Why is this so? It is due to the central importance of such a course to the Distance Education professional in decision making positions. Especially in the private sector (but increasingly also in public institutions) any suggestions for change and innovation have to be costed. Both, the request to make efficiency gains as well as the request to raise quality, have cost implications.
The Economics of Distance Education course equips students with the central concepts of cost-analysis. Though in complex organizations this is no substitute for an accountant specialist, it is intended to turn the Distance Education professional into a competent partner in the process of costing. This is a central competence given that each suggestion for change is most certainly accompanied by the question “And how much will it cost?”
Costing is about numbers. Often this is sufficient to make people shy away from a course like this, though they are ready to admit its relevance. However, given available spreadsheet tools, the mechanics of costing can be kept to a minimum. We therefore have decided to make the availability of Excel a course requirement. We do not require mastery of Excel. On the contrary, we will assist participants with little prior knowledge of Excel to acquire the necessary skills to use Excel not only as a calculation but also as a modeling tool. This adds an interactive and explorative dimension to the dry tables of a textbook.
The course consists of four modules. All modules extend over three weeks each.
The 1st module: "The Expansion of Education and the Emergence of the Economics of Education" gives an introduction into the economics of education in general (most importantly the ‘human capital theory’) and links it to distance education: While economics of education uses the analytical tools of economics to analyze education theoretically, distance education translates some management and production methods, which have proved successful in economics (e.g. manufacturing), to education.
The 2nd module: "The Techniques of Cost Analysis" introduces the instruments of cost-analysis. After an introductory analysis of distance education as a system, the student identifies resources, classifies them into the main cost categories and handles the basic costing model. Special attention is given to the treatment of capital costs and overheads.
The 3rd module: "The Cost-effectiveness of Distance Education" applies the resulting conceptual framework and modeling tools to distance education institutions in order to address questions of cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Case studies are reviewed and implications for management and planning are identified.
The 4th module: "Costing Educational Technologies" addresses the problem of costing educational media. The choice of media is a main cost driver in educational provision. The main classes of media are analyzed. The student analyzes the cost of media using 'cost per student learning hour' as indicator which facilitates the comparison of the costs of different media. A spreadsheet model for rapid cost appraisal is introduced.
The 5th module: "The Costs and Costing of Networked Learning" applies what has been learned to the online case. It is examined to which extent the cost-structure of traditional distance education is affected especially by the possibility to increase student support through online communication.
Though this is a substantial program, due consideration has been
given to calculate the amount of reading requirements to comply with the overall
stipulated learning time.
The goals of the course is to enable the student to be a competent partner in the process of setting up and managing economic aspects of distance education, both on institutional level as well as on course level (i.e. with regard to media choice).
At the end of the course students should have achieved the following objectives. The student
Bates, A. W. (1995). Technology, Open Learning and Distance Education. London: Routledge.
Rumble, G. (1997). The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning. London: Kogan Page.
In general, journal articles and papers referenced in this Syllabus will be supplied online.
It is strongly recommended that students purchase the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association (4th Ed.) and that they pay particular attention to these pages before, during and after the writing of any Assignments.
Quotations: Sections 3.34, 3.35 etc., starting p. 95
Reference Citations in Text: Sections 3.94, 3.95, etc., starting p. 168
Reference List: Section 1.04, etc., starting p. 174
WWW citations: Consult the UMUC library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/apa.html
As noted below, the ability to write to APA standards is a Graduate School requirement.
This course is only offered in the online mode. Students must be prepared to:
The 150 hours workload during the course consists of:
To the final grade of this course both, assignments, and participation to the conferences will contribute:
Grades are assigned according to the following:
A for 90 - 100% - Excellent
B for 80 - 89% - Good, meets Standard
C for 70 - 79% - Below Standard
F for 0 - 69% - Failure
The grade of "B" represents the benchmark for the Graduate School. It indicates that the student has demonstrated competency in the subject matter of the course, i.e., the student has fulfilled all course requirements on time, has a clear grasp of the full range of course materials and concepts, and is able to present and apply these materials and concepts in clear, reasoned, well organized and grammatically correct responses whether written or oral.
