Managing a successful
international partnership
in Distance Education
Dr. Stella Porto
Master of Distance Education
Graduate School of Management & Technology
University of Maryland University College

Overview
• The partners
 UMUC
 Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
• The MDE
 Past
 Present
• Managing the partnership
 Course development
 Course delivery
 Student support/services
 Faculty support/services
 Research
• The Synergy
• Final remarks

Master of Distance Education:
partnership

Online enrollment >
177,000
> 100 degree programs fully online
Head count > 86,000 2nd largest state
institution in the US
Enrollment > 272,000

Context and landscape
Oldenburg

Context and landscape
Oldenburg

Context and landscape
Oldenburg

Context and landscape
Oldenburg

Context and landscape
Oldenburg

Context and landscape
Oldenburg

The Master of Distance Education:
Past
• The creation of the program
 Natural fit for UMUC: practical leadership in DE translated
into theoretical leadership
 Historical accident: Two experts with a common project
funded by AT&T grant - “The Virtual Seminar”
 Seminar delivered online for professional development in DE

The Master of Distance Education:
Past
• Advantages of this historical ‘accident’…
 Quick ‘time to market’
 Trust among partners
 Test bed with a network of experts
 International dimension
 Quality beyond regular graduate programs
 Visiting experts
 Research
 Faculty development

The Master of Distance Education:
Present

The Master of Distance Education:
Present - Mission
Corporate
Training &
Learning
Faculty Media &
Support technology
Distance
Education
Instruction
Higher
Design &
Education
Support
Leaders &
Managers

The Master of Distance Education:
Focus
• Core competencies
 Managing the distance education system in a variety of settings
 Planning, budgeting, development, delivery, and support of distance
education and distance training programs
• Target Audience
 Potential managers of the distance education enterprise in:
 Educational organizations
 Corporate / Business
 Government & Military
 Non-profit and associations
• Entirely online for part-time working adults
• International
• Collaborative

The Master of Distance Education
Present - Curriculum
Core
DE Foundations: systems view, technology, online teaching
& learning, costing and student support
Technology Teaching & Training Policy & Management
Leadership Instructional Design Leadership
Instructional Design Library & Copyright DE Systems
Multimedia Assessment Library & Copyright
Globalization & Multimedia Assessment
Development Distance Training DE Business
Advanced Technologies Virtual K-12 Globalization &
Internet Technologies Development
Capstone : E-portfolio & Research Project

Managing Partnership:
Course development
• UMUC • Oldenburg
 DE Technologies  Foundations
 Training at a distance  Costing and Budgeting
 DE in K-12  Learner support
 Library and copyright  Multimedia in DE
 Instructional design  Assessment
 Leadership  Globalization and
 DE systems development
 Business in DE

Managing Partnership:
Course development
• UMUC • Oldenburg
 DE Technologies  Foundations
 Training at a distance  Costing and Budgeting
 DE in K-12  Learner support
 Library and copyright  Multimedia in DE
 Instructional design  Assessment
 Leadership  Globalization and
 DE systems development
 Business in DE Each partner is responsible for the
development of its share of courses, and
owns the decisions of staffing the course
every time it offered

Managing Partnership:
Course delivery

Managing Partnership:
Course delivery
UMUC is the responsible partner for all of
course delivery functions:
- IT infrastructure & support
- Operational teaching & learning support
(other than faculty staffing)
- Digital library & copyright support

Managing Partnership:
Student support

Managing Partnership:
Student support
UMUC is the responsible partner for all*
of student support functions:
- Graduate advising
- Admissions, registering, financial aid…
- Applying for graduation, diplomas &
certificates…
- Self services through portal

Managing Partnership:
Faculty support

Managing Partnership:
Faculty support
UMUC is the responsible partner for all*
of faculty support functions:
- Faculty services
- Faculty training
- Faculty assessment

Managing Partnership:
Research
The 13 volumes
already developed
will be soon
available in e-book
format.
Books are adopted
as part of several
courses.
Several edited with
contributions with
many experts in
DE

Synergy:
International faculty & visiting experts

The Synergy
• Technological infrastructure
• Organizational support Communication
• Leadership support Diversity
• Support and training Recognition & Value in DE
infrastructure Quality
Autonomy
Faculty development
• Research
• Historical involvement in
DE
• Network of experts

The Synergy: Community information

The Synergy: Community knowledge

The Synergy: Community building

The Synergy: Faculty Sharing

Final remarks:
Challenges & opportunities & must do’s
• Continuous communication
• Coordination of functions
• Recognition & effective use of cultural differences
• Managing and supporting faculty
• Effective use of resources
• Maintaining dependability and trust
• Shared decision making (accepting organizational limitations)
• Shared responsibility
• Shared values (student-centered mission)
• Continuous communication again

Final remarks:
Latest and future
• Extension of the collaboration
 Dual degrees
 Oldenburg PhD option
 Partnering with international programs in smaller scale
• Potential greater internationalization of the student body
 Bologna process
• Greater interest in the partnership at the leadership level
• Community building efforts
• Student and graduate involvement

Thank you…
Contact:
sporto@umuc.edu
Don’t forget the evaluation forms!