Book Review on Global Demand for Borderless Online Degrees

Dr. Hogan has pinpointed a much-needed discussion about the nature of online degrees. The idea of borderless degrees is interesting and in need of exploration. Currently most degrees are location specific, and international students, while able to access these degrees, often find the curriculum is not designed in a way as to be applicable to an international audience. The book examines the historical roots of higher education and traces the development of institutions of higher education as they have evolved.

Administrative Challenges

Business led the e-learning development in the 1990s, capturing the market. Public universities watched and wrote papers. It took 15 years for the non-profits to recapture the market. The next online market is global. Borderless online degrees are needed in Africa, Asia, and South America to supply industry with skilled workers. The problem is that many of the countries cannot afford to build the campuses that will be required. One solution is low-cost borderless online degrees that quality graduates for jobs in industry and further education. The degrees generate income for the providers. The degrees also provide a public benefit for the receiving nations that cannot meet the educational demand. This chapter discusses the administrative approaches that will be used to infuse a business mentality within public education without destroying the sense of public service.

Borderless Online Degrees

Higher education training, once an option, is now a requirement to qualify for entry-level jobs. In much of the world, accessible and affordable education needed to qualify for work is not available. Countries with limited economies cannot afford to build campuses and train the teachers. International campuses have been tried, but they are expensive and of limited value. Borderless online degrees are an affordable solution to quickly deliver this training anywhere in the world. In contrast to start of online learning, which was which was dominated by a few large universities, borderless online degrees will be democratic. Community colleges, technical colleges, public universities, private universities, and the for-profits will participate, and providers will be from all countries. Borderless online degrees will present challenges, require innovative synchronous online pedagogy, and necessitate enhanced student services.

Global Crisis in Higher Education

Postsecondary education faces underfunding increased competition and governmental pressure to improve student success. At the same time, many nations cannot meet their educational demand for greater access to higher education. This chapter introduces the national and global threats caused by being unable to train workers for the changing job market. The discussion outlines the need and how borderless online degrees can be a solution. Learning has changed. Today, the process may begin with the first tweet at breakfast, followed by blogging, texting, social media, and responses in the course learning management system. Students may assemble on Skype to work in teams. Borderless online degrees can be an inexpensive approach to make educations more accessible and to promote economic growth.

Flexible Higher Education Through Swayam

Challenges in MOOC education for both practical and theoretical courses are identified by the researchers, both experimentally and through a case study. The insights brought by empirical studies helped researchers to propose a framework to make higher education in engineering and management truly online and tuition free. The objective of this chapter is to propose a flexible online degree framework through SWAYAM or any other online platform being approved by education regulator. The process involving course enrollment, learning, evaluation, and outcome is contained in the proposed flexible system that leads to tuition free online degrees. The proposed system not only gives students a freedom to choose their courses in accordance with their flexibility but also use earned credit towards online degrees of any university of their choice.

Borderless Online Degrees

Every worker needs postsecondary training to enable nations to develop strong economies as automation replaces the need for low-skilled workers. A high school degree no longer qualifies students for entry-level jobs. As developing countries struggle to build and finance the campuses and staff needed to meet the growing demand, borderless online degrees are an affordable, scalable solution. The degrees also create new international market opportunities for all higher education at a time of reduced financial support and declining enrollments and enable all postsecondary students to have an international learning experience. The task will be to create a virtual learning class of the same quality and student success as found on campus. This chapter introduces benefits, challenges, and solutions of borderless online education.

Digital Faculty Development

The library has always played an important role in faculty development. But with the rise of online degrees, being able to support faculty in a virtual context becomes increasingly challenging. This column analyzes some areas to consider when exploring the way in which libraries can continue to assist with these efforts.