The economics of the open university revisited

Revision of earlier cost calculations for the Open University and Conventional Universities in the U.K. for 1973 confirms the findings of a significant cost advantage to the Open University. An analysis of developments at the Open University since 1973 indicates, however, that there has been little reduction in average cost in real terms and no improvement is likely on known developments to 1979. This is surprising for it might be expected that as student numbers rise average costs would fall. A more detailed analysis of the structure of Open University costs indicates why this has not happened. A major determinant of costs is the number of courses and these have continued to grow rapidly since 1973. The rate of increase of new courses has been faster than the rate of increase of new students. In effect the University has been using the economies provided by increased student numbers to increase student choice through the provision of more courses rather than reduce average cost.Average cost could be reduced whilst keeping the same number of courses by changing the components of the teaching system such as broadcasting. If such fundamental changes were not acceptable then an alternative would be to change the mix of courses between the relatively expensive science and technology areas and the cheaper arts and social science areas. A further alternative is to keep the same mix but ensure a longer life for science and technology courses.     

The university of the future: Stiegler after Derrida

Abstract

Higher education has not been spared from the effects of the disruptive aspects of technology. MOOCs, teach bots, virtual learning platforms, and Wikipedia are among technics marking a digital transformation of knowledge. The question of the university, the foundation of its authority and purpose is more than timely; it is urgent to any future philosophy of higher education. Will the university survive in the future and if so, for what purpose? We examine two philosophers, Jacques Derrida and Bernard Stiegler, who take on this challenge. Derrida, writing at ‘the scene of teaching’, proposes new humanities for a university ‘without condition’, one with increasing autonomy to democratize it further. Stiegler takes issue with him on the conditions of the university of the future. Stiegler offers not an ‘anti-Derridian discourse’ but a ‘deconstruction of a deconstruction’ of Derrida. Stiegler’s critique of Derrida on the role of the professoriate and the university of the future expand the fissure between them. In this article, we argue that Stiegler’s reading of Derrida points to the university not as an anachronistic way of knowing displaced by the digital revolution but as vital to a politics of the spirit in a democratic future.     

大学贷款的现实和未来走向分析

在中国高等教育大众化的过程中,大学向银行大幅贷款,是高等教育发展史上的一个特殊现象。目前,随着贷款规模的日益庞大和高等教育规模增长的放缓,大学面临着严峻的还本付息的压力,已经影响到了教育质量。大学还贷面临着不确定性的未来。     

Intellectual autonomy and the future of the university

This essay was first drafted shortly before the civil war in Yugoslavia began, while Professor Radojkovic visited Purdue University on a Fulbright fellowship to study educational theory and method for teaching about the information age.     

The future of the liberal university in the era of the global knowledge grab

This paper explores the implications of thedevelopment and extension of national andinternational intellectual property regimes (IPRs) forthe liberal university. It argues that dynamics setinto motion by IPRs are eroding the university'sability to reproduce itself in two ways. On the onehand, IPRs are reducing the university's ability todraw on and to replenish the intellectual commonswhich is one fundamental precondition of its survival.IPRs are also preventing academics from fulfillingtheir public service mission which may undermine thepopular support for the university that is alsocrucial to its survival. These two mutuallyreinforcing developments are making it increasinglydifficult for the liberal university to continue on asit has. Indeed, they are producing a qualitativetransformation of the institution that will be verycostly to society, in both economic and social terms.The paper argues that although current developmentspose very serious threats to the liberal university'sfuture, there is still time to intervene in order topreempt or to alter them. The paper concludes with adiscussion of strategies that may enable the liberaluniversity to survive, if not flourish, in the currentcontext. In particular, a strategy of pursuing broadIP exemptions for universities isadvocated.     

Waiting for Boyer: A Cross-Generational Dialogue

The following is a one-act play containing a dialogue between two physical education and sport science professors (Metzler, 1994) as they travel back from the 1995 NAPEHE Conference, “Beyond Scholarship Reconsidered: The Mosaic of Scholarship in Physical Education.” The play's dialogue is drawn from three major sources: the authors' biographies, their personal opinions regarding Scholarship Reconsidered, and the published professional literature in physical education and the sport sciences. The characters represent two cohorts in faculty: those who are early in their careers and those who have canied out the first half of their careers under the current model of scholarship in higher education.     

