Roshila Pillay and David Macfarlane
If you’re not online, you’re heading for oblivion. For public and private education institutions, whether traditionally contact or distance, this is the clear message.
A sampling of recent innovations shows that the formerly distinct categories of contact and distance learning are increasingly merging. And it’s a buyer’s that is, learner’s market: institutions are taking individuals’ needs into account as never before, tailoring their programmes to accommodate students’ circumstances and requirements.
Adults nowadays learn in a wide range of settings and are increasingly asked to work across cultures. In addition, today’s adult educators and learners increasingly need to use information technologies.
Online master’s
Responding to these realities, four universities spanning several continents the University of the Western Cape (UWC), the University of British Columbia, the University of Technology and the University of Linkoping have collaborated to launch a two-year online master’s programme called the intercontinental master’s in adult learning and global change.
The aim of the programme is to teach students how to learn and teach globally, using global technologies. “Institutions have to maximise the use of information technology for teaching and learning,” says the programme’s coordinator, Professor Shirley Walters.
“Whether you’re a distance or contact institution, flexibility of learning will increase through the use of information technology.” The programme “meets the global demand for practitioners who can foster learning in and across a wide range of contexts and cultures”, says Walters.
A team of academics from the four universities teaches the programme mostly online. Local students have one full-time week of training in August with tutors from UWC. “Students will have support from the university for the length of their studies, both from the contact person leading the courses and the local tutor,” Walters says.
The programme material comprises Web-based courses with printed student guides and comes at a cost of R10000. All four universities accredit the programme and issue the degree. Using a “mixed delivery mode”, the universities enable students to study from across the world. In other words, students close to one of the universities may have face-to-face contact with lecturers while other students communicate with lecturers teaching a certain course through the Internet.
The programme has seven courses. These include: locating oneself in global learning, adult learning contexts and perspectives, work and learning, fostering learning in professional practice, and understanding research.
Distance education
Distance learning has “enormous potential because you can study in your own time,” says Claudia Katz, Intec College’s marketing and sales director, who predicts a gradual move of learners from contact tuition to distance education.
Intec says it has more than 100000 students from around the world. Its courses span a range of subjects within five divisions business, creative and vocational, computing, high school and technical. Students can register for them at any time, at a cost per course ranging from R1 500 to R15 000.
There is a large potential for distance education in South Africa, says Hennie Louw, the CEO of Educor’s distance learning arm, which includes Intec. “We think [distance learning] is very appropriate for students who have been neglected in the past by other institutions.”
Intec students receive their course material within 48 hours of their applications being approved. Should students have any queries, they can contact the college by post, e-mail or telephone and Intec says a course tutor will respond within 24 hours.
“We offer affordable courses and tutoring, registration at any time, ease of education, and both traditional and more technologically advanced ways of interacting with us,” says Katz.
Telematic learning
A student living in the Lebombo mountains near Lesotho would ordinarily have to leave home to attend a tertiary institution. But Potchefstroom University has developed a tuition system that places qualifications within easy reach of people by tailoring the delivery of study materials and tuition to suit their situations. There are now students studying nursing from their homes in the Lebombo mountains.
“Looking at the need to improve the quality of life in South Africa, we know that accessibility to learning is one of the cornerstones to improve the intellectual ability of learners,” says Potch University Professor Lou van Wyk. “Telematic learning systems is a client-driven service department at the university especially created to manage and deliver high-quality academic programmes in niche markets based on an interactive and outcomes-based learning model which could be of service to anybody wherever they are living.”
About 80% of the students are from historically disadvantaged communities. There are 11 programmes on offer, including commerce and medical subjects. Fees range from R450 to R900 a course. A full year of study for the MBA costs about R10 000 a year, including study materials. Generally, tuition fees for each course are about 15% lower than that of similar courses at contact institutions.
How course materials are delivered depends on the profile of a student. For example, students in rural areas might receive their study materials through the post and can visit a study centre near them for video presentations. But if you have access to the Internet, you can either download your study materials from the Web or receive them on CD-Rom. There are also satellite transmissions at 20 of the 90 centres situated throughout the country.
“We offer a one-stop service where students can apply and receive their study material and support from one institution from the beginning to the end of their study career; high-quality study material which is upgraded annually after evaluation by students, facilitators and peer groups; Department of Education-approved degrees and diplomas; client-oriented support; multiple entry and exit points in the various programmes; greater accessibility in placing emphasis on recognition of prior learning and work experience; and the evaluation of courses by international institutions and experts in a number of programmes,” says Van Wyk.
e-learning
In what some call the biggest educational innovation since the discovery of blackboard and chalk, e-learning has become central to corporate and individual education and training. eDegree is a local company that markets itself as “Bringing a university to you. Online.”
“Basically, we are the technology pipeline. It is very expensive to establish the structure and expertise to provide online courses. The core skill of a university is academic expertise we provide the information technology and software for them to launch courses online. The same applies for corporate institutions,” explains eDegree CEO Nigel Tattersall.
eDegree offers 12 online courses, including the MBA, LLB and a full range of business courses; students can enrol at any time. eDegree is concluding contracts with four South African universities, and Tattersall envisages that there will be 20 online qualifications available by the end of this year.
And, with the introduction of the Skills Levy Act, corporate companies need strong planning and administrative training programmes, Tattersall says. “This is going to increase the demand for our services.”