Why Distance Learning?: Higher Education Administrative Practices

Why Distance Learning? explores explicit motivations, focusing on access and a belief in the pedagogical advantages of this approach to higher education. The survey reveals that top university and continuing education administrators are more than twice as likely to lead the implementation push than individual faculty. The study also found that the core of distance learning is administratively housed in self-supporting continuing education units, and that the majority of respondents pay full-time faculty under a regular load arrangement for these courses--with no additional stipend for course development. Controversial findings involving issues of intellectual property and the different attitudes of community colleges and doctoral degree-granting institutions toward distance learning are also covered.

About the Author :
Gary A. Berg, PhD, MFA, is the author or editor of eleven previous books including A Career in the Arts: The Complex Learning and Career Needs of Creative Professionals and The Rise of Women in Higher Education: How, Why, and What’s Next. His widely-published research journals, as well as interviews and opinion pieces in popular media spans topics from technology used for educational purposes and innovation in non-profit and socially responsible organizations, to university admissions and financial aid public policy.

Review :
The book is well-written, and addresses aspects of distance learning program administration that had not previously been studied the same way....Why Distance Learning? represents a valuable contribution to the literature on distance learning. This book is recommended to any librarian who is interested in knowing more about the history and administration of distance learning programs. It is also recommended to administrators of established programs and to any institution that is considering beginning a new distance program. [W]ell written with an appropriate level of detail, and the material is refreshingly current, with both electronic and print-based resources included. This publication is a good introduction and overview of the literature on the burgeoning and confusing field of distance education and the issues surrounding it. It is recommended for library schools and university libraries with and interest in distance education.-- "Journal Of Library and Information Services In Distance Learning"