OMDE 606 Spring 2006
Timing
Content
Week 0: 01/19-01/24 Preweek: (read only)
- How to prepare for this course.
Week 1: 01/25-01/31

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: January, 30.
-Group task
-Using the GED Database

Week 2: 02/01-02/07

Module 1 (cont.)
-Using the GED Database
Date for submitting* Group Task: February, 06.
Week 3: 02/08-02/14

 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: 02/15-02/21

Module 2 (cont.)
-Making use of spreadsheets for cost-analysis;
- Mock** assignment (posted February, 15; solution posted January, 19.)
Week 5: 02/22-02/28 Module 2 (cont.)
Date for posting* Assignment 1: February, 22
Week 6: 03/01-03/07
 Module 2 (cont.)
Date for submitting* Assignment 1: March, 07.
Week 7: 03/08-03/14

Module 3: The Cost-effectiveness of Distance Education
-Effectiveness and efficiency;
-Case study: the British Open University;

Week 8: 03/15-03/21

Module 3 (cont.)
March 15 to March 21:
Conference with our visiting expert, Prof. Greville Rumble on the vulnerability of distance teaching universities

Week 9: 03/22-03/28 Date for posting Assignment 2: March, 22
Date for submitting Assignment 2: March, 28
Week 10: 03/29-04/04

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.
-Cost of print
-Cost of radio and audio cassettes
-Cost of television and video cassettes
Date for posting* Assignment 3 (group assignment): March, 29
Week 11: 04/05-04/11
 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 12: 04/12-04/18

Module 5 (cont.)
- Recovering lost efficiencies: Learning objects
- Recovering lost efficiencies: Cooperation
Week 13: 04/19-04/25

Module 5 (cont.)
Date for submitting* Assignment 3 (group assignment): April, 25.
Week 14: 04/26-05/03

April 26 to May 02:
Conference with our visiting expert, Prof. Tony Bates
(Topic to be specified)
Week 15: 05/04-05/11

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