Rethinking the Virtual University

This paper explores why the virtual university movement may be entering a new phase of development. This phase is characterized by inter-university coalitions that share information and communication technology (ICT) platforms to develop and deliver web-based courses. This collaborative movement is the result of a number of forces driven primarily by the need to address escalating ICT costs and overcome resistance of faculty to distance education initiatives. Complementary resources such as national library databases; Internet-based course materials; low cost, broadband communications; Internet2; and state legislative initiatives are additional drivers facilitating the move toward a collaborative virtual university (CVU) model. This model is examined as a change agent for universities to reexamine their individual roles in leveraging Internet resources to enhance the quality of higher education programs. Leading edge initiatives are also described.

[1]  D. Vogel,et al.  Using Information Technology to Add Value to Management Education , 1997 .

[3]  Paul Michael Privateer,et al.  Academic Technology and the Future of Higher Education: Strategic Paths Taken and Not Taken , 1999 .

[4]  Lisa A. Petrides.  Case studies on information technology in higher education: implications for policy and practice , 2000 .

[5]  D. Cohen.  Chronicle of Higher Education , 1998 .

[6]  Jane Sjogren,et al.  Cost Issues in Online Learning: Using “Co-opetition” to Advantage , 2002 .

[7]  B. Fife,et al.  Higher Education in Transition: The Challenges of the New Millennium , 1999 .

[8]  William M. Plater.  Future Work: Faculty Time in the 21st Century , 1995 .

[9]  Richard N Katz.  Web Portals and Higher Education: Technologies to Make It Personal , 2002 .

[10]  Brian L. Hawkins,et al.  Distributed Education and Its Challenges: An Overview. Distributed Education: Challenges, Choices, and a New Environment. , 2001 .

[11]  Margaret L. Rice,et al.  Faculty Involvement in Planning for the Use and Integration of Instructional and Administrative Technologies , 2001 .

[12]  Jennifer Preece,et al.  Toward Virtual Community Knowledge Evolution , 2002, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[13]  Richard N. Katz.  Web Portals & Higher Education: Technologies To Make IT Personal. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. , 2002 .

[14]  Doreen Starke-Meyerring,et al.  Partnering in the Learning Marketspace , 2001 .

[15]  B. Pietrykowski.  Information Technology and Commercialization of Knowledge: Corporate Universities and Class Dynamics in an Era of Technological Restructuring , 2001 .

[16]  Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa,et al.  The Use of Information Technology to Enhance Management School Education: A Theoretical View , 1995, MIS Q..

[17]  S. Johnstone,et al.  So, How Much Do Educational Technologies Really Cost? , 2002 .

[18]  Martin Valcke,et al.  Models for web-based education: have we forgotten lessons learned? , 2001 .