In recent years, there has been a tremendous increase in the popularity of distance education among higher-education administrators. Students in growing numbers are also taking advantage of the flexibility and accessibility that distance education offers. This growth, however, has been a mixed blessing since it derives from using the Internet…

A revolution of sorts is underway in providing open access to rich resources, actual courses, and even entire degrees online. This revolution is fueled by the combination of a bubble in tuition rates, lingering effects of the recession, monumental student debt exceeding one trillion dollars in the United States, development of increasingly…

Several years ago, the Continuing and Innovative Education (CIE) leadership team at UT-Austin took a hard look at the unit through the lens of customers to reevaluate their programs and services and the role they played in serving the lifelong educational needs of their constituents. Their goal was to provide continuous learning for a productive,…

This article, based on a presentation at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association Annual Conference, March 29, 2012, provides concepts, terminology, and financial models for establishing and maintaining successful institutional partnerships. The authors offer it as a contribution to developing a wider understanding of the…

Because the globalization of traditional research universities has so far been largely an elite phenomenon, for-profit higher education has become the kind of high-growth worldwide industry that would attract entrepreneurs. The for-profit sector, by contrast, has targeted a vast and vastly different student market: non-elite learners, often poorly…

The author has been a witness to the birth of the personal computer culture, with its intense one-on-one relationships with machines, and then to the development of the networked culture, with people using the computer to communicate with each other. In her most recent work on the revolutions in social networking and sociable robotics, she sees a…

As other universities across the country struggle with their financial challenges, continuing education units can serve the same pioneering role in the development of new financial and budget systems. Confronted by serious financial shortfalls during the last three decades, university administrators started to focus on new budget and revenue…

Several years ago, members of the Futures and Markets (FAM) Commission of the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) realized that the commission was uniquely positioned to put a face on the future of continuing higher education. The commission took on an ambitious research agenda in fall 2010 to identify emerging or…

Continuing education is facing greater opportunities and challenges than at any other time in history. In this article, the author focuses on the unique and identifiable circumstances that are presenting distance educators with unprecedented opportunities to assume greater leadership roles in their parent institutions. These opportunities are…

Education in the 21st century is diverse not only in content and discipline but also in format and delivery. Today's students have access to a broad range of information, knowledge, ideas, and opinions well beyond their classroom. Never before have learners been able to interact so closely with instructors, mentors, subject-matter experts, and…

In recent years, terms such as "social media" and "social networking" have become staples in the university continuing education marketer's vocabulary. This article provides both a working knowledge of the social media landscape and practical applications of the concepts using a case study approach from a Midwestern university. Throughout are a…

Mega-universities (involved in distance teaching) such as Britain's Open University are open to people, places, methods, and ideas. They succeed because of well-designed multimedia materials, personal academic support for learners, efficient logistics, and faculty who conduct research. (SK)