A Flawed Promise

Asynchronous online learning has increased access to education for millions of people in developed nations, and the next step is to expand educational access for billions more in developing countries. The problem is that flaws in asynchronous delivery will result in unacceptably high failure rates for students with limited English fluency and different educational backgrounds. There will also be cultural issues that inhibit student success in asynchronous delivery. This chapter reviews the limitations of asynchronous learning and discusses synchronous solutions that can improve student success and satisfaction by reducing isolation and improving student support.

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.

Borderless Degree Opportunities

The family garden, raising chickens, and washing clothes in the river are becoming vignettes of the past replaced by images of millions of people living in poverty in large, urban spaces. Before World War II, a father with an eighth-grade education could work in a factory and support his family. Today, both mother and father must work, and they need postsecondary training to qualify for skilled jobs—training that is unavailable to hundreds of millions of people. This chapter describes how all nations can provide affordable, universal higher education that will promote quality living and national success.

Administration Borderless Online Degree Innovations

When universities offered the first online degrees, they served local markets because of limitations in the educational technology. The potential of the global market was yet to be recognized. Public universities and colleges followed the traditional routine of charging higher tuition for students outside the service area and much greater tuition rates for foreign students. Today, the new market is global. Universities that can adapt to the needs of international students will have unlimited market opportunities. The global market will be open. There will be no protected service areas. Degree quality, price, and student service will be the variables that students will use to choose their borderless online degree universities. This chapter identifies students' needs, borderless-degree variables, market barriers, and winning approaches for determining tuition, curriculum, and pedagogy. Innovations that will distinguish market leaders are reviewed.

An Academic Solution

Teaching, like golf, requires a bag of clubs. There are the drivers to deliver information, strengthen thinking, and build student skills. The putter and the wedge serve to motive students and keep them engaged. This chapter, written for teachers, gives practical examples of how to mix and match the face-to-face, blended, and fusion classrooms to improve learning outcomes. The development of the online pedagogy began while managing the first distance-learning program at a U.S. community college. The research continued for a decade more while beginning online learning at university in the South Pacific that delivered training to 10 developing nations. That research was followed by a four-year pilot study that created fusion classes to improve the performance of doctoral candidates enrolled in an online doctoral program.

Fusion Learning

Asynchronous delivery is not suitable for borderless online degrees because of the diversity in student languages, academic backgrounds, learning styles, and cultures. These differences will add to students' sense of isolation, which will result in high attrition rates. Blended learning would be a satisfactory delivery method, except that it will be impractical for many students. Fusion learning is an alternative Internet-based methodology that melds online with face-to-face sessions within the distance learning course. Fusion classes can increase motivation, commitment, and retention. In the fusion learning classroom, the management system is the repository for information, and the fusion classroom is the place where students develop socialization, communication, and analysis skills. The ability to provide online learning with weekly live classes in multiple countries creates a unique global learning experience.

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.

Academic Challenges

At the start of online learning, someone said, “Let's go asynchronous.” We'll call it anytime learning and make a lot of money. And they did! Unfortunately, there were weaknesses—online learning is boring, lonely, and not well-suited for developing analytical skills. Students experience a sense of isolation that lowers retention. Community colleges and public universities switched to blended learning, which improved student success and retention. However, blended learning is not appropriate for intercontinental classes because it can be a long drive to class. Fusion learning is another option. Fusion classes are face to face, only more intimate than on-campus classes because every student is as close as your computer screen. This chapter discusses the academic challenges of borderless degrees and describes how fusion learning is can make postsecondary education accessible in every country.