OMDE 0624--Strategic Planning for On-line International Student Success at MCU

Holly Denney
OMDE 0624
Section 9040
Assignment 2
March 31, 2002

Strategic Planning for On-line International Student Success at MCU

Introduction

This paper advocates a strategic planning process for Mauch Chunk University (MCU) to determine the feasibility of providing on-line courses for international students. Mauch Chunk is a small town with a multicultural / multilingual population, the result of immigrants from different countries and the integration of the original Native American people.
Obvious advantages of providing on-line courses to international students include a more diverse student body, an enlarged pool of applicants, and increased student tuition income. Concerns include providing support services for students who need visas and work permits, a culturally sensitive living environment, and supplemental language courses for international students who are not native English speakers. These issues are coordinated through the International Students office and the English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) program.

While both the international students and MCU would benefit, all parties must be aware of the challenges of studying at a distance, and all student success services must be offered either in mediated form or at regional offices in Canada. Even though the institution enrolls campus-based international students and offers distance education to domestic students, there are significant new challenges that must be addressed before any on-line international students are enrolled. The complexity of the issues and the great need for 'people skills' (Mason, 1998) underscore the need for the systematic evaluation process of strategic planning.

Rumble (1992) identifies the central role of strategic planning as "[identifying] the key success factors and [generating] strategic options open to the institution" (p. 44). The resulting plan can serve as a reference point from which MCU can make a reasoned judgment of whether or not to proceed to develop and offer the on-line courses.

The Strategic Plan

The strategic planning process would direct MCU's self-evaluation of its existing resources and what would be required for international on-line course provision. There are external factors beyond the control of MCU, not the least of which are the global economies. Therefore, the decision to offer on-line distance education to international students must be made with full understanding of what is involved. The strategic planning process is an effective way to proceed.

Preliminary Review

At MCU, the strategic planning process typically incorporates the team efforts of all key constituencies: administrators, faculty, staff, and students. An administrative team would state clearly its reasons for wanting to offer the courses. If those reasons fit within MCU's mission statement and contain measurable student success criteria, this team would then designate a planning team comprised of members of faculty, staff, and students charged with identifying MCU's current administrative and academic capabilities and specific areas to address in the strategic planning process. These areas include:

--Does MCU have the financial resources to support the international students at the same level as it provides for its domestic students? What external sources of funding are available?

--Is MCU prepared to offer intensive ESOL courses on-line? The primary language of instruction is English. Edwards (1999) raises the issue of tutors. MCU provides tutors on campus for non-English speakers. Is it feasible to have tutors in regional offices in other countries? Watson & Marrett (1999) remind us to be aware of others' preference for instruction in their own language.

--Are courses and student success services fully on-line or are there components that require f2f interaction with faculty or staff? If f2f is required, can those functions be done with the same level of quality on-line? If the f2f cannot be replicated on-line, can local offices be established with staffing comparable to that provided at the home campus?

--What is the cost of offering this provision, both for MCU and for the students? Several authors (Birks, 1999; Mason, 1998; Moore, 1996) question whether it's reasonable to charge the same tuition and fees as domestic students pay. The question for Alvey, Duhs, and Duhs (1999) is what the market will bear. What additional costs would MCU incur to offer on-line courses?

--What is the relevance of MCU's current courses and programs for international students? If it's assumed that the students would remain in their home countries, would the market offer positions requiring those credentials? Would new courses or programs have to be developed - and how wide a market relevance would those new offerings have?

--Are there any barriers to the full acceptance of MCU's credentials in other countries? Mason (1998) and Moore (1996) state that such barriers could reflect local prejudice to distance education or could reflect a desire to give preference to that country's own institutions.

--Do the students have reasonable access to hardware, software, and Internet connections? Is it feasible to transmit textbooks and library materials electronically, or would some materials have to be mailed? If mailed, how would this affect course schedules?

--How would the programs and courses be marketed? Is there sufficient sensitivity to local cultural concerns that no offense would be given? This can include use of idioms or inappropriate gender references.

--How would payment be effected? Are there limitations on the amount of funds that can be withdrawn from the country or on the form in which they can be withdrawn (cash, check, credit card, wire transfer)? Would local offices be needed to receive those payments?

--Are there adequate legal protections for copyrighted materials and intellectual property? Prebble (199) states the importance of knowing what will and will not be protected.

After the areas are identified, the planning team would evaluate each under the planning rubric of Strengths, Threats, Opportunities, Problems and Solutions (STOPS)2 and how those capabilities would support MCU's success in the new market.

The STOPS Analysis 1

The following analysis categorizes the identified items.

Strengths.

--MCU courses are taught in English. Many faculty and the majority of staff are at least bi-lingual.

--MCU has two departments dedicated to working with faculty and staff to develop on-line courses. At present, these departments do not charge for their services. One department is MCU's MCOnLine (MCO).

-- MCU's library has some resources that are on-line, and the library staff would scan materials to transmit electronically.

-- MCU does provide financial support for new initiatives that are within its mission statement. In addition, it actively seeks external funding to permit expedited implementation.

-- Because MCU is a private institution, it charges all students the same tuition and fees.

-- MCU has a multi-lingual and multi-cultural campus.

