Online ed as competition - Feedback

University Business, Oct, 2003 by Wallace K. Pond

Regarding your September offering [Editor's Note, "Losing Power and Market"], the reason that distance ed is becoming a significant force in higher ed (regardless of whether it poses a "threat" to traditional methods or institutions) is because it is so market sensitive, even market driven. It is the antithesis of the traditional "my way or the highway" model of higher ed. It is egalitarian and very responsive to learners--read: customers (horrors!). Clearly, it is not perfect, and some things are taught and learned better in a face-to-face setting, but there is far more pressure on distance ed, particularly online ed, to provide quality education, than there is on traditional campus-based programs. Why? Because distance education is held under the regulatory microscope in ways that traditional ed is not, and more importantly, because consumers of online education have a Lower tolerance for mediocrity than do typical campus-based students. After all, a lecture hall with hundreds of students listening to a grad assistant is the "gold standard." This kind of "education" would never pass muster in the online milieu.

WALLACE K. POND, VP of Internet Learning

Remington Administrative Services, Inc

Little ROck, AR