Online education has already changed the face of education. It has been doing so for some time. This is a fact. What concerns me is the degree of suspicion that is routinely trotted out in response to what constitutes the greatest contribution to education since the invention of printing. Plagiarism, for example, is not solely a product of the internet but the practice is regularly quoted as being one of the reasons why we should be wary of the vast scope offered by the information highway.
The attitudes displayed towards the online phenomenon by some academics vary from enthusiasm to benign acceptance to a knee jerk, revisionist stance seldom seen since Copernicus suggested that the sun was at the centre of the universe. But it doesn’t end there I’m afraid. A new fangled means of accessing information is one thing, but combining this with a revised educational model which involves a completely new methodology and pedagogy will be beyond the bounds of acceptable academic practice for some. Add the murky world of commerce into the mix and you have something akin to academia’s version of Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell and perhaps this is at the heart of the matter.
I was impressed by Roger Faxon of John Hopkins University in Baltimore, who poses the incisive question; “Is the faculty ready because the students are ready?” I suspect not; not in terms of a radically new pedagogy and certainly not as part of a viable business venture should these entrenched attitudes to change remain in place.
Online Education can Learn from the World of Commerce
Online education has the potential to become a multi million pound industry rooted within the UK. The product being sold in an international market place is the UK HE experience; a high value, well respected, quality assured qualification signifying that the owner has attained a certain level of competence. Whether that qualification is delivered online or through attendance based study is irrelevant as all courses, lecturers and students are subject to the same standard, robust quality control checks.
However, if we accept that online education has the potential to address many of the problems that capped numbers, restricted access and inflexible study patterns present for attendance based institutions are there also lesson we can learn from the world of commerce?
Do those of us who work within education in the UK have the resourcefulness and gumption to avoid a similar fate to that of many of our major retailers? I reckon that there are some significant parallels but let’s take a look at the context of the proposition first.
Last year figures revealed that 2012 was the worst year for retail since 2008 with 54 major companies failing, 3,951 stores affected and 48,142 employees at risk of losing their jobs. In the beginning of 2013, we learned that Jessops, the UK’s last national camera retailer went into receivership. The reasons are varied and certainly include the effects of a second economic downturn. However, if we consider the following three cases as examples, we can identify a trend that could have a major impact on how we deliver and receive education.
There is little doubt that over the last ten years attitudes to education in the UK have undergone a significant change. Once regarded as standing out with the influence of the world of commerce, education is now more readily viewed as a product to be packaged and presented to prospective customers. Certainly, amongst those engaged in the marketing of universities in the UK, there is an increased awareness of the value of USP’s, comparative price points and brand awareness. In short, education has become a marketplace within which those seeking qualifications are making choices based on perceived value for money, the quality of the product provided and the support package offered, ease of access and flexibility of delivery. Education has become a service industry and customers invariably compare their experience of other providers – not necessarily in directly related industries –and their willingness ability to meet their needs. Supermarkets, financial services and successful retailers have all moved towards a model that embraces 24/7 service where the provider comes to the customer at a time and place convenient to them. Failure to adapt to the changing needs of the customer results in the demise of the business:
In France, 25 Virgin Megastores closed this year because the company could not compete with competition from online retailers.
In the UK, Comet, Britain’s second largest electrical retailer with 243 outlets went into receivership last November for the same reason as did HMV when faced with online competition from Amazon, Tesco and Sainsbury.
Does this signal the end of the concept of the shopping mall and the retail village? Across the last 30 years these cases of consumerism have thrived on the outskirts of most major cities. However the rising price of petrol, rental cost of retail units and ease offered by alternative means of purchasing goods has meant that some of the more recent retail outlets have experienced difficulty in leasing. Take for example Nottingham’s Broadmarsh Centre which floundered after years spent planning a revamp that proved no longer profitable. Our High Streets provide graphic evidence that the traditional shop front is no longer a viable means of engaging with the shopper.
The Web has created a new modelfor the education business
Granted, these examples are specific to retail. However, we would be foolish to ignore the key points. One of the most significant by- products of the digital revolution is the change in the relationship between the customer and the supplier, with the balance of power shifting markedly towards the demands of the consumer. Previously, the customer travelled to the source of the goods or services required and accessed a limited choice at a time, price and location dictated by the provider. The advent of the World Wide Web has created a new model and this offers invaluable lessons for the education business.
Prospective students are customers. More importantly, the majority are IT literate customers who unconsciously integrate new technologies into their daily lives and function naturally within virtual worlds. The notion that as a student they will be required to physically attend lectures, seminars and tutorials is anathema to a generation who feed, clothe, socialise and entertain themselves on a daily basis using a hand held device. Undoubtedly sceptics will quote the value of the university experience and the inability of the online model to recreate this; quite correctly, in my opinion. For those who feel that the attendance based experience is the most appropriate one for them, it is, and I expect will be for some time to come, available to them. For those who access their education in a more flexible format, the web may provide their preferred solution. It is a matter of choice.
But, if we take anything from the failure of the multi stored, location based provider it should be that alternatives will always exist and we ignore them at our peril.
