Friday, January 21, 2000

Master Plan in Washington State Calls for More Online Instruction By DAN CARNEVALE Anticipating rapid growth in the demand for college courses during the next 10 years, Washington State's Higher Education Coordinating Board is asking the Legislature to increase spending on online education so the state can avoid constructing new buildings or new campuses. The board's 2000 Master Plan for Higher Education, released last week, says Web-based courses could absorb some of a projected 70,000 additional students -- the equivalent of two more Universities of Washington. The master plan, which is prepared by the board every four years, also recommends other ways to save space, such as more efficient use of existing classrooms. The plan calls for spending at least $2-million to train instructors for distance education, and notes that more money would have to be spent to purchase and set up equipment. Concerns about the quality of online courses have been raised, said Marc Gaspard, executive director of the coordinating board, but they will be addressed as individual programs are created. An advisory committee will also be set up to deal with new concerns as they arise. Washington's Democratic governor, Gary Locke, says he supports the master plan, especially the provisions for online learning. But Mr. Locke's enthusiasm for online education has angered others in the past. In 1998, 850 University of Washington faculty members signed a letter criticizing the governor for backing what they considered to be unproved education policies. (See a story from The Chronicle, June 19, 1998.) The master plan doesn't call for the formation of a virtual university, but rather for an increase in the number of online courses and in the use of the Internet to create a hybrid format for traditional courses. The hybrid format would permit some class meetings to be held online, meaning that more courses could be accommodated by the same number of classrooms. "This is learning that may take place on a campus, but instead of being in a classroom, you may be on a computer," said Mr. Gaspard. He said the universities would save the state money by forgoing extensive construction plans. Online courses are spreading rapidly in higher education. But Richard T. Hezel, president of Hezel Associates, a research company that specializes in distance education, said the demand for them comes mostly from students who live far from a campus or who enjoy the freedom of logging into a course when it's convenient. Web-based courses have not yet been demonstrated to be effective ways of relieving overcrowding on campuses. But many students entering college during the next decade will be comfortable with technology, Mr. Gaspard said, and they will embrace new ways of learning, which universities will be able to rely on to relieve campus congestion. The master plan estimates that out of the 15 course-hours that full-time Washington students take in a given semester, an average of 1.5 hours will eventually be spent online. "Obviously, for some students, this is a direction they will like," Mr. Gaspard said. "The important thing is that we're recognizing it for the first time as a way to deal with our student-population growth." Last year, 203,293 students attended public institutions of higher education in Washington. The 70,000 additional students expected each year by 2010 are projected to include 52,500 who will attend public colleges and universities; the rest will go to private institutions. Mr. Hezel said it's difficult to say whether online education will be able to help universities accommodate more students. "It's still guesswork, because the population explosion hasn't hit yet -- well, it's hitting now, and there's no way a state like Washington could put bricks and mortar in place," he said. In addition to Washington, other states -- such as Texas and California -- want to use online learning to save space, Mr. Hezel noted. Although no one is sure how such attempts will play out, he said students will not be forced into online education against their will. "It won't necessarily be displacement," he said. "It's just that there will be more students willing to take courses online, and that will make room for the students who aren't as willing." Background story from The Chronicle: U. of Washington Professors Decry Governor's Visions for Technology (6/19/1998) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

President Clinton unveils proposals to ease financial burdens of college U. of Massachusetts to limit use of race in admissions 8 new chief executives announced As PeopleSoft problems persist, Cleveland State U. looks for a new project manager Master plan in Washington State calls for more online instruction