Only students who fully meet this standard and, in addition, who demonstrate exceptional comprehension and application of the course subject matter, merit an "A".
Students who do not meet the benchmark standard of competency fall within the "C" range or lower. They, in effect, have not met graduate level standards. Where this failure is substantial, they earn an "F".
The Grade Of "I" (Incomplete): The grade of "I" is exceptional and given only to students whose completed coursework has been qualitatively satisfactory but who have been unable to complete all course requirements because of illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control. The grade of "I" may be considered only for students who have completed at least fifty percent (50%) of the total coursework requirements and who have received a passing grade on all the coursework which they have completed. The instructor retains the right to make the final decision on granting a student's request for an "I", even though the student may meet the eligibility requirements for this grade.
Effective managers and leaders are also effective communicators. Written communication is an important element of the total communication process. The Graduate School recognizes and expects exemplary writing to be the norm for course work. To this end, all papers, individual and group, must demonstrate graduate level writing ability and comply with the format requirements of the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association (latest ed.). Careful attention should be given to source citations, proper listing of references, representation of numbers, and the presentation of tables and figures.
Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional presentation of another person's idea or product as one's own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to the following: copying verbatim all or part of another's written work; using phrases, charts, figures, illustrations, or mathematical or scientific solutions without citing the source; paraphrasing ideas, conclusions, or research without citing the source; and using all or part of a literary plot, poem, film, musical score, or other artistic product without attributing the work to its creator. Students can avoid unintentional plagiarism by carefully accepted scholarly practices. Notes taken for papers and research projects should accurately record sources of material to be cited, quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, and papers should acknowledge these sources in footnotes.
The penalties for plagiarism include a zero or a grade of F" on the work in question, a grade of F" in the course, suspension with a file letter, suspension with a transcript notation, or expulsion.
Note: Work submitted for this class must be your own, and it must be original to this course. If you have questions regarding this stipulator, please consult instructor.
In accordance with the UMUC policy, any student who has a disability and is in need of classroom accommodations must inform the instructor of this need and, if he or she has not already done so, contact UMUC's office of Veteran and Disabled Student Services at (301) 985-7258.
Each Master's student will work towards the development of a personal portfolio. The portfolio contains required and voluntary documents. Required documents include mandatory assignments. Voluntary documents may show any other kind of active participation in the courses of the Master's program. These voluntary contributions allow students to show their proficiency and skills as a professional distance educator. This portfolio is a requirement for successful completion of the final Distance Education Project course.
During the first week a number of issues will have to be addressed: Students will be introduce each other and will be given an outline of the course setup.
However, we proceed soon to the course content. What is the rationale behind the unprecedented expansion of education? Education can be seen as an investment with very real returns to the individual as well as to society as a whole. Individual demand rises and there seems little reason to discourage it. But trying to satisfy a mass demand for education, giving the scarcity of resources, leads to the question of the most cost-effective provision of education. Distance education seems to fit this bill. Using rational production techniques, including division of labor and the application of media and technologies, distance education may be seen as being capable of emulating the success of industrialized manufacture of high quality consumer goods.
This relation between the core theory of economics of education which suggests to view education as an investment ('Human Capital Theory'), the historically unprecedented worldwide postwar expansion of education, and the emergence of distance education sets the scene for the questions of this course.
In the second week students will be asked to do some group work. Students will collaborate to explore the expansion of education using the GED database. While this group work is not graded, participation is strongly recommended since it will allow students to become acquainted with the use of Excel spreadsheets required in the first assignment.
Management issues and objectives:
Required reading:
Perraton, H. (2000). Introduction: golden goose and ugly duckling, Open and
Distance Learning in the Developing World (pp. 4-9). London: Routedge.