The role of student burnout in predicting future burnout: exploring the transition from university to the workplace

Burnout is a significant problem in the workplace and recent research suggests burnout is also a growing concern for students. This study aimed to explore the transition from study to work, including exploring the impact of student burnout on work burnout. Australian health profession students (T1, n?=?86; T2, n?=?86; T3, n?=?57) from the disciplines of nursing, psychology, occupational therapy and social work were followed from their final year at university into their first two years at work. An online questionnaire which included measures of exhaustion, cynicism, professional efficacy, mental health, neuroticism, study/job demands and resources was administered at three time points, one year apart. Contrary to the hypotheses, burnout was higher in study than work for all dimensions of burnout. Study exhaustion and cynicism predicted work exhaustion and cynicism, respectively. These results demonstrate the importance of early intervention for burnout in university settings, both to decrease student burnout and to prevent future work burnout.     

A decade revisited and a step toward the future: incremental but quintessential progress

This study scrutinizes Asia Pacific Education Review (APER) that has been weathered 13 years of journey from its inception. Numerically, 504 peer-reviewed articles have been published so far, and 0.5 of impact factor has been achieved. This article recollects the history of APER, overhaul the accomplishment and shortcomings of it. Through an overview of the annually submitted and published articles, 14 domains of research area, research methods, and the demographics of contributors were examined; 30 nationalities of authors’ papers were published, and 2/3 of articles used quantitative research method. The most published domains were educational administration and policy, educational psychology and special education, and higher education; however, the most cited articles covered all research area of education impartially. This study also suggested APER’s contribution to the advancement of education research community internationally and interdisciplinarily.     

Which future,university or bureaucracy?

This article is critical of major institutions of higher education because they often establish criteria for rewarding professors and organizational processes that have little to do with developing a real university. The author argues for the reconstruction of universities based on values of freedom and responsibility. A model based on such values, a creative university is developed and contrasted with educational bureaucracies. Arguments are given to favor the creative university as our best hope for the future.     

Boyer in the Middle: Second Generation Challenges to Emerging Scholarship

This article reports on an examination of the distinctive second-generation challenges and opportunities faced by an early institutional adopter of the Boyer model of scholarship. Following the first cohort of faculty to be reviewed for tenure and promotion based on these criteria, we report the results of a survey designed to determine the perceptions of faculty and administrators of the degree to which emerging forms of scholarship had been integrated into the university culture including factors such as institutional identity, support structures, and faculty participation. This case study sheds light on the process of adaptation at this single institution and provides glimpses of how cultural change might occur across higher education.     

The role of democracy in the university: The university and its old members

In this paper the question of just who constitutes the membership of the university is explored. The paper canvasses the obvious answers: the students, the faculty, or both; the various administrators and staff above a certain level or with special responsibilities; and finally those who have passed through and out of the university doors—its old members. If to be a member is to have rights and obligations, then what if any are the obligations of the old members? This turns out to be a complex question. The analysis in the paper suggests that old members should be a third concern in our time for the universities and the pursuance of such a concern may offer many genuinely democratic supports for the university. The practical problem of how to extend the university's embrance to include its old members remains.     

大学俄语教学的现状和未来发展前景

如今是一个高速发展的信息时代,经济全球化推动着各国市场经济的发展,随着我国的国民经济的不断发展,使得整个社会对外语教育的重视度也越来越高,国家对外语人才的需求量也是越来越大,这对我们的大学外语教学来说是一种新的机遇和挑战,同时也给大学的外语教学提出了更高的要求。俄语作为一种小语种的学科,这方面的人才则更为缺乏,对于大学俄语的教学来说,便更需要先进的思想指导,来确定大学俄语教学的模式和未来发展方向,针对这一问题,本文就目前大学俄语教学的现状做了分析,总结了一些问题,并提出了相应的解决措施和对大学俄语教学的未来发展做了一些前景的设想。     

Ernest L. Boyer and the American Christian College: Historical Considerations

This article explores the historical roots of Ernest Boyer's impact on Christian higher education in the United States. Boyer's stints as a student at two Christian colleges (Messiah College in Pennsylvania and Greenville College in Illinois) and his first faculty and administrative posts at Upland College in California were significant influences in the development of his vision for the Christian college—a vision that led to greater legitimacy and credibility in the landscape of American higher education. Ernest Boyer's innovative, yet historic understanding of the distinctives of Christian higher education contributed to the successful accreditation process of nearly one hundred small, private institutions.