Threats.

-- Two other regional universities, Gachtin Bambil State University and Leni Lenapian State University, are already providing on-line courses to a greater extent than is MCU. The extent of the course offerings and the language of instruction would be evaluated; both institutions also have predominantly bi-lingual staff.

Opportunities.

--MCU has the ability to offer a wide variety of bi-lingual programs, to provide strong student support, and to develop programs for specific international markets.

Problems.

--The student success provision is campus-based, with some specific components (such as applying and registering) available on-line.

-- MCU is within the "digital divide."

-- There is not a mechanism for on-line payments.

-- There are limits on the amount of money that may cross international borders. Transfer of payments across borders has not been a problem, although the process may be slower post-September 11th.

-- MCU may not use state funding for marketing outside the state of Pennsylvania.

-- MCU does not yet offer 24/7 student support.

-- Mail service into some countries may be problematic.

--Copyright and intellectual property laws may be difficult to enforce.

Solutions.

-- The planning team would identify proposed Solutions, whether to meet Threats or to rectify Problems.
At this point, the strategic planning team would meet with the administrative team to review findings and recommendations. Prebble (1999) enumerates five options: to proceed individually, to sell courses to another provider, to pursue it in partnership with one or more other institutions, to join a consortium, or to join a virtual university. Each of those options would have implications for how the strategic planning process proceeds.

Determining How to Proceed

A second STOPS analysis would be done to inform the decision of which option to pursue. In this analysis, emphasis would be on the feasibility and constraints of each of the options.

Individually.

MCU would assume responsibility for all aspects of course provision and student support.

Sell courses to another provider.

MCU would negotiate with the other provider to set the terms and conditions of the sale. The strategic planning team's responsibility would be to identify as many negotiating points as possible and develop MCU's response to each. This may be a more attractive option should MCU wish to enter a different international market.

Partnership with one or more institutions.

MCU would have to consider the relative strength of each institution because the one that emerges as the leader in the partnership would set the tone of the program provision. Issues would include the reputations of each, their areas of expertise, the kinds of students enrolled (undergraduate, graduate, certificate) (Moore, 1996), and their position on the provision of student support.
There are other smaller schools that may be interested in partnering with MCU. The combined resources may shorten the development time.

Join a consortium.

One important consideration is by whom the degrees would be awarded - the consortium or the individual institutions. If it is the individual institutions, then each must be willing to accept all members as of equal stature.
MCU is an active member of the MCO and benefits from MCO's provision of 24/7 student support.

Join a virtual university.

There are not any public or private schools participating in a virtual university, but the possibility of doing so is an option. As with a consortium, considerations include which entity would award the degrees.

Conclusion

The strategic planning process is an effective way to identify and evaluate MCU's capabilities and to provide a basis for making the decision of whether or not to offer on-line courses to international students. The process would be used also to determine MCU's level of involvement in the development and distribution of those courses. Once this process is completed and recommendations are developed, the strategic planning team would meet with the administrative team to come to consensus on how to proceed. The strategic planning team would then formulate the strategic plan to guide MCU's entry into on-line courses for international students.

Resources

Adekanmbi, G. (1999). A glimpse into the future of distance education in Africa. FID Review 1(2/3), 110-115.

Alvey, J. E., Duhs, E. J., & Duhs, L.A. (1999). New Zealand exports of tertiary education services. In J. E. Alvey (Ed.). Perspectives on the international sale of tertiary education services. Retrieved March 27, 2002, from the World Wide Web: http://econ.massey.ac.nz/cppe/papers/cppeip05.pdf

Birks, S. (1999). Preface. In J. E. Alvey (Ed.), Perspectives on the international sale of tertiary education services. Retrieved March 27, 2002, from the World Wide Web: http://econ.massey.ac.nz/cppe/papers/cppeip05.pdf

Edwards, W. L. (1999). Issues in developing a programme in an international education context. In J. E. Alvey (Ed.), Perspectives on the international sale of tertiary education services. Retrieved March 27, 2002, from the World Wide Web: http://econ.massey.ac.nz/cppe/papers/cppeip05.pdf

Mason, R. (1998). Globalising education: Trends and applications. London and New York: Routledge.

Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (1996). Distance education: A systems view. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishingny.

Prebble, T. (1999). Off-shore delivery of education: Alternative media. In J. E. Alvey (Ed.), Perspectives on the international sale of tertiary education services. Retrieved March 27, 2002, from the World Wide Web: http://econ.massey.ac.nz/cppe/papers/cppeip05.pdf

Roberts, J., & Howard, J. (1999). Tertiary distance learning in Sub-Saharan Africa: Current status and future trends. FID Review I(2/3), 105-109.

Rumble, G. (1992). Strategic planning. In G. Rumble (Ed.), The management of distance learning systems (pp. 43-47). Paris: UNESCO / International Institute for Educational Planning.

Watson, E., & Marrett, C. (1999). Distance education in the Caribbean: Past, present and future. FID Review I(2/3), 97-104.

Endnote

1 An alternative format is Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). It's a personal preference for "problems" as opposed to "weaknesses" and for the analysis structure to specifically include "solutions."

All links verified as of October 31, 2002.