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Assignment 1
Galina Culpechina
2480 words
Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................................................3
A Brief Overview of the Strategy that Describes the Institutional or Organizational Context ...................................................................4
What are the rationales for eLearning? How defensible are the rationales? ...............................................................................................9
Develop the skills and competencies needed in the 21st century ..........................................................................................................11
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................................................16
References..................................................................................................................................................................................................17
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
Introduction
This paper outlines a process of examining institutional or organizational planning for e-learning. I have compared and
analyzed eLearning strategies from two different institutions: University of Cincinnati and the University of Maryland University
College. The paper starts with a brief overview of the two strategies that describe the institutional context, followed by comparing
their mission, vision, objectives and how eLearning is understood. The paper presents an analysis of the rationales for promoting and
using eLearning.
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
A Brief Overview of the Strategy that Describes the Institutional or Organizational Context
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research The University of Maryland University College (UMUC), whose
university in Cincinnati, in the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded history began in 1807, is an American public not-for-
in 1819 as Cincinnati College and is the second largest university profit university located in Adelphi in Prince George's
in Ohio, and one of the 50 largest universities in the United County, Maryland in the United States. UMUC has a history of
The annual enrollment is over 44,000 students. students in 23 countries in Europe, North America and the Middle
The school offers over 100 bachelor's degrees, over 300 degree- East. After teaching students at military bases across Asia and
granting programs, and over 600 total programs of study, ranging Europe for decades, the university was quick to realize the
from certificates to doctoral and first professional education. potential of the internet and became a pioneer in the field of
distance education.
Excelling in eLearning was identified as a UC Third Century The annual enrollment is over 90,000 students worldwide.
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
over 90% of all courses using some form of eLearning UMUC is one of the largest distance learning institutions in the
technology. It currently offers more than 30 online degree world that offers 90+ affordable, convenient, career-relevant
programs and 40 online certificate programs, in addition to many bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and certificates.
UC focuses its e-learning strategy on observations received reach students wherever they were across the globe. In the 1990s,
through analysis of data collected in surveys of students, faculty, UMUC pioneered the use of online learning management
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
Both educational institutions are quite old and serve a great number of students. UC provides face-to-face, blended and online
instruction using some form of eLearning technology whereas UMUC provides hybrid and online instruction. Excelling in eLearning
was identified as a UC Third Century goal. In contrast, UMUC has always experimented with using technology to reach students
across the globe and pioneered the use of online learning management platform in its second century. Unlike UC, UMUC has
extensive experience serving non-traditional adult students: veterans, minorities, and students with disabilities in various countries. It
is currently working on developing mobile learning and adaptive learning strategies. The UCs strategic plan just as UMUCs plan is a
Vision Vision
Inclusive, flexible, engaging and transformative learning for UMUC will be a recognized leader in learner-centered adult
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
To create a learning and teaching environment that promotes supporting sustained quality academic innovation; and becoming
Objectives Mission
To cultivate an innovative, collaborative and evolving community To improve the lives of adult learners by providing the students
of learning and excel in eLearning with affordable, career-relevant, quality higher education.
4. Enrollment Growth
6. Organizational Capacity
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
Both educational institutions have clearly identified vision, mission and eLearning objectives. By analyzing them, we can
come to a conclusion that UC is focusing on students success, engagement, collaboration and learning within a community. While
students success is equally important for UMUC, their main focus is on affordable, high quality, career-relevant programs that build
the skills, competencies and capabilities required by employers today. In addition, UMUCs goals reflect the biggest challenge the
Electronic learning, or eLearning, at the University of Cincinnati eLearning is referred to as online learning, online education,
is broadly construed and refers to all types of education that worldwide distance learning, and mobile learning. It is used to
leverage technology-based products and services, including but refer to entirely online courses and hybrid classes that combine
not limited to face-to-face, flipped, hybrid, blended and fully online learning with in-person instruction.
