From listproc@pulsar.acast.nova.edu Mon Oct 13 21:41:02 1997 Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 21:31:43 -0400 From: listproc@pulsar.acast.nova.edu To: aedmod@fcae.acast.nova.edu Subject: GET HORIZONS VOL10N1 (1/1) Archive HORIZONS, file vol10n1. Part 1/1, total size 27558 bytes: ------------------------------ Cut here ------------------------------ ********************************************************** ********************************************************** ******************** ******************** ************* ************* ******* ******* **** **** *** *** ** ** * NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION * * ISSN. 1062-3183 * ********************************************************** Volume 10 Number 1 Summer 1996 ********************************************************** EDITOR Nancy Gadbow................Nova Southeastern University ASSOCIATE EDITOR Linda Howard................Nova Southeastern University COPY EDITOR Donald Rigg.................Nova Southeastern University EDITORIAL BOARD H. K. (Morris) Baskett......The University of Calgary Ina Sue Brown...............Syracuse University Dale Cook...................Kent State University Karen Garver................University of Nebraska Jan Jackson.................California State University Janice Johnson..............University of British Columbia John Kingsbury..............Nova Southeastern University Patricia Lawler.............Widener University Norma Long..................College of Notre Dame of Maryland Robert Preziosi.............Nova Southeastern University Mark Rossman................Graduate School of America Burt Sisco..................University of Wyoming Sue Slusarski...............Syracuse University Marlene Smadu...............Nova Southeastern University NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION is a refereed journal published by Nova Southeastern University's Programs for Higher Education. The journal is transmitted electronically through the Adult Education Network (AEDNET), accessible through BITNET and Internet. There is no charge for NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION as received electronically. Copyright of individual articles is retained by the authors. Any item that appears in NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION may be retreived without permission. However, when this material is quoted or reproduced, the author, title of the item, and issues must be cited. To correspond with NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION send email to horizons@fcae.acast.nova.edu or send postal mail to NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION, Nova Southeastern University, Programs for Higher Education, 3301 College Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314. page 2 N E W H O R I Z O N S I N A D U L T E D U C A T I O N CONTENTS Volume 10, Number 1, Summer 1996 I N T R O D U C T I O N Editor's Preface............................................2 A R T I C L E Embracing Change: Evolving to the Campus of the Future James W. Hall and Paul H. Shiffman..........................4 F O R Y O U R I N F O R M A T I O N HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS ARTICLE ON AEDNET.................... How to Obtain Back Issues and the Cummulative Index to New Horizons....................................................10 Call for Manuscripts........................................10 NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION Volume 10, Number 1, Summer 1996 EDITOR'S PREFACE This issue of NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION contains one article, EMBRACING CHANGE: EVOLVING TO THE CAMPUS OF THE FUTURE, by James W. Hall and Paul H. Shiffman. Hall is President of Empire State College, and has guided the growth and development of the State University of New York's nontraditional arts and science college since he was named its first president in 1971. Hall also served as Vice Chancellor for Educational Technology with the SUNY system (1993-95). Shiffman has served as the executive associate to the president at SUNY Empire State College for the past eight years. He is responsible for coordinating a wide range of policy and administrative functions at the college relating to institutional strategic planning, budget development, public outreach, and program advancement. This article describes a vision of the future direction that colleges and universities should pursue, according to the authors, in order to serve the diverse population of learners page 3 who will continue to seek learning opportunities through higher education. The changes they discuss include a student- centered approach, the role of emerging technologies, and workforce demands. Readers are invited to make this an "interactive article" by responding on AEDNET and discussing their perceptions of the vision presented, as well as how this future scenario relates to other areas of adult education practice. [Directions to guide this discussion are given in this issue on page 10.] Readers are also encouraged to consider submitting an article for consideration by the editorial board of NEW HORIZONS on a related topic or other topic of interest relevant to adult education philosophy, research, and practice. [See Call for Manuscripts on page 10 for further details.] page 4 NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION Volume 10, Number 1, Summer 1996 EMBRACING CHANGE: EVOLVING TO THE CAMPUS OF THE FUTURE James W. Hall and Paul H. Shiffman SUNY Empire State College ABSTRACT In this article the authors present their vision of the future direction that colleges and universities should pursue, so that they can serve the diverse population of learners who will continue to seek learning opportunities through higher education. They describe a pressing need to remodel the higher education infrastructure in order to meet the dramatic changes that colleges and universities are facing. A paradigm shift in the assumptions about the ways that teaching and learning can occur is called for, one that places the student, rather than the institution, at the center. The transformational capacity of applications of technology are discussed, along with strategies for moving toward the new "networked teaching and learning." America's universities are at a critical juncture. At this nexus are difficult changes, including punishing competition for student enrollments, diminished political and tax dollar support, more mature and discriminating educational consumers who expect tangible returns in response to rising educational costs, and new and costly investments in technology that could expand access to learning and knowledge. All of these add up to a pressing need to remodel the higher education infrastructure. This requires visionary planning, policy development, and action. If institutions of higher learning are to remain valued by those they are meant to serve into the long-term future, those in the academy must chart a new and necessary structural evolution. Failing such a timely evolution, the university, as