Peters, O. (1994). Distance education and industrial production: a comparative
interpretation in outline. In D. Keegan (Ed.), Otto Peters on Distance Education:
The Industrialisation of Teaching and Learning (pp.
107-127).
Schultz, T. W. (1961). Investment in Human Capital. American Economic Review, 51, 1-17.
Group task
At the end of module 1 students are to complete a group task. The task will not be graded and affects the final grade only through its contribution to the 10% of participation rating.
Special emphasis is given to the issues like capital costs, overheads and cost attribution of joint products.
Objectives:
Required readings:
Rumble, G. (1997). The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning. London: Kogan Page.
Assignment
At the end of module 2 students are to submit an assignment that
contributes 20 % to the final grade.
Note: During Module 3 Professor Dr. Greville Rumble, the author of one of our core readings, will be our visiting expert.
This module applies cost analysis to distance education institutions. Using 'cost per student' and 'cost per graduate' as an proxy indicator for cost-effectiveness we will examine the method of analyzing institutional cost-effectiveness. We review case study evidence for the claim of distance education being a cost-effective means of educational provision.
Management guidelines to monitor the cost-effectiveness of distance education are suggested.
Objectives
Required readings:
Mugridge, I., & White, V. (1992). Responses to Greville Rumble's Article 'The Competitive Vulnerability of Distance Teaching Universities'. Open Learning, 52-62.
Rumble, G. (1997). The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning. London: Kogan Page.
Rumble, G. (1992). The Comparative Vulnerability of Distance Teaching Universities. Open Learning, 7(2), 31-45.
Assignment
At the end of module 3 students are to submit an assignment that
contributes 20 % to the final grade.
Module 4 addresses the issue of costing technologies. After some methodological consideration on how to cost educational technologies and the introduction of 'cost per student learning hour' as a measure to facilitate cost comparison, we classify media in two major categories. In the first category we place 'resource media', which are unidirectional and can be replicated as objects, e.g. books, cassettes, CD-ROMs. They are more likely to generate economies of scale. Communication media, in the second category, link a student and a teacher/tutor and are less prone to generate scale economies.
For each of the two major types of media we examine their cost
structure, look at some cases and identify some benchmark cost figures,
using cost per student learning hour as unit of measurement. Special attention
will be given to issues of web- based teaching and training.
Finally we introduce a spreadsheet to as a management tool for rapid cost appraisal.
Objectives
Bates, A. W. (1995). Technology, Open Learning and Distance Education. London: Routledge.
Bates, A. W. (1999). Calculating the costs of Teaching with Technology, Managing Technological Change: Strategies for College and University Leaders (pp. 122-152). London: Routledge.
Hülsmann, T. (2000). The Costs of Open Learning: a Handbook. Oldenburg: BIS.
Assignment:
At the end of module 4 students are to submit an assignment that contributes 20 % to the final grade.
Module 5 applies what has been learned to the online case. It is examined to which extent the cost-structure of traditional distance education is affected especially by the possibility to increase student support through online communication. Attention is drawn to specific issues arising in the context of the corporate sector.
Objectives
Rumble, G (2001). The Costs of Providing Online Student Support (Conference Presentation) In: Student Services at the UK Open University. Papers presented to the 20th World Conference of the International Council for Open and Distance education; - Düsseldorf, Germany, 1 - 5 April , 2001; - pp 73-82
Rumble, G. (2001). The Costs of networked learning. JALN, forthcoming
Rumble, G. (2001). E-education - Whose benefits, whose costs? Inaugural Lecture, Wednesday, 28 February 2001
Whalen, T., & Wright, D. (1999). 'Methodology for Cost-Benefit Analysis of Web-Based Tele-Learning'. The American Journal of Distance Education, 13(1), 25-43.
Assignment:
At the end of module 5 students are to submit an assignment that contributes 20 % to the final grade.