사이버대학의 동형화 현상 분석 연구

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aimed to identify, from a theory perspective of isomorphism of sociological institutionalism, the phenomenon of isomorphism, in other words, the phenomenon of becoming more like other higher educational institutions that appeared in the development process of cyber universities in Korea, which was established with a clear direction for policy and educational goals. Starting out with an attention given to the notion that there's a trend of growing similar among cyber universities or similar with general universities during the process of growing from a lifelong educational facility to a higher educational institution, this study explored the multifaceted implications, based on the analysis of phenomenon of isomorphism. The main findings of this study can be summarized as follows.
Firstly, we examined the phenomenon of isomorphism seen during the development process of cyber universities in Korea in three areas: visions of cyber universities, educational processes and organizational structures. For each area, we studied by separating them the phenomenon of isomorphism among cyber universities and the isomorphism with general universities. It was verified that the visions among cyber universities were becoming isomorphic in three aspects: the pursuit of becoming a global university, becoming a leading university in the country and establishing a creative talent model. In addition, with respect to the visions of general universities, cyber universities showed very close similarities in contents such as globalization, pursuit of the highest standards in the nation, etc. The phenomenon of isomorphism was observed in the educational process as well, and as a result of analysis of the opening of major courses of study at cyber universities, the rate of opening of subject courses in social sciences was seen to be high and the rate of opening of subject courses of practical courses with high demands was seen to be somewhat high. Such phenomenon can be understood as a phenomenon of isomorphism among cyber universities. The opening of subject courses of study at seven subject cyber universities displayed similar trends with the opening of subject courses at general universities that belong to the same educational foundation entities and this can be attributed to the fact that the majors offered by cyber universities were more fine-tuned to the demand of the students. In addition, it was possible to confirm that a lot of major courses, which are similar to the major departments that represent general universities of the same educational foundation, were opened by cyber universities. This can be deemed to be caused by the fact that the halo effects of general universities were being aimed by cyber universities that have not been in existence for too long by opening courses that are representative of general universities. Moreover, cyber universities are attempting to expand their major courses, as in the educational process of general universities, and this kind of trend, too, can be understood as a phenomenon of isomorphism with general universities. Organizational structures were seen to be sufficiently similar in that cyber universities did not seem different from general universities. This helps us to explain the phenomenon of isomorphism of the organizational structures of cyber universities and general universities. This is attributable to the fact that the organizational structure of cyber universities was created from copying the organizational structure of general universities.

Secondly, three isomorphic mechanisms are at work in the phenomenon of isomorphism for cyber universities in Korea: forced isomorphism, mimetic isomorphism and competitive isomorphism. And these types of mechanisms have influenced the isomorphism of cyber universities through complex and overlapping effects. Forced isomorphism was facilitated by the pressure from the government’s assessment and regulations and the cultural expectation for the higher educational institutions of the Korean society. The legal basis of cyber universities was transferred from the Lifelong Education Act the Higher Education Act, and by the pressure of these legal constraints, the phenomenon of cyber universities becoming more like general universities became significantly more apparent. The government’s financial support in accordance with the 2007 results of a comprehensive evaluation of remote university did not materialize. However, in situations where cyber universities are competing for the same cyber higher education market, the students ended up providing standards for school selection whereby influencing student recruitment, and this acted as a stimulating factor for the isomorphism of mimicking the schools with highest or excellent ratings. In addition, the Korean society expects cyber universities to play the role of institutions that award degrees and qualifications, and in addition, it expects cyber universities to have a brand image comparable to that of general universities and at the same time hold the status and appearance commensurate with the higher educational institutions. The expectation mentality of social components of the school brand that the Korean society demands leads to a trend that prefers a model where cyber universities are operated together with general universities. And in cases where cyber universities and general universities share the same educational foundation entity, cyber universities were subject to the direct influence of general universities. As such, as the resolve of cyber universities to operate in a stable fashion became strengthened, the phenomenon of cyber universities becoming more like general universities is expected to be exacerbated.
Mimetic isomorphism lacks understanding about the key skills held by cyber universities and it has vague goals of organization that only a cyber university would have, and it was promoted in a situation where the government’s policy environment, input environment and the creation environment for cyber universities were uncertain. At the time of initial establishment, the situation was that the skills and capacity associated with the management of cyber universities and the development capability of contents that were most essential for cyber universities and skills for the learning management and the assessment management were lacking and unclear. This led to an accelerated imitation of schools that were operating reliably and the already-successful model in general universities. In addition, the phenomenon of isomorphism with general universities had already sped up due to the recognition that the organizations of general universities that were already proven to be successful would succeed even within cyber universities that did not have clear organizational goals. And as the demand for increase in revenues rather then improvement in the quality of education became stronger, benchmarking of leading institutions that have shown rapid stability in the same areas ensued. Also, uncertainties in the areas of the policy environment, the input environment and the creation environment that are caused by changes in the government’s policies for cyber universities led to a speedier isomorphism of cyber universities. The environmental uncertainties of the cyber higher education market that are sensitive to changes in the government policy can be a driving factor for mimetic isomorphism. And the uncertainties in enrolment resources that occur as the demand for re-education decreases and the enrollment age of resources is lowered led to the imitation of opening of majors to acquire lower age groups. In addition, uncertainties of the creation environment that occur as a result of societal discrimination and low awareness manifested as cyber universities’ resolve to become similar to general universities and promoted mimetic isomorphism to becoming like general universities.
