Providing access to higher education through online programs in developing countries - Carlos Rodríguez Rubio (on behalf of Fernando León García and based on H. Shirvani, J. Scorza, K. Alkhathlan, and F. León-García)

Providing Access to Higher Education through Online Programs in Developing Countries Dr. Carlos Rodríguez Rubio(on behalf of Dr. Fernando León García and based on H. Shirvani, J. Scorza, K. Alkhathlan, and F. León-García) CETYS Universidad, México IMHE General Conference 2012

There is a world-wide crisis. This is not inreference to the financialcrisis and is rather a huge human capital crisis.

There exists a wide gap between what most peopleknow, and what is available for them to know.

A college education is more importantthan ever before. Globally, more jobs are requiring an education as our global economy becomes knowledge- based.

By the year 2050, more than97% of the future populationgrowth will be in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean.

POPULATION GROWTH

But most people, in particular in developingcountries, still lack access to educational opportunities, either because these opportunities are not available or are not affordable.

The world economy is moving more and more to being supported by job requirements based on knowledge andskills-- knowledge and skills that are far beyond what most people now have.

To be gainfully employed and to becomeeconomic contributors most workers will need to have knowledge and skills primarily obtained through a college based education.

Online education presents uniqueopportunities to overcome these issues ofaccess. Available at any location Courses are more affordable Education available even to people who are working and supporting their families

The very popular Sloan ConsortiumQuality Framework conceives five“pillars” of on-line learning, which are: Learning Effectiveness Cost Effectiveness Access to Learning Faculty Satisfaction Student Satisfaction

A fairly recent work by IAUP1 proposesfour “arches” for the cross-cultural transferof on-line programs: Academic Norms and Standards Appropriate Pedagogies and Technologies Content Relevance and Coherence Faculty Presence and Responsiveness

Dr. Carlos Rodriguez Rubio 16

Common elements of successful casesof online programs primarily related to working adults.Standardized curriculum based on learningoutcomes;Faculty orientation and training as standardpractices; andA strong academic and student support systemwhereby students receive active attention andsupport as students progress through their programsof study.

Drawing from different experiences in the U.S., Mexico,China, Spain, Slovakia, and Saudi Arabia, the followingare some common elements of successful cases of onlineprograms primarily related to working adults. Standardized curriculum based on learning outcomes; Faculty orientation and training as standard practices; and A strong academic and student support system whereby students receive active attention and support as students progress through their programs of study.

There are some contextual challenges that arise now that online education connectsinstructors and students from all around the world and from very different cultures, including cultural misunderstandings.

In developing countries one is likely to find one or moreof the following conditions:Varying learning stylesDifferent academic standardsA preference for of face-to-face interaction with facultyLocal relevanceCultural and language differencesDifferent culturesPerceptions of online education

These challenges, give a clear perspective of what online education in developing nations face.

The cultural perspectives on e-learning, isthat different national systems impact e- learning differently. For one, the global infrastructure is not distributed evenly around the world,

The social and cultural aspects ofeducation demand that curricula retain specific aspects of a nations culturalheritage to retain some of its traditional functions, rather than reflect the universal theme of globalization

As e-learning solutions continueto gain increased popularity inthe sphere of global e-learning, concern ensues about cultural standardization rather than differentiation.

The limited resources and relativelydense population in developing countries is an obstacle for the availability of on-campus education for the whole population.

This type of education has been hailed as a boom to potential students in developing countries, and some researchers andeducators claim it will end the digital divide between the developed and developing world.

With online education, students couldhave access to teachers anywhere, andbest of all, geographic barriers will not be a factor to get in the way of opportunities to learn.

Overall, academic programs delivered atleast partially online represent an area of opportunity to extend higher education access to unmet and underserved populations

As the digital native generationprogresses, there will be a challengeand a need for colleges and universitiesto integrate online learning into themainstream of academic programs.

Thank you very much!

Dr. Carlos Rodriguez Rubio 32

That is the final question!

ReferencesHamid Shirvani, Jason Scorza, Khalid Alkhathlan and Fernando LeónGarcía, 27 November 2011Olaniran, 2007a; Olaniran & Agnello, 2008; Van Dam & Rogers, 2002Economides, 2008; Olaniran, 2007a, 2007bDiana Oblinger: Education and Technologies; Educause; 2012Cavin Mugarura on March 16, 2010 in eLearning PromiseJunaid A. Khan Salman A. Khan Reslan H. Al-Abaji. Internationalconference on Millennium Dawn in Training and Continuing Education 24-26April 2001 University of Bahrain, BahrainGulati 2008; Kozma 1999; Oliveira 1989; Parliamentary Office of Scienceand Technology 2006

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Providing access to higher education through online programs in developing countries - Carlos Rodríguez Rubio (on behalf of Fernando León García and based on H. Shirvani, J. Scorza, K. Alkhathlan, and F. León-García)

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Providing access to higher education through online programs in developing countries - Carlos Rodríguez Rubio (on behalf of Fernando León García and based on H. Shirvani, J. Scorza, K. Alkhathlan, and F. León-García) Presentation Transcript