we know it, will become largely irrelevant to our society. This evolution goes to the heart of the prevailing institutional structure. Collectively, the necessary changes amount to a paradigm shift in the traditional assumptions of the way teaching and learning occur. The paradigm shift places the student, not the institution, at page 5 the center of the organization of curriculum, the resources that support teaching and learning, and the delivery of services. This is accomplished in four ways: 1. Each student's learning program is individually designed to address his/her educational requirements; 2. Students are recognized for what they already know; 3. The role of faculty shifts from lecturer to mentor or intellectual guide; and, 4. Students progress at their own pace, increasing their learning productivity without an incremental cost to the institution. This new paradigm embodies the prescriptive essentials for the future health and relevance of the university. The principal driver of this paradigm shift is the transformational capacity offered through applications of technology. Though no one can envision with certainty the final shape or structure that will be wrought by technology on the university of the future, by examining the advances of the past few years, one can forecast an orderly evolution within existing organizations. The near-term glimpse of "The Cyber Future" (Cornish, 1996) has been the subject of many writers, and it includes such varied predictions as packaged educational products that facilitate student-driven learning; educational experiences mediated by unlimited electronic access to libraries, databases, multimedia, and on- line tutors; and the emergence of streamlined admissions, record keeping and administrative processes that will increase the speed of currently required interactions with students. Candidly, many of these forecast applications of technology are merely linear projections that enhance and reinforce the current structures and traditions of the university that we know and love. But they do not suggest a paradigm shift in the fundamental function of the campus. By contrast, the paradigm shift made possible by technology addresses flexibility of time and distance in defining where and when learning occurs, where instruction originates, the way instruction is delivered to students, and where learning resources are housed and accessed. By choosing to engage these changes, colleges can improve outreach, improve teaching and learning, facilitate faculty research and scholarship, and so enhance productivity. In so maintaining the university's competitive advantage in the educational marketplace, higher education will evolve in a very different, non-linear, transformational direction. Most colleges will need to make that choice. Without doubt, a select few institutions, whose reputations and page 6 traditions will ensure student demand, may proceed without significant institutional change. However, the remaining majority of colleges and universities will find it essential to capitalize upon the new technologies in the delivery of learning to counter the powerful new competitors who are entering the educational marketplace. The new competition will not be from disreputable degree mills, but from corporate giants in communications and information technology. They will have the resources to provide extensive access to the most current information, to the best educators, and to the best courseware and equipment. And they may have the capacity to drive public policy in the direction of broader parameters for certification and accreditation. They will have already made the paradigm shift, and current campus-based providers of traditional learning opportunities will not likely be among them. Instead, numerous organizations not now engaged in the learning enterprise will be encouraged to enter the field with vigor. There will be new on-line universities offering packaged learning products in the global educational marketplace. Still other organizations, attracted by the potential cost-efficiencies of networked learning and applications of educational technology, will seek to forge strategic alliances that will further compromise institutions and academic communities less prepared to engage with change. Clearly, the traditional university needs to evolve in a constructive, timely way if it is to meet this competition. How can this happen, given the resistance to change and the persistence of familiar patterns? A first step is to differentiate. Every institution should differentiate its educational programs and the market it serves, as well as refine its unique niche to command continued student enrollment and support by public and corporate policy makers. How can this be accomplished? One answer, for the institution that chooses to establish a clearly differentiated mission within the new paradigm, is to consistently and systematically accept the implications of the consumer-driven student marketplace. Few within the academy suggest that a desirable outcome of technology-driven structural change is a new teaching and learning paradigm that embodies at its core institutional responsiveness to students. But, in the increasingly consumer-driven educational marketplace, institutional competitiveness will turn on students' perceived ease of access to learning and the associated "packaging" of the learning experience. The priorities of the individual student will be at the center of the learning process, shifting away from the primacy of the priorities of the page 7 organization. This will not be an easy transition, for the internal dynamics of the academy have heretofore tended, purposefully or inadvertently, to work against flexibility, forcing students to adjust to the preestablished rhythms, curricula, and values of the campus community. The agent of this transformation will be new "networked teaching and learning", linking students to expert faculty and the best available learning resources. This will facilitate interactivity and self-directed inquiry when it best meets a student's needs. "Networked teaching and learning" will diminish the obstacles faced by the growing numbers of prospective students who require such flexibility through networked learning, if they are to gain access to learning at all. In a networked teaching and learning paradigm, curriculum will be adaptive rather than dictated in form and fashion. Students will "attend classes" in many different ways -- from home, on residential campuses or in the workplace. They will not be required to spend time at a campus in order to have access to the most current information available globally. Both live, interactive, and virtual-reality experiences will permit asynchronous availability of expert mentors. Curricula will be arranged in segments, or modules, and organized around a predetermined set of competencies. Students will demonstrate mastery of material through the use of formative evaluations. The key to the transformation of our current practice will rest upon the ability of faculty to take on aspects