Distance education a new profit line

The revival of distance education contains a glimpse of the future, says John Mitchell. Over the last 15 or so years, distance education was widely viewed as boring correspondence study and a relic of the pre-internet era. So it is intriguing to see the term distance education being promoted more regularly in both higher education and VET and to consider why this is happening and the implications for educational organisations. There are many examples of the distance education revival from the higher education sector. An example from the VET sector is the reputed success of the Open Training and Education Network (OTEN), part of TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute of TAFE, in its partnership with SEEK Learning, an arm of online recruiter SEEK. Another initiative relevant to both sectors is dual-sector Swinburne University’s newly announced partnership also with SEEK. Meanwhile Open University Australia continues to thrive and Cengage’s growth as a distance educator rivals OTEN’s success. The term distance education is not used by all such initiatives, with some organisations preferring to place an emphasis on the sassy online components of their programs. However, looking behind the facade, while many initiatives that are called online learning do have some online components such as a website containing archives and communication tools, much of the learning is basically distance education. Familiar aspects of distance education in these programs include the student largely working on his or her own, reading and interpreting texts often with the aid of a structured guide book, interacting via technology with a tutor and fellow students, and preparing and submitting assignments. When defining distance education and online learning, Professor Terry Evans at Deakin University and other experts argue that on the one hand there is value in identifying the distinctive elements of distance education, such as an autonomous learner separated by distance from the teacher. On the other hand there is value in embracing the blurring of the boundaries between distance education, online learning and other forms of learning. Full value is derived from a clear understanding of both distance and online learning and when and how to merge them. For instance, players such as UNE are seeking to combine the best of distance education with the strengths of the digital and virtual learning environment to provide a powerful new product range for the market. In contrast, SEEK Learning finds it effective to list separately their online and distance education programs. A key part of the revolution occurring in this space is around the marketing and management of distance education by new partnerships. For example, OTEN is partnering SEEK Learning, with OTEN providing the teaching and SEEK the marketing and sales. Interestingly, SEEK Learning also markets programs by TAFE’s competitors including Navitas’s ACAP and Think’s Billy Blue School of Design (SEEK is the owner of Think). Similarly, Fairfax’s MyCareer website is marketing programs from 11 different providers including CSU, AGSM, AIM and TAFE NSW. The sandstone University of Adelaide is partnering experienced US online provider Kaplan to offer bachelors and masters degrees and University of New England’s vice-chancellor Jim Barber recently indicated he was looking for private providers to provide distance learning services while the university retains control over the quality of programs, protecting its brand and reputation. Besides new types of partnerships, another part of the revolution occurring in the distance education space is the changing behaviour of consumers. For example, students are willing to sign up for a distance education program via a website and phone contact from MyCareer with the program taught and assessed by a TAFE NSW Institute. Students like the combination of the service provided by a customer-facing company like SEEK and the reputation for educational quality of the Australian College of Natural Therapies. In the same way, students like buying through OUA in order access its wide range of university providers. And by the way, in this new world of mix-and-match partnerships, SEEK also promotes OUA courses. Distance education is undergoing a revival because the market for distance education is growing, driven by push factors such as government policy to increase the number of graduates and the ubiquitous availability of technology to connect students and teachers. The market is also driven by pull factors such as growing student demand for ease of access to accredited learning and students’ increasing comfort with digital technology for learning anywhere, anytime and on any electronic device. For educational organisations, there are numerous implications of the revival of distance education and its blending with online learning, managed by new forms of partnerships. The implications include the need to continually improve the design, packaging, pricing and provision of distance education programs so they meet learners’ needs for choice, flexibility, interaction and engagement. There are also implications for educational organisations’ future resourcing of conventional infrastructure and the understanding of the role and skills of the teacher. One possible scenario for the future is that the push to invent new business models by progressive partnerships such as Fairfax-TAFE NSW and the pull of students demanding more and easier access to accredited learning will never settle down, providing for a dynamic future for tertiary education. For educational organisations, the secrets of how to make a profit and grow the market in distance education will keep changing, as these push and pull factors continue to interact. See courses.mycareer.com.au and www.seeklearning.com.au/tafe-courses.asp?CampaignCode=LRN:SEM:SEMG:sl:brand:tafe&amp;gclid=CNqy_5-Y7qcCFQTSbgodBSp0bQ Dr John Mitchell is a Sydney-based researcher whose doctoral research by distance education with Deakin University focused on strategic management of flexible learning in VET. See www.jma.com.au