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
For UC, eLearning is part of a teaching and learning continuum that begins with using technology to support face-to-face
teaching, then progresses with using technology for blended learning and reaches the point on the continuum with fully online distance
learning, where it replaces it all. Although eLearning is currently used for the same purposes at UMUC, the term eLearning is not
used in the UMUCs strategic plan, UMUC usesdistance and online education instead. Historically, UMUC delivered distance
education using various delivery formats mail, telephone, cable and closed-circuit television and more - to reach students beyond
Maryland. Currently, they are using D2L to deliver their learning and are adopting a Single Global Operational Model to consolidate
student operations management, administration processes, academic transfers and related procedures into a single system - one global
university.
What are the rationales for eLearning? How defensible are the rationales?
For both institutions no formal rationale for eLearning has been codified. However, both strategic plans include the following
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
With the changing nature of the student demographic, both universities understand the need to grow their student number by
targeting lifelong learners (often busy professionals), who, according to Bates, could soon become the majority in formal
postsecondary education (Bates, p.19). Both institutions are planning to provide affordable, quality, consistent, accessible and easy to
use eLearning resources to remove barriers and increase access for their students.
There are several aspects of using technology to increase access and flexibility that both institutions use:
UC is developing a strategy for cloud-based services to provide for easy-to-access, secure and sustainable service delivery.
Their eLearning ecosystem will be inclusive and accessible, promoting learning for everyone. The eLearning experience at UC will
become fully mobile, integrated and flexible, and they believe that this shift will remove barriers to access.
UMUC was planning to provide their students with free open-source educational resources by Fall 2015. Today 100 percent of
The Undergraduate School courses are equipped with open-source educational resources at no cost to students. In addition, UMUC
supports students by providing education at affordable prices and offers scholarship. According to their strategic plan, UMUC is
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
planning to increase the number of non-traditional students older, in the workforce beyond Maryland and military. The UC strategic
plan does not any have information about the university plans to reach out to students beyond Ohio or internationally.
Unlike UC, UMUC is exploring a competency-based education model at the optimal personalized pace to make education
more affordable and accessible for busy adults. Although both institutions have started to develop mobile learning to increase student
access, UMUC is also utilizing technology to help support students with disabilities and develop adaptive learning (smart software
that learns how learners are progressing and adapts specifically to those learners needs) to help students learn more effectively.
eLearning strategy at both educational institutions to increase access and flexibility is relevant as there is evidence that the
trend toward more online learning will intensify over the next five years.
Although there is an argument whether these skills are needed, most students of these universities are focused on career
advancement. Both educational institutions are engaged into creating learning experiences that prepare and train learners to be
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
successful in a highly skilled workforce. I believe the eLearning in these institutions contributes to the development of such 21st
century skills as: communication, problem solving, collaboration, leveraging technology, leadership, project management through
UC engages students by growing communities of practice and creates a 21st century digital eLearning environment that
UMUC focuses on its students career success and advancement, and it is redesigning several of its academic programs to
emphasize practical, experiential learning and partners with employers to identify skills and competencies that are essential to their
workforce. UMUC is exploring a competency-based education model to make education more accountable for the development of
needed skills.
One of the core competencies now required in nearly all subject domains is embedded digital literacy (Bates, p.20). UC
promotes digital citizenship and prepares students to succeed in the rapidly evolving digital world.
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
To sum up, the main focus of UC is creating communities of practice and promoting digital citizenship. In contrast, UMUCs
attention is on working together with employers to identify the skills and competencies required in the 21st century and developing
practical learning.
To enhance the quality of teaching and learning, both UC and UMUC make sure that university decisions and priorities drive
the use of technology, they do not accommodate technology to the old ways of doing things.
UC provides faculty professional development that highlights pedagogical best practices for existing and emerging
technologies. It delivers a high quality, 24/7 support environment that is effective and responsive to the diverse needs of the UC
community and support eLearning practices that are informed by learning theory. UC believes that high quality eLearning can be
achieved by adequate investment, innovative pedagogical strategies, instructional design and rewarding effective teaching practices.
They use analytics to measure, monitor and predict the effectiveness of student engagement/ success. To enhance the quality of
teaching and learning, UC offers the key initiatives like focused faculty development; Great Gateways, which seeks to improve
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
student success by more fully supporting the teaching and learning environment; UC Athletics iPad initiative, which gives athletes
and coaches access to state-of-the art eLearning technologies on the go; and the eTextbook Project, which supports and encourages
faculty in creating their own multi-touch eBook , and the Learning Technology Support (LTS).