Isomorphism mechanism, due to competition, is associated with the pressure from wanting a normal operation of the school as a higher educational institution. The management-related pressure on cyber universities to maximize educational performance through efforts to dominate resources by competing for the same market and resources and through an efficient management of organization of the school has eventually precipitated in competitive installation of educational departments that are high in student demand. It also led to a phenomenon of mimicking other schools’ programs that are successful in recruiting students. In addition, it resulted in status-enhancing efforts by cyber universities, including attempts to garner favorable assessment results from the government and to improve brand image by belonging to education foundation entities similar to those of general universities. As these efforts led to benchmarking of cyber universities that receive good evaluation and general universities, they accelerated the phenomenon of isomorphism.
These three types of mechanisms point out that - when connected with the phenomena of isomorphism of cyber universities’ visions, educational process and organizational structures that were discussed early - the mechanisms of forced isomorphism, mimetic isomorphism and competitive isomorphism are functioning in an overlapping fashion on the phenomenon of isomorphism of cyber universities.
Thirdly, the phenomenon of isomorphism of cyber universities exerted influence on the aspects of cyber universities management, education and students. The phenomenon of isomorphism of cyber universities that is reacting with the demand of the consumers, first, reduces the effort of educational specialization in terms of management of cyber universities. In addition, of the 17 cyber universities that operate 4-year undergraduate curricula, 13 universities share educational foundation entities similar to those by general universities; as the idea of utilizing the strong reputation of general universities directly in the promotional activities of cyber universities to recruit students is aggressively pursued, the phenomenon of isomorphism to become like general universities intensified. Due to such isomorphic phenomenon, it’s likely that the trend of attempting to utilize the reputation of general universities would further increase. Also, in cases where education is provided to the same target demand in the same market, the likelihood that the most important competitive edge will be the cost-effectiveness. This is why cyber universities are putting in efforts to increase income through cost reduction by copying other schools.
From a cyber university perspective, as a number of cyber universities are still focusing on the courses that grant transfer-type credits, unless a new educational model is created in the long term there’s a high possibility that they may reach the limiting threshold. Cyber universities, as they are currently undergoing isomorphic phenomenon in terms of the education process and contents, are likely to put in efforts to differentiate internal elements. Through this process it is expected that a new attempt will emerge within the process. In addition, what influences the quality of education is the quality of lecture contents, and cyber universities that are having a difficult time maintaining an environment of self-development may be able to maintain the quality of lecture contents by mimicking the already-developed contents, as an effort to reduce the cost required for developing new contents. However, cyber universities’ competing in the same market at the present time with the similar curricular, eventually they will lead to the limiting of proposal for a variety of educational operations or a new education model, whereby lead to a likelihood that no lecture operation, lecture system improvement and new dedicated efforts will be seen.
From the perspective of cyber university students, in various areas such as organization of educational process of cyber universities, management of teaching of professors, etc., cyber universities become more sensitive to the needs of the learners. In cases where a cyber university connects with a general university, there can be strengths from improvement of brand image and utilization of educational infrastructures. As such, the phenomenon of cyber universities becoming like general universities has a significant influence on the student’s selection of schools. Moreover, cyber university learners have a strong demand for quickly attaining degrees, qualification certificates, credits, etc. the phenomenon of isomorphism in the direction sensitive to the needs of consumers will further strengthen the demand for convenience for the management of undergraduate degrees. And even though many cyber universities are still pursuing stable operations by focusing on courses that are so-called popular for granting qualifications, in the future the learners’ demand of creation of a new educational model connected with the government's policy would need to be readily accepted and pursue changes. Finally, the phenomenon of isomorphism of cyber universities becoming like general universities would bring about stronger demand by the cyber university students for scholarship who may be subject to discriminatory treatment with the students of general universities in regards to government scholarships.
