Characteristics and functions of the administrative position recommended by the Committee to provide leadership for distance learning, with indications of central vs. decentralized roles.

Reporting Relationships

The person named to provide overall leadership and coordination for distance learning at the University should be a member of the institution's senior administrative group, perhaps at the level of vice provost. The specific title is less important than the person's access to resources and his/her participation in decision-making processes.

Reporting to the Distance Learning Officer should be two types of employees: a small cohort of administrative support personnel, and four to eight educational specialists charged with building institutional capabilities that support distance learning.

In addition, it is envisioned that each school or college engaged in distance learning would appoint local leaders for the activity — either full-time or part-time. These school-based distance learning officers would report directly to the deans of the respective schools, but would coordinate with the central Distance Learning Officer in a “dotted-line” relationship, parallel to the current arrangement for development.

Resources

The Distance Learning Officer should have control over two pools of budget resources. First is the operating budget for the Distance Learning Office (by whatever name) provided as part of the “University General” allocation for all administrative services. This budget will normally be adjusted incrementally each year to reflect general cost factors.

Second is a pool of special funds raised or otherwise provided for the University's overall distance learning program (as opposed to distance learning budgets in the schools and colleges). It is anticipated that the University will seek significant external support for establish ing and extending a distance learning program. The Distance Learning Officer should be the manager for these funds to the extent that they are intended to support central or University-wide activities, and should use them in part to contract with institutional services — or with outside vendors — to meet the needs of the distance learning program.

The Distance Learning Officer will not control school-based resources expended at that level for distance learning activities. However, the Distance Learning Officer may elect to co-invest with the schools and colleges in specific resources or services determined to be strategically valuable for the entire institution, and may advise these units in the expenditure of their funds, as requested.

Functions of the Distance Learning Officer

Planning

Long-term educational planning. This is a strategic consideration at the institutional level, requiring close coordination across divisions. Objective is to bring together information about markets, techniques, opportunities, needs, and challenges to develop an institutional strategy for distance learning. The Distance Learning Officer’s role is primary, with major participation by Deans and other University officers. Note that the role in long-term strategic planning suggested here for the Distance Learning Officer is unduplicated in other programmatic areas, e.g., continuing education and summer programs.

Program planning. This is a strategic consideration at the school and college level, leading directly to curriculum design, faculty recruitment, etc. The Distance Learning Officer’s role is to promote information-sharing and coordination within each faculty and across faculties.

Technology planning. Infrastructure planning is strategic for the institution, and the Distance Learning Officer's role is primary, starting with leadership for long-term educational planning related to distance learning. The Distance Learning Officer will work closely with the Vice President for Information Services, and will seek considerable input from schools and colleges and other administrative units. On-site technology planning is unit-based, in coordination with the Distance Learning Officer and central Information Services.

Physical planning. Overall space use, including planning for additions and improvements, is a strategic issue for the institution. The Distance Learning Officer’s role is to represent the needs and concerns of the distance learning community in a planning process led by the Office of Budgets and Planning regarding space controlled centrally, and to cooperate in unit-based planning discussions regarding space controlled at that level.

Financial planning. Long-term financial planning is a strategic issue for the entire institution, led by the Office of Budgets and Planning with significant participation by the schools and colleges. The Distance Learning Officer’s role is to represent the distance learning community in institutional resource allocation discussions.

Program Design

This function is carried out primarily at the school/college level in the form of curriculum and course design. The Distance Learning Officer’s role is to promote information exchange and sharing of scarce resources.

Physical Infrastructure

As currently envisioned, the Distance Learning Officer would not “own” distance learning facilities, although several of the schools and colleges would do so. The Distance Learning Officer’s role would be to coordinate central support functions and to advise divisional facilities decisions to achieve the best possible performance.

An important alternative to this model, however, would assign to the Distance Learning Officer responsibility for a number of instructional spaces (e.g., those used in connection with the Ohio Aerospace Institute and the Instructional Television Network) now controlled by Information Services. This would probably be a transitional strategy, since ultimately distance learning should be able to originate or be received at virtually any location on the campus, primarily in regular classrooms and in other sites very close to labs. It is not likely that centralized space dedicated exclusively to distance learning would be a good long-term investment.

Information Technology Infrastructure

The University has made — and will continue to make — significant investments in its “electronic learning environment” under the leadership of the Office of Information Services. The role of the Distance Learning Officer is to represent the needs and priorities of distance learning throughout the University to Information Services, including looking at potential alternative sources when the Office of Information Services is unable to respond.

The Distance Learning Officer represents as well a potential solution to the periodic delays in obtaining appropriate approvals for purchasing networked software and related items. The Distance Learning Officer can identify priorities among software packages to support distance learning activities for which Office of Information Services funding is being sought, and can act directly to provide required institutional approval for software purchases to be funded by the schools.

Faculty Training/Assistance

The Distance Learning Officer should define and operate a set of centralized resources to help faculty members throughout the University develop content and formats for distance learning. One approach to this task would call upon the Distance Learning Officer to recruit and supervise a staff of four to eight “instructional technology specialists” to be loaned to schools. In addition, DLO will:

• Work closely with UCITE to coordinate evidence of faculty training needs with plans for UCITE activities. UCITE represents an important resource for the entire University, and particularly for early-stage efforts in distance learning.
• Help the schools and colleges recruit and develop their own staffs of “instructional technology specialists” to meet the discipline-specific needs of their faculty members.

Operations

Operation of distance learning programs would be primarily unit-based, with the Distance Learning Officer’s role being one of support, information-sharing, troubleshooting, and overall “positioning” for the University.

If the Distance Learning Officer takes on “ownership” of instructional spaces (e.g., the OAI and ITN classrooms mentioned above), the Distance Learning Officer’s staff will be responsible for providing staffing at all times when instruction is in session — unless negotiations with school-based staff make this unnecessary.

Marketing/Selling

Market research relating to distance learning across disciplines should be a primary role for the Distance Learning Officer, with the resulting information shared with schools/colleges. Similarly, the Distance Learning Officer should take the lead in developing a marketing plan for distance learning across the University, and for working with each school/college to develop its own distance learning marketing plan, working with the University’s Public Affairs staff and other central resources. (Note: “Marketing” is a strategic task affecting product design.)

Recruiting participants for distance learning as an institutional offering should be a major priority for the Distance Learning Officer, but most of this recruitment will be done at the divisional level. (Note: “Recruitment” is a tactical task involving efforts to promote participation in  offerings that are already designed as a result of marketing.)

The Distance Learning Officer's central role is to serve as a clearing house for information about opportunities to develop and market educational courseware and software, to participate in refining the University's policies and procedures for protecting intellectual property, and to influence institutional decisions about investments in such projects. The Distance Learning Officer, along with (UCITE), should also serve as a resource for faculty members seeking to develop courseware and other instructional materials.

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