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 in

reference to the financial crisis and is rather a huge

human capital crisis.

There exists a wide gap between what most people

know, and what is available for them to know.

A college education is more important than ever before. Globally, more jobs

are requiring an education as our global economy becomes knowledge-

based.

By the year 2050, more than 97% of the future population growth will be in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America

and the Caribbean.

POPULATION GROWTH

But most people, in particular in developing

countries, 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 and skills-- knowledge and skills that are far

beyond what most people now have.

To be gainfully employed and to become economic contributors most workers will

need to have knowledge and skills primarily obtained through a college

based education.

Online education presents unique opportunities to overcome these issues of access.

Available at any location Courses are more affordable Education available even to people who are working and supporting their families

The very popular Sloan Consortium Quality 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 proposes four “arches” for the cross-cultural transfer of on-line programs: Academic Norms and Standards Appropriate Pedagogies and Technologies Content Relevance and Coherence Faculty Presence and Responsiveness  

16Dr. Carlos Rodriguez Rubio

Common elements of successful cases of online programs 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.

Drawing from different experiences in the U.S., Mexico, China, Spain, Slovakia, and Saudi Arabia, the following are some common elements of successful cases of online programs 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 connects

instructors and students from all around the world and from very different cultures, including cultural misunderstandings.

Varying learning stylesDifferent academic standardsA preference for of face-to-face interaction with

facultyLocal relevanceCultural and language differencesDifferent culturesPerceptions of online education

In developing countries one is likely to find one or more of the following conditions:

These challenges, give a clear perspective of what online

education in developing nations face.

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

around the world,

The social and cultural aspects of education demand that curricula retain

specific aspects of a nation's cultural heritage to retain some of its traditional

functions, rather than reflect the universal theme of globalization

As e-learning solutions continue to gain increased popularity in the sphere of global e-learning, concern ensues about cultural standardization rather than

differentiation.

The limited resources and relatively dense 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 and educators claim it will end the digital divide

between the developed and developing world.

With online education, students could have access to teachers anywhere, and best of all, geographic barriers will not

be a factor to get in the way of opportunities to learn.

Overall, academic programs delivered at least partially online represent an area of opportunity to extend higher education

access to unmet and underserved populations

As the digital native generation progresses, there will be a challenge and a need for colleges and universities to integrate online learning into the mainstream of academic programs.

 

Thank you very much!Thank you very much!

32Dr. Carlos Rodriguez Rubio

That is the final question!

References

Hamid Shirvani, Jason Scorza, Khalid Alkhathlan and Fernando León García, 27 November 2011Olaniran, 2007a; Olaniran & Agnello, 2008; Van Dam & Rogers, 2002Economides, 2008; Olaniran, 2007a, 2007bDiana Oblinger: Education and Technologies; Educause; 2012Cavin Mugarura on March 16, 2010 in eLearning PromiseJunaid A. Khan Salman A. Khan Reslan H. Al-Abaji. International conference on Millennium Dawn in Training and Continuing Education 24-26 April 2001 University of Bahrain, BahrainGulati 2008; Kozma 1999; Oliveira 1989; Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology 2006