Kennesaw State University: Distance Learning as a Cost-Effective Measure

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Kennesaw State University: Distance Learning as a Cost-Effective Measure

5/30/2003

When Lisa Manning, director of instructional technology at Kennesaw State University in suburban Atlanta, implemented her most recent distance-learning platform, the first thing she noticed wasn't the performance, but the cost. When the cast:stream system from 21st Century Media was implemented at the state university at the beginning of the fall semester in August, the difference in cost between it and other distance learning platforms was exponential.

She didn't understand why anyone would want to spend as much as $40,000 when there were options available that cost less than half that amount.

Budget Cuts
It wasn't merely a matter of bargain hunting or comparison shopping for the instructional technology director.

A recent joint Congressional report issued by a caucus of Democratic House and Senate leaders indicates that the Federal budget has cut an estimated $5.5 billion from education funding over the last two years, according to figures gathered from Congressional Budget Office data. That same data indicates that Pell Grants, at an average of $3,900, are $300 below the pace of inflation, and that the combined Federal and state education cutbacks have added an average of $6,000 more to individual student debt load. Taking partisan politics out of the equation, it's clear a recessionary economy that has reduced tax receipts across the board is being mirrored in equally comprehensive educational budget cuts. This is why Lisa Manning's attention was grabbed as much by the cost-effectiveness of a distance learning platform as by its educational effectiveness.

Comprehensive Learning
More cost-effective distance learning platforms, like cast:stream, which was implemented at Kennesaw State's new M.S. program in Applied Science, help offset these funding reductions. At the same time, they're providing a more comprehensive learning experience. "At first, there was the perception that technology-based learning was only for the rich," Manning says. "Fortunately, the resistance points to that are in the past. The cost and educational effectiveness benefits have become clear. It's reached down to the community college level at this point, in Georgia and elsewhere." In fact, Manning adds, the widened implementation of distance learning technologies is a significant factor in an estimated 1,000-student enrollment increase in the fall semester.

The demand for enhanced distance learning is coming from the students themselves. Instructors and professors are embracing it, as well, though not always at the same level of enthusiasm as their students. Kennesaw has edged the technologies in slowly, with most courses structured as hybrids, partially distance, partially on campus. Tech-savvy students are the most vocal about preferring technology-based learning. Many instructors feel the same way, though for those who have been less adaptive Kennesaw offers stipends for mentoring-type programs to bring them up to speed on the technology and to ease the phobia that often accompanies it. However, the teachers are not the only ones who can be hesitant about accepting new teaching technologies. Kennesaw uses a questionnaire to screen students wishing to enter distance-learning environments to establish their own levels of familiarity and comfort with computer-based learning.