OMDE 606
Fall 2006
09/05/06 - 12/19/06

Timing
Content
Week 0:
Thursday, August, 31. to Tuesday, September, 05.		 Preweek: (read only)
- How to prepare for this course.
Week 1:
Wednesday, September, 06. to Tuesday, September, 12.

Introduction:
- How to get through this course;
- getting to know each other;
- getting acquainted with the learning environment.
Module 1: The Expansion of Education and the Emergence of the Economics of Education
-Debate: 'Education: panacea or palliative?'
-Exploring the rising demand for education and soaring costs;
-'Human Capital Theory' and the emergence of economics of education;
-What distance education may offer.
Date for posting* Group Task: Sunday, September, 10.
-Group task
-Using the GED Database

Week 2:
Wednesday, September 13. to Tuesday, September, 19.

Module 1 (cont.)
-Using the GED Database
Date for submitting* Group Task: Sunday, September, 16.
Week 3:
Wednesday, September 20. to Tuesday, September, 26.
 Module 2: The Techniques of Cost Analysis
-Budgets and the classification of resources;
-Classification of costs;
-Economies of scale;
-Overheads and the treatment of capital costs.

Week 4:
Wednesday, September 27. to Tuesday, October, 03.

Module 2 (cont.)
-Making use of spreadsheets for cost-analysis;
- Mock** assignment (posted September, 27; solution posted September, 30.)
Week 5:
Wednesday, October 04. to Tuesday, October, 10.		 Module 2 (cont.)
Date for posting* Assignment 1: Friday, October, 06
Week 6:
Wednesday, October 11. to Tuesday, October, 17.
 Module 2 (cont.)
Date for submitting* Assignment 1: Tuesday, October, 16.
Week 7:
Wednesday, October 18. to Tuesday, October, 24

Module 3: The Cost-effectiveness of Distance Education
-Effectiveness and efficiency;
-Case study: the British Open University;
Reading for 'Vulnerability debate'
Week 8:
Wednesday, October 25. to Tuesday, October, 31.		 Module 3 (cont.)
Conference with our visiting expert, Prof. Greville Rumble on the vulnerability of distance teaching universities
Week 9:
Wednesday, November 01. to Tuesday, November, 07

Module 3 (cont.)
Date for submitting Assignment 2: Tuesday, November, 07

Week 10:
Wednesday, November, 08. to Tuesday, November, 14.		 Module 4: Costing educational media and technologies: Traditional media:
-Bates ACTIONS Model;
-Cost per learning time as an indicator to compare the costs of media;
-The cost-effectiveness of educational media and the media equivalency theory.
Week 11:
Wednesday, November, 15. to Tuesday, November, 21.

-Cost of print
-Cost of radio and audio cassettes
-Cost of television and video cassettes
Week 12:
Wednesday, November, 22. to Tuesday, November, 28.
 Module 5: Costing educational media and technologies: E-Learning
-The impact of netbased learning on the cost-structure of distance education'
-Synchronous types of e-learning
-Aynchronous types of e-learning
Week 13:
Wednesday, November, 29. to Tuesday, December, 05

Module 5 (cont.)
- Recovering lost efficiencies: Learning objects
- Recovering lost efficiencies: Cooperation
Week 14:
Wednesday, December, 06. to Tuesday, December, 12

Module 5 (cont.)
Date for submitting* Assignment 3 (group assignment): Module 3 (cont.)
Week 15:
Wednesday, December, 13. to Tuesday, December, 19

Module 5 (cont.)
Looking back and summing up

* 'posting' refers to faculty making assignment or task accessible; 'submitting' refers to students,
loading up assignments to assignment folder
** A 'mock assignment' is a nongraded voluntary assignment which allows students to prepare
for the real assignment. A few days after it is posted a complete solution will be made available
allowing students to compare their solution with the standard solution

Absence:
Week 2: Wednesday, September, 13 to Monday September 18th. (USA, EFMD-CEL)
Week 6: Wednesday October 11 to Monday October 16th (China, AAOU)
Week 8: Tuesday October 24 to Monday October 30th (Spain, EDEN)