Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

The USM in 2010: 

Responding to the Challenges that Lie Ahead

Online Learning

Changing student needs and expectations, as well as the demands of an increasingly competitive marketplace, are driving the development and expansion of online learning programs.

The broad acceptance of the Internet has made possible a new vehicle for distance education that is being exploited by traditional universities and new for-profit ventures across the country and around the globe. It is estimated that, by the year 2002, there will be more than two million people taking online education courses.

USM institutions are responding to this phenomenon in different ways. Residential campuses have been networking dorm rooms with high speed links in order to enhance classroom instruction. At the other end of the spectrum, several institutions are using the worldwide reach of the Internet to enroll students who may never set foot in a classroom. Increasingly, students have become accustomed to a technology and media rich environment, and they expect a similar educational experience from our campuses.

Complementing these opportunities are several trends that encourage a rethinking of when, where, and how learning takes place. In particular, online learning may be one way we meet rising demands from life long learners and career changers. A growing population of graduate students and adult learners are increasing the median student age and creating a pool of students who need our services but often find it difficult to attend one of our campuses.

The USM has an obligation to the State, particularly in light of looming workforce shortages, to provide appropriate access to higher education to all citizens. Online learning may play a significant role in responding to State and citizen needs.

In addition, it should be noted that online learning will blur traditional geographic boundaries. We will see a much more competitive marketplace, with higher education providers from across the country and around the world reaching into the home and workplace via robust telecommunications networks. This marketplace could allow USM institutions to become exporters of education and importers of tuition revenue, or it could allow other non-profit and for-profit education organizations to skim students from our most successful programs.

As related to the issue of USM institutions as "education exporters," so to speak, we must examine how pricing and economic policies interact with the USM's new funding guidelines. In their current iteration, the funding guidelines essentially ensure that the more funding institutions receive in tuition revenue from students, the less funding receive they from the State. This is a positive measure that encourages institutions to keep tuition increases low.

However, as institutions experiment with for-profit ventures (such as UMUC Online), the funding guideline should be adjusted to accommodate the requirements of the marketplace, particularly in order for our institutions to be able to attract investors to participate in potential public-private partnerships in educational delivery systems.

Finally, the USM has an obligation to the State, particularly in light of looming workforce shortages, to provide appropriate access to higher education for all citizens. Online education will be an increasingly important way to provide this access. However, the online mode of delivery can be even more expensive that traditional classroom methods. This is particularly true during the developmental stages of an online program and during the installation and regular updating of the technology infrastructure. For this reason, creative funding strategies need to be developed to support the online systems necessary to furnish sufficient student access.

USM Response

USM institutions will:

• Play a coordinating role, as appropriate, in facilitating the transition to online learning. This might include extending current activities, such as shared library resources and intercampus networking, or facilitating off-campus network access, faculty training, or the sharing of instructional materials.
• Work with the State to modify tuition pricing policies for online education programs in order to allow the out-of-state export of USM programs without incurring financial disincentives under the current funding guidelines.
• Develop and adopt intellectual property policies that respond to the issues raised by putting courses and course components online.
• Develop Systemwide funding policies that will allow institutions to sustain the added costs of online education as they strive, through distance learning, to provide the greatest possible access to higher education.