Keywords: cyber university, cyber university policy, new institutionalism, isomorphism

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. 서 론 1
• 1. 연구의 필요성 및 목적 1
• 2. 연구 문제 5
• 3. 연구 방법 6
• 4. 연구 범위 7
• Ⅱ. 사이버대학 제도와 맥락 10
• 1. 사이버대학의 특성과 운영 현황 10
• 가. 사이버교육과 사이버대학의 개념 10
• 1) 사이버교육의 개념 10
• 2) 사이버대학의 개념 14
• 나. 사이버대학의 특성 19
• 1) 사이버대학의 특성 19
• 2) 사이버대학 학습자의 특성 23
• 3) 사이버대학의 중요성 26
• 다. 사이버대학의 운영 현황 29
• 1) 사이버대학 규모 개황 29
• 2) 교육과정 운영 현황 36
• 3) 조직 운영 현황 40
• 2. 사이버대학의 발전과정 및 제도 변화 42
• 가. 사이버대학의 도입배경 42
• 1) 방송통신대학의 도입배경 42
• 2) 사이버대학의 도입배경 43
• 나. 사이버대학의 발전과정 45
• 1) 사이버대학 구축기(1995년~2000년) 46
• 2) 사이버대학 성장기(2001년~2007년) 50
• 3) 사이버대학 전환기(2008년~현재) 57
• 다. 사이버대학 제도 변화의 계기 60
• 1) 평생교육법상 사이버대학 설립(2000) 61
• 2) 원격대학 종합평가 62
• 3) 고등교육법상 사이버대학 전환 72
• 4) 사이버대학 자체평가 체제 구축 73
• 5) 현행 사이버대학 제도 75
• 3. 사이버대학의 제도적 맥락 79
• Ⅲ. 신제도주의 동형화 이론과 분석 틀 83
• 1. 신제도주의 이론 83
• 가. 신제도주의 이론의 개관 83
• 나. 사회학적 제도주의 87
• 1) 사회학적 제도주의의 개관 87
• 2) 사회학적 신제도주의에서의 제도와 제도화 88
• 다. 신제도주의 이론과 선행 연구 90
• 2. 동형화 이론 91
• 가. 강제적 동형화(coercive isomorphism) 92
• 나. 모방적 과정(mimetic process) 93
• 다. 규범적 압력(normative pressure) 94
• 라. 동형화 이론의 적용 95
• 3. 분석 틀 99
• 가. 사이버대학 동형화 현상 연구의 필요성과 의의 99
• 나. 분석 틀 103
• 1) 사이버대학 동형화 현상 분석 105
• 2) 사이버대학 동형화 현상 촉진 요인 분석 107
• 3) 사이버대학 동형화 현상의 결과 분석 113
• 다. 분석 방법 114
• Ⅳ. 사이버대학 발전과정에 나타난 동형화 현상 분석 117
• 1. 사이버대학 동형화 현상 분석 117
• 가. 사이버대학 간 동형화 현상 분석 117
• 1) 비전의 동형화 117
• 2) 교육과정의 동형화 120
• 3) 조직 구조의 동형화 122
• 나. 일반대학과 사이버대학 동형화 현상 분석 123
• 1) 비전의 동형화 123
• 2) 교육과정의 동형화 126
• 3) 조직 구조의 동형화 129
• 다. 동형화 현상 종합 131
• 2. 사이버대학 동형화 촉진 요인 분석 132
• 가. 강제적 동형화 132
• 1) 제도적 압력 133
• 2) 사회의 문화적 기대 137
• 나. 모방적 동형화 141
• 1) 핵심기술의 불명확성 142
• 2) 조직 목표의 모호성 145
• 3) 환경의 불확실성 147
• 다. 경쟁에 의한 동형화 151
• 1) 경영상 압력 152
• 2) 위상 강화 노력 154
• 라. 사이버대학 동형화 현상과 촉진 요인의 연관성 분석 156
• 1) 비전의 동형화 현상과 촉진 요인의 관계 157
• 2) 교육과정의 동형화 현상과 촉진 요인의 관계 157
• 3) 조직 구조의 동형화 현상과 촉진 요인의 관계 158
• 4) 촉진 요인의 특징 159
• 3. 사이버대학 동형화 현상의 결과 분석 162
• 가. 사이버대학 경영에 미치는 영향 163
• 1) 교육특성화 노력의 감소 163
• 2) 일반대학 명성 활용의 증가 164
• 3) 비용절감, 수입증대 노력 165
• 나. 사이버대학 교육에 미치는 영향 166
• 1) 교육과정 특성화 필요성 인식 166
• 2) 저비용·고효율의 교육콘텐츠 제작․활용 경향 167
• 3) 교육력 제고 노력 제약 168
• 다. 사이버대학 학습자에 미치는 영향 169
• 1) 일반대학의 명성과 연계된 선택 169
• 2) 학사관리 편의성에 대한 요구 증대 170
• 3) 새로운 교육프로그램 요구 증대 171
• 4) 장학금 및 학자금 대출 등의 지원 확대 요구 172
• Ⅴ. 요약 및 결론 175
• 1. 요약 175
• 2. 결론 179
• 3. 제언 182
• 참 고 문 헌 187
• ABSTRACT 197