Digital Dilemma: Issues of Access, Cost, and Quality in Media-Enhanced and Distance Education. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, Volume 27, Number 5. Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series.

Overview & Synopsis

This book examines the promise and some of the perils of the new digital age in higher education. It addresses how cost and affordability impact on universal access, noting that current virtual and distance education options will result in a digital divide. The book advocates removing barriers to higher education in order to make digitized resources more universally accessible. It also examines issues of cost and affordability; and discusses how to maintain higher education's reputation for quality and effectiveness in new technologically-mediated environments. Following an introduction which examines the historical context and politics of instructional technology, sections cover issues of access and equity, of cost and affordability, and of quality and effectiveness. Based on the conclusions drawn, the book offers seven recommendations to address issues of access, cost, and quality. These include: (1) lobbying for state and federal policy reform; (2) developing a reward system that places a high value on teaching and innovative use of technology; (3) promoting universal Intranet access; (4) promoting universal access to the National Information Infrastructure; (5) affirming the social nature of learning; (6) requiring that all students have the generic skills of "mediacy" and numeracy; and (7) preserving the quality and core values that distinguish higher education from corporate training. (Contains approximately 250 references.) (CH)