Putting the University Online : Information, Technology and Organisational Change

by Cornford, James; Pollock, Neil

• ISBN13: 9780335210053
• ISBN10: 0335210058
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-12-01
• Publisher: Open University Press

Summary

* What kind of university is emerging from the widespread adoption of new information and communication technologies in teaching, research and administration?* What is the nature and scale of the work required to put the university online?* What are the consequences - for academics, students, managers and others - of putting the university online?New information and communication technologies (ICTs), and above all the internet, hold out many promises for higher education institutions in terms of flexibility, efficiency, quality and access. The vision is that of a virtual institution. Putting the University Online seeks to uncover what the pursuit of that vision means for an institution, its staff, students and other stakeholders, and consequences, intended and unintended, for the role and identity of the university.This is the first book length study, based on detailed fine-grained analysis of what 'putting the university online' actually means for those involved and the wider institutions. James Cornford and Neil Pollock draw both on theories from the sociology of technology and on a large and diverse body of empirical research in order to explore how universities are attempting to build and use new ICTs to sit alongside, complement and, in some cases, replace established means of delivering, organizing and managing higher education. Their book will help sensitize policy makers, academics, university managers, and students to the limits to, and implications of, the pursuit of a virtual future for higher education.

Author Biography

James Cornford is a Principal Research Associate in the University of Newcastle's Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS). His research interests are focused on the implications of the application of information and communication technologies for organizations, cities and regions.

Neil Pollock is a Senior Research Associate in the Newcastle School of Management at Newcastle University. His research is focused on the application of computer systems in higher education, most recently leading an Economic and Social Research Council funded study of the development of a self service student management system.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	viii
The Online Imperative	1	(14)
The university in crisis: collapsing boundaries	1	(1)
The online threat	2	(1)
The online imperative	3	(4)
Putting the university online	7	(5)
Structure of this book	12	(1)
Conclusions	13	(1)
Note	14	(1)
Researching Changing Universities	15	(10)
Introduction	15	(1)
Ethnography	15	(2)
The sociology of science and technology	17	(3)
The four field sites	20	(2)
Through the eyes of designers	22	(1)
Research and reflexivity	23	(1)
Conclusion	24	(1)
Notes	24	(1)
Working through the Work of Making Work Mobile	25	(13)
Introduction	25	(1)
The online university as mobile work	26	(1)
The work of making work mobile	27	(2)
Building the virtual university into the traditional university	29	(2)
The virtual university only partially exists	31	(2)
What is a course?	33	(1)
Conclusion	34	(3)
Notes	37	(1)
The Campus and the Online University	38	(14)
Introduction	38	(1)
The virtual university and the campus-as-constraint	39	(3)
Creating distance education as the assemblage of actor networks	42	(2)
The campus as a resourceful constraint	44	(2)
Assessing assessment	46	(2)
The Cyber Culture course is too virtual	48	(2)
Conclusion	50	(1)
Note	51	(1)
The Online University as Timely and Accurate Information	52	(15)
Introducing a new informational model of a university	52	(2)
Redefining the problem	54	(1)
Reasons given for replacing the previous system	55	(1)
The mantra shaping the move from MAC to Enterprise	56	(2)
How the project team used its mantra to drive Enterprise	58	(2)
The transition from an old to a new model of the university	60	(2)
Living in the space and time of the virtual university	62	(3)
Conclusion: is the university to be redefined as an `information institution'?	65	(1)
Notes	66	(1)
Keeping Up Standards: The Virtual University is the University made Concrete	67	(11)
Introduction	67	(1)
The virtual and the university	68	(4)
Building the virtual university in practice	72	(4)
Conclusion: the virtual university is the university made concrete	76	(2)
Customizing Industry Standard Systems for Universities	78	(15)
Introduction	78	(2)
Theoretical background: studying `translation' and `biographies'	80	(1)
Restructuring the university, customizing an ERP system	81	(3)
Building the system and the university	84	(1)
Where do defaults come from?	85	(2)
Coping with the specificity of universities	87	(3)
Conclusion	90	(1)
Notes	91	(2)
Campus Management and the Self-service Student	93	(14)
Introduction	93	(2)
Self-service: where did the concept come from?	95	(1)
University self-service	96	(1)
Building a new student-university relationship	97	(4)
Counteracting the sponsors group	101	(2)
The American model of the student	103	(2)
Conclusion	105	(1)
Notes	105	(2)
Reflection and Conclusion	107	(6)
Information	108	(1)
Technology	109	(2)
Organizational change	111	(1)
Conclusion: back to knowledge	112	(1)
Notes	112	(1)
References	113	(7)
Index	120	(2)
The Society for Research into Higher Education	122