The next 20 years

There is no risk that Ron Dearing's National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education will ignore information technology. The danger, if any, is that the inquiry will form unrealistic expectations.

Organisations involved in educational technology have warned Sir Ron's inquiry that IT should not be asked to deliver too much, too soon, without adequate investment.

Not only organisations specialising in technology, but major players such as the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals have given IT prominence in their evidence.

Association for Learning Technology ALT says technology should support dialogue and active learning, not just access to information. It favours central investment in a learning technology support infrastructure, with the establishment of a Teaching and Learning Board as suggested in the MacFarlane report of 1992.

The United Kingdom has academic expertise, multimedia experience and the advantage of the English language. ALT calls for more incentives to strengthen the UK's global competitive position. Competition between United Kingdom higher education institutions should be replaced by cooperation.

Computers in Teaching Initiative The 24 CTI centres specialise in different subjects, and their joint evidence to Dearing stresses that any technological innovations must be sensitive to the needs of each discipline.

Developing teaching materials should be given the same esteem as research. "A system of accreditation for staff involved in educational support and development is badly needed."

Yielding a little to the pressure to spread staff thinner, the CTI response accepts that "since over 70per cent of HEI expenditure is on staff, there is an axiomatic need to make optimal use of human resources".

Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals The CVCP offers an aggressive plan for continued expansion of higher education. "There will be scope for cost savings, though the nature of the teaching role means that it will remain labour-intensive". The vice chancellors would like any productivity gains to be absorbed by growth rather than job cuts.

Technology should be used to improve the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning. There should be a national debate on the question of whether learning technology should replace traditional methods or be added to them.

Investment in infrastructure and staff development is needed. Technology should be used to boost the sector's income, with UK universities cooperating with the private sector to sell courses and learning materials to the world.

Higher Education Funding Council for England Much as it would like to see IT making each pound go further, HEFCE warns that savings are by no means guaranteed. Perhaps it needs to say this to deter the Department for Education and Employment from reaching for the axe again. But that does not mean its doubts about the cost-saving potential of IT are unjustified.

Joint Information Systems Committee Funding council money flowing through JISC has built a national IT infrastructure and a broad range of information services for UK academia. JISC does not believe cheaper education has to be worse education. It acknowledges that the march of progress will have casualties. "Cost reductions will probably be achieved at the expense of labour. Labour costs rise each year whereas IT costs fall over time through innovation, economies of scale and learning-curve effects."

National Council for Education Technology Technology can improve quality of learning, access and flexibility, but does not always result in cost savings. Investment in hardware must be accompanied by equivalent investment in staff development and training. Developments must not be technology led. They should take into account what is known about learning styles and the learning process.

National Union of Students "Yes, but..." sums up the NUS position on technology. "New technology holds out immense opportunities throughout the entire education sector, but its use must be driven by educational and social objectives rather than vice versa." The role of IT is explored more fully in the union's open-learning manifesto "2020 Vision: a College for the Twenty First Century".

Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association The people who run university computers argue that the stakes are rising rapidly and that IT, far from offering easy savings, requires massive investment. Staff development and training are crucial. The costs of sophisticated multimedia software are high: institutions must either buy it, or develop it collaboratively. But according to UCISA chairman Martin Price "the rewards in enhanced quality and improved access to HE will be huge."

IT AND DEARING:THE ISSUES

GENERALLY AGREED

More flexible education

More technology

Students need personal interaction.

EMERGING CONSENSUS

Staff development

Collaboration between HEIs

UK to compete in world markets

HOT POTATOES

Can IT cut costs?

Expansion or cuts?

Quality improved or endangered?

Can electronic communication replace face-to-face?

Links to numerous Dearing files are at the UCISA site, at NISS (www.niss.ac.uk/education/misc/dearing_responses), and THESIS (thesis.newsint. co.uk) which hosts the Dearing inquiry's own site.