Administrative Structures for Distance Education.

This book is designed to help people who want to know whether distance education is useful for them. It suggests what questions to ask in considering whether distance education makes sense in a particular context and examines the different ways in which it can be organized. Chapter 1 considers who it can teach, what it can be used for, and how well it works. Chapter 2 looks at the resources a new distance education program demands: financial support, staff, communication services, provision of face-to-face support, educational support from other schools and colleges and other parts of government, and political backing. Chapter 3 focuses on the services to be provided to students. It deals with the necessary functions of a distance teaching institution, teaching methods, the production of materials, the work of writers, students and tutors, and the award of credit. Chapter 4 addresses the choice of an organizational and administrative structure. Six organizational models are described and compared. Chapter 5 considers the cost of distance education, including fixed and variable costs, calculating a budget, comparison of costs with those of conventional education, and funding. Chapter 6 deals with planning: who should do the planning, what needs to be done in the planning phase, what staff is needed, what is left for the development phase, and how long it will take. Contains 11 references. (YLB)