of the teaching role that have been less prominent or essential in the past. The role of intellectual guide to traditional and nontraditional students, or mentor, will become more important as students pursue much of their learning, formerly delivered through direct contact, through a variety of self-directed modes. Student program planning and academic advisement will move to the very center of the educational process for faculty. As they prepare to serve each student with an expansive range of resources configured to his/her unique learning needs, the faculty will connect all of the elements, create new collaborative relationships as learners' needs require, and select appropriate information and integrate it into a cohesive learning experience. Those faculty who welcome the role of mentor will be instrumental in creating student-centered institutions, as well as in refocusing attention toward the most critical aspects of the intellectual interaction with the student. page 8 Movement toward a networked learning paradigm will also transform the current value proposition of the traditional residential campus structure. In the traditional model, faculty and facilities are placed in a collective environment, and the institutional reputation, an influential motivator for student enrollment, is based upon this assemblage of visible resources. However, by adopting a networked model for instruction, the key value elements for a campus will no longer be grounded solely in faculty, laboratories, or libraries, housed on a particular campus, but to whichever resources can be accessed. The campus of the future, interconnected to national and global resources, will provide access to more learning resources and student support services than could be housed on the largest physical campus. Moreover, as a center of convergence for these options, it will provide the enabling capacity for both students and faculty to become attached as a network point of learning, creativity, and contribution. In addition, institutions will be able to increase their perceived value, and ultimately their relevance to students, by forging collaborative partnerships with other content providers to further enhance program flexibility and richness of resources. This capacity will be especially important in serving working students and maintaining a viable workforce for the future. As technology continues to reshape the workplace, it also expands the base of learners in need of new learning and skills. Technological advancement will continue to yield logarithmic expansion of information which will, in turn, make the applicability of any set of knowledge shorter. Employment trends will be driven by ever changing demands for new sets of skills, and most workers will be required to pursue multiple, distinctively different careers in their lifetime, if they are to remain active in the workforce. Futurists point to the steady erosion of the concept of lifetime employment within any industry, and to the expanding need for worker access to learning opportunities that will support lifetime employability. Prospective students, many of whom will be working adults, will demand more flexible and efficient modes of study that adapt to their individual requirements for new learning. Today, there are a number of institutions that have begun embracing this vision of the university of the future. Their efforts to initiate these new models of delivery are, unfortunately, for the most part, too often not woven into the main fabric of the institution. Empire State College, an Arts and Sciences college of the State University of New York, widely recognized as a trail blazer, has instilled this vision into the very heart of its mission for over 25 page 9 years. Empire State College has redefined the character, quality, and status given to off-campus, non-residential study. By placing the student's priorities at the center of its programs, and by continuously encouraging the pursuit of innovative means to motivate students to pursue their educational goals with purpose and intensity, Empire State College has already made the paradigm shift. Its Center for Learning and Technology, Center for Distance Learning, and SUNY Learning Network are integral components of the State University's initiatives to promote new structures and new applications for technology. These applications extend access, shorten the time for earning a degree, increase student retention, enhance the availability of learning resources and reduce associated educational costs. As at Empire State College, it is the promise of innovative, student-centered learning, coupled to the nearly unimaginable bounty offered by supporting applications of technology, that will characterize the successful and relevant institutions of the future. REFERENCE Cornish, E. (1996). THE CYBER FUTURE. Bethesda, MD: World Future Society. page 10 NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION Volume 10, Number 1, Summer 1996 HOW TO RESPOND TO ARTICLE ON AEDNET To respond to the article EMBRACING CHANGE: EVOLVING TO THE CAMPUS OF THE FUTURE, please send your comments to AEDNET identifying the subject as EVOLVING TO THE CAMPUS OF THE FUTURE. Responses and discussion to make this an "interactive" article are encouraged until the end of September, 1996. HOW TO OBTAIN BACK ISSUES AND CUMMULATIVE INDEX OF NEW HORIZONS To obtain any issue of NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION, please send your email request as follows: Address message to -- listproc@pulsar.acast.nova.edu (NOT to AEDNET) Subject: -- (not necessary) Message -- get horizons vol6n1 (In this example vol6no1 is the requested issue as selected from the index.) To request an index, type the following in the body of the message: index horizons NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION Volume 10, Number 1, Summer 1996 C A L L F O R M A N U S C R I P T S NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION, founded in 1987, is a refereed electronic journal which provides faculty, graduate students, researchers, and practitioners with a means for publishing their current thinking and research within adult education and related fields. The journal is published two or three times a year and is transmitted through this electronic network -- AEDNET. New horizons publishes research, thought page 11 pieces, book reviews, point-counter-point articles, conceptual analysis, case studies, interactive articles, and invitational columns. The editorial staff welcomes articles for review submitted either electronically through AEDNET or as conventional paper copies through regular mail. If you would like to submit an article or obtain guidelines for manuscript submission, you may contact New Horizons in Adult Education by e-mail or mail. E-mail address: horizons@fcae.acast.nova.edu Mailing address: NEW HORIZONS IN ADULT EDUCATION Nova Southeastern University Programs for Higher Education/FCAE 3301 College Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314 ------------------------------ Cut here ------------------------------