A recent article by Joshua Kim in IHE admonishes institutions not to pursue online Education for the money. He rightly points out that online education should not be viewed as a quick fix for revenue shortfall. Instead, online should be aligned with mission and strategic goals as part of a larger institutional strategy. In the comment section of the article, Anthony Pina expands on this perspective, suggesting that quick profits are attainable by developing online programs, but too often at the expense of quality and in the long run failing to meet student needs by building a sustainable infrastructure.
Both authors are on target. However, these insightful remarks miss the larger point. It's not just about the money in either the short or long run. It's not even just about mission alignment, quality, and serving today's students. It's about bringing Higher Education into the mainstream of society. Outside of higher education, online (read: technology) IS the norm. Major parts of American society are already infused with technology. Retail and finance are good examples. And knowledge (read: information, data) apart from the structure of higher education is now readily available from multiple sources with a few keystrokes. Yet our monolithic higher education structure continues to pretend (and even insist) that knowledge resides solely on campuses and with faculty. Higher education needs to catch up before organizations like Pearson, Apple, or even Amazon become the repositories and distributors of knowledge.
Both authors are on target. However, these insightful remarks miss the larger point. It's not just about the money in either the short or long run. It's not even just about mission alignment, quality, and serving today's students. It's about bringing Higher Education into the mainstream of society. Outside of higher education, online (read: technology) IS the norm. Major parts of American society are already infused with technology. Retail and finance are good examples. And knowledge (read: information, data) apart from the structure of higher education is now readily available from multiple sources with a few keystrokes. Yet our monolithic higher education structure continues to pretend (and even insist) that knowledge resides solely on campuses and with faculty. Higher education needs to catch up before organizations like Pearson, Apple, or even Amazon become the repositories and distributors of knowledge.
