E-learning so far fails to deliver

Australian universities are unlikely to be affected in the short term by foreign institutions offering online learning, according to a new report.

There are few signs of successful virtual institutions, either as internet-based educational providers or as "hollow" organisations acting as brokers for the programmes of other institutions, the report says.

Similarly, the likelihood of a large-scale influx of new higher education providers is remote, and Australia's A$3.5 billion (Pounds 1.4 billion) international education market is unlikely to be affected.

But the report, The Business of Borderless Education, warns that Australian universities are facing dilemmas in continuing to provide a "traditional university experience" in the face of the commercialisation of education and declining government funding.

The report was prepared by a team of researchers at the Queensland University of Technology under the guidance of an international steering committee, which included representatives of the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee and Britain's Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals.

AVCC executive director Stuart Hamilton said the analysis of the impact being made by non-university providers was timely given the potential they had for transforming the international higher education market.

He said the report established a foundation for further investigations into how universities could exploit synergies with multi-nationals while protecting the values of traditional universities.

The QUT researchers examined the activities of corporate, virtual and for-profit institutions offering education and training programmes.

They concentrated on non-traditional providers in the United States, including institutions run by the US air force and army, the University of Phoenix, and corporations such as Arthur Andersen, McDonald's and Microsoft.

The researchers note that the new providers are not bound by the norms of traditional higher education such as collegial governance or linked research and teaching. They say the factors driving the growth of the alternative market in the US, and likely to be relevant to Australia, include:

* The globalised economy with its growing demand for standardised products, services and technical infrastructure, and sophisticated communication systems

* The emergence of a post-industrial information age and the growth of new knowledge

* Demands for greater access to tertiary education fuelled by rapid changes in the economy and the need to upgrade workers' skills

* Growing reluctance by governments to fund increasing demand for higher education.

For government, the key public policy questions concern quality assurance and accreditation, and the potential impact of new forms of higher education and access for students, the report says.

In the US, the for-profit institutions do not cater for lower-income students. Similarly, post-bachelor degree courses in the US and Australia are becoming full-fee. This has potentially serious consequences for the development of lifelong learning, as lower-income groups face access barriers.

Mr Hamilton said the report noted that most of the new providers were offering vocational supplementation - not substitution - of university study. These areas were also new markets for traditional universities and the opportunities to extend the reach of higher education to a larger proportion of the world's population "should not be underestimated".

Details: http://www.avcc.edu.au/