A case study of distance education policies in the University of Wisconsin system.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This case study was designed to identify components of effective distance education policy in higher education. The study was prompted by the absence of a body of case study research on distance education policy, in spite of the fact that distance education is a prominent and emerging issue for higher education. The study was designed to understand distance education policy from the perspective of the chief academic officers in a multi-university system. The central research question was, “How do the chief academic officers in a multi-university system define the most effective components of distance education policy?&rdquo.
Based upon an analysis of the data collected from interviews with study participants, observation, and document analysis, this study provides a grounded theory that distance education policy would be deemed effective if (1) it provided institutional flexibility; (2) enabled competition; and (3) if distance education policy was firmly placed within the context of individual institutions' missions.
This study also identified process attributes of distance education policy development and evolution. Those process attributes include (1) managing iterative processes to engage stakeholders in policy development; (2) managing expectations of external stakeholders; (3) recognizing a fluid and ambiguous policy environment; and (4) moving from prescriptive policies to broad principles. These process attributes, when coupled with the policy components, comprise a grounded theory of effective distance education policy.