with higher education for lucrative programs.
Contributing factors to the present lack of interest and involvement of global media networks in higher education include:
The cultural differences between the two sectors are perhaps best demonstrated through an understanding that the core business for many media networks is entertainment and ‘infotainment’, rather than education, together with the economic necessity to maximise audiences, rather than to meet niche market needs. For most other communication firms, core business is carriage rather than content. Furthermore, a focus on core business rather than ambitious strategies to construct ‘synergies’ characterises many large firms in the 1990s.
Although it is evident that the involvement of global media networks in providing higher education has been overstated, the research team found ample evidence of individual projects and gathering focus on the use of new media and technology in higher education by established and new higher education institutions, and clear indications that this use will continue to grow. In some instances, major computer hardware and software companies are acting as a catalyst for change, providing expertise and resources to institutions to encourage them to adopt technology in their administrative and academic endeavours. In this respect, the companies are seeking to establish a presence as a carrier, rather than a provider, of educational content. The use of technology and new media is in many cases still in its experimental stages. While it is facilitating expansion into distance education by many higher education providers (including traditional universities) and brokers, such as the Western Governors University in the United States, and the rhetoric is global, the focus is in most cases at this stage on a local or at best national market. This may well change in the future, as programs become established and appropriate technological infrastructure becomes more widely available. There are already several examples of small-scale master of business administration (MBA) courses which enrol students internationally and which employ a variety of media and technologies.
It must also be said that there are new providers emerging, and that some of these have global aspirations. Many originate in North America, in contexts that differ significantly from the Australian environment. For example, the use of the word ‘university’ is regulated in Australia. In the United States, many organisations use the word in circumstances that differ from the Australian understanding of the term.
There is evidence of a major segmentation of the market, with new providers targeting the ‘lifelong learning’ cohort (25 years and up). This includes corporate training/education, a domain only partially catered for by traditional universities, and a profitable market—being largely self-funded and employer-funded. Continuing and professional education is a component of lifelong learning for those in the workforce. There is a widespread perception that traditional institutions are not meeting the needs of the lifelong learning cohort and that the field is open for new providers to meet market demands. One obvious, and problematic, outcome of this segmentation is that traditional institutions may be left serving the less-profitable traditional undergraduate market (18–24), which is largely government-funded or family-funded, in a time when governments are increasingly endeavouring to cut public outlays. Looking further into the future than the medium-term prospects, this arguably represents one of the most significant challenges to, and opportunities for, established higher education providers.
Converging technologies and the potential for global reach have led some to assume the existence of one ‘global market’. Conversely, this investigation would support the notion of the fragmentation of world markets and the development of numerous niche markets on an international and regional, rather than global scale. As a result, this report suggests there is no ‘blanket’ approach to delivery of a global education program and that the education providers who identify their niche and meet the demands of the relevant stakeholders are those that will be best placed in a global marketplace.
This investigation highlights worldwide concerns about accreditation and articulation, with many government, institutional and educational organisations struggling to identify possible solutions to the problems of identifying, assessing, ranking and accrediting courses and awards in a borderless market.
Recommendation 1
In recognition of the worldwide trend to segmentation of the market, and with an understanding of the potential threat if Australia’s traditional universities are left catering only for the ‘unprofitable’ traditional undergraduate market, we recommend that:
Recommendation 2
In consideration of the burgeoning worldwide interest in post-secondary education and with an understanding of the potential impact of new technologies, both for the protection of Australian students and for the maintenance of Australia’s reputation as a credible provider of quality education, we recommend that:
Recommendation 3
In addition, with an understanding that countries and organisations outside Australia operate from a base that may be totally at odds with the standards expected within Australia and in the knowledge that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has recently produced a discussion paper, The Global Enforcement Challenge, we recommend that:
Recommendation 4
Education is now included among Australia’s major industry sectors, and ‘exports’ of education contribute significantly to the economy. In recognition of the global trend of convergence and of the increasing importance of cross-sectoral collaboration, alliance and partnerships, and mindful of Melody’s observation of the integration of industrial, social and cultural policies (see p. 14 of this report), we recommend that:
Recommendation 5
The future role of communication networks and ‘virtual’ universities continues to be the subject of intense interest and speculation. Many current assertions prove, on close examination, to bear little resemblance to fact. Beyond the speculation, there is a definite commitment by many organisations and institutions to the online and virtual methods of delivery. Therefore, we recommend that:
Recommendation 6
Within Australia, much is being made of student demand for flexible teaching and learning. Some elements of the sector also appear to see ‘flexible delivery’ as a means of reducing institutional costs while servicing an increasing number of students. The rhetoric surrounding the ‘Death Star’ scenario also presupposes that existing student cohorts would naturally prefer to complete a ‘Harvard – Murdoch U’ degree, rather than a program offered at a local institution. These investigations, both in Australia and elsewhere, revealed a paucity of research on actual student demand for flexible delivery and other new models of education provision. Therefore, we recommend that:
Recommendation 7
There is a potential for ad hoc and financially unsustainable responses from Australian higher education institutions and/or policy makers to the threats and opportunities presented by this report. The energies and resources which might embed communication and information technologies into teaching and learning practices have in many instances been dissipated by the wide variety of projects, programs and organisations charged with a mission in this area. For example, both the National Committee of Open and Distance Education and Education Network Australia (EdNA) are developing a database of technologically-based learning materials, and the Committee for the Advancement of University Teaching Clearinghouses already have some data. Therefore, we recommend that:
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