Deep in the Heart of Texas

If you have been involved in academic distance learning you know about the University of Texas System TeleCampus.  As it says on the UTTC wesite the Telecampus works with all 15 UT System institutions to build and deliver high-quality online courses, degree programs and support services for distance learners in its mission to expand the reach of the UT System.

Since launching in 1998, UTTC has partnered with hundreds of UT faculty members at UT institutions to serve more than 86,000 enrollments in more than 30 online degree and certificate programs. UTTC partners with the same faculty that teach on campus, and provides a full spectrum of training and support services for both faculty and students. UTTC also provides grants to UT institutions to help fund course and program development, including faculty course release time, instructional design support, and course production.

Today's Inside Higher Education carried a story on the decision of the Chancellor of the University of Texas System in which the UTTC was praised for its leadership, their mission was declared a success and the entire staff was laid off. Headline of story: Texas Kills TeleCampus.

There are a number of references to vague dissatisfaction about licensing duplication, and murmuring of taxes for services. Mumblings of how the campuses "owned" courses and students, the TeleCampus didn't (which, is how it's always worked, was designed that way.) Anyway I leave it to you read the fine article.

So here's where I get to vent a bit. And this has nothing to do with WCET. I am just a cranky UTTC stakeholder.

Apparently the University of Texas System leadership doesn't understand that technology companies typically don't mess with Texas - not with Marge Knox protecting licensing at the UT Austin campus, and with Darcy Hardy at the helm of the TeleCampus. We tremble with respect. So I'm thinking that some of these dis-satisfied murmuring may have more to do with other issues best left alone. All I can say is...Gonna be an ugly moment when the Deciders understand just how many Texans are going to find their dreams of completing their degrees compromised by this poorly considered decision.

There continues to be shocking naivete about how system wide academic, library and student services have to inter-operate to make sure things are seamless. I expect there is also a bit of arrogance and hubris at play as well. Desperate times make some people behave desperately. And despicably, I might add. "Thank you for your service excellence. You are canned." Yee Ha.

Sometime people forget that what they may see as duplication is just another part of an interactive system. UTTC made distance education look easy, because they are so good at it. Very few multi-campus distributed learning/management/services systems in the world have ever achieved their metrics. 

There are many institutions, foundations, NGOs and corporations that turn to the UTTC for ideas about how to create systems, online learning and student support services that are the gold standard for quality online learning in the US. So it's particularly sad to watch these goings on at a time when people are crying for better access to academic opportunities, better student retention, more student completion, and when  demands for quality online education is exploding.

I admit it - I'm biased. I'm on the UTTC advisory board. Have been for several years. I've seen the program grow, watched the staff achieve the very things that people long for in an online learning program: student retention in the mid-90%. An exemplary business - profitable in the terms of how it is funded, with steady year on year growth. I've seen what these folks been able to achieve, up close and personal. A fabulous team. Like I said, award winning and world class.

Will be interesting to see the story evolve. This just feels not quite right - at least not the way it's being represented in the system PR. I do hope that the academic press spends some time poking around. Even more than that - I hope that SREB can help the thousands of students whose program just got cut apart with some online course exchange assistance.

Comments

[Ellen Wagner]

Hi Barry, thanks for jumping in here! The dirty little secret of online learning is that many college and university administrators (and even some large software companies) do not get it, and would rather that someone else take care of it.....preferably a low cost back office computer nerd with a server under his or her desk who can handle tech support calls. Sheesh.

I'm thinking it's time that those of us who DO get how this stuff works to get a lot louder, prouder and better organized. Time to let people know what it takes to deliver on the promises of seamless, high quality, convenient, relevant learning at the point of student need.

Maybe ITC and WCET should launch the Resistance :-)

[Barrydahl]

Well put, Ellen. I suspect that several other state consortia will now be scrutinized with the possibility of similar actions by their governing bodies. If the UT Telecampus is expendable, then why on earth would some of the lesser-functioning consortia be spared in times of severe budget cuts.

On the other hand, it may be a time when colleges and universities need to begin forming their own consortia that are less determined by geographic boundaries and system affiliation, and formed more on the basis of need for and interest in shared services.

Still, UT Telecampus has been a beacon of quality and will be sorely missed.