UMUC is planning to provide individualized learning plans tailored to each student using technological advancements in
learner and data analytics as well as prior learning assessments to maximize student success. Center for Innovation in Learning and
Student Success will develop new educational approaches and use learner and data analytics to determine what does and does not
work and help with course selection. Adaptive learning strategies have been developed to assess when students are not able to achieve
mastery of specific topics and assist them with getting back to their educational path. UMUC is providing a multiyear, intensive staff
leadership training and development program. The instructors will now play the role of mentors, guides and coaches and get involved
Both institutions seem to be making the best use of technology to improve the quality of teaching and learning. They are
engaged into creating new models for teaching and learning that build on strength that technology provides as well as research about
how students learn and how best to teach (Christen Hughes & Mighty, 2010). UC stresses the importance of using and rewarding
effective pedagogical practices for existing and emerging technologies and analytics to measure the effectiveness of learning. On the
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
other hand, UMUC has a plan to create personalized learning and individualized learning paths based on learner and data analytics and
adaptive learning strategies. Both institutions have well-developed strategies for supporting faculty and providing their professional
Improve cost-effectiveness
Both institutions face the challenge of balancing the conflicting pressures of increasing access, improving quality and
controlling cost. Based on eLearning strategies for both institutions, they try to achieve cost effectiveness by transforming teaching
and learning and moving away from a teacher-centered, transmission model of education.
UC is planning to establish a sustainable eLearning funding model that promotes access to Canopy products and services
across campus.
UMUC is a tuition-driven school that receives relatively little state funding. It gets nearly all of its funding from tuition
revenue and has relied on enrolling large numbers of students associated with the military for financial stability. Ideation Group
proposed a more business-like model that will provide a greater opportunity for UMUC to become financially sustainable by having
flexibility in organizational changes and pursuing additional corporate partnerships that will provide new revenue streams. In March
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
2017, Inside Higher Ed published an article describing how UMUC has begun a process of unbundling to monetize its own services,
grow its profits and keep tuition rates low. UMUC has already spun off its Office of Analytics, which in 2015 became the data
analytics company HelioCampus. It has plans to do the same with other units. As those companies sell their services to other colleges,
the university hopes to use some of the profits to grow its endowment.
Conclusion
Both institutions highlight technology within their overall strategic plans. UC and UMUC invest in technology to increase
flexible access for students, develop core skills and competencies required by in todays society, enable teachers to work more
effectively, improve the cost-effectiveness and reach new audiences. Although they identified the same rationales for moving more
strongly into eLearning, UMUC is pioneering a new learning model that allows students to achieve more while maintaining low
tuition and is driven by creating a workplace-relevant, personalized, student-centered learning experience that is fully supported both
academically and technologically. As for UC, their key strategy is to evolve eLearning community, expand collaboration and create
meaningful change through community. Both institutions are balancing three competing forces: access, quality and cost, and see
technology as one of the key factors that help to balance these three forces. Their eLearning strategies are a result of engaging key
players and working together on developing and sharing common vision and goals for the use of technology.
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Analysis and Comparison of Rationales for eLearning
References
Bates, A. W., Bates, T., & Sangra, A. (2011). Managing technology in higher education: Strategies for transforming teaching and
Bullen, M. (Ed.). (2006). Making the Transition to E-Learning: Strategies and Issues: Strategies and Issues. IGI Global.
Guri-Rosenblit, S. (2005). Distance educationand e-learning: Not the same thing. Higher education, 49(4), 467-493.
Straumsheim, C. (2017). The Unbundling University. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved June 12, 2017, from
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/03/21/u-maryland-university-college-pursues-strategy-unbundling.
University of Cincinnati eLearning Strategic Plan 2017 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2017, from
https://www.uc.edu/content/dam/uc/provost/docs/priorities/elearning/eL-Strategic-Plan-FINAL-1.25.17.pdf
University of Maryland University College. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 1, 2017, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Maryland_University_College
University of Maryland University College Strategic Plan 20152018. Retrieved June 1, 2017, from
http://www.umuc.edu/documents/upload/umuc-strategic-plan.pdf
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