Presentation at USDLA about the Master of Distance Education international partnership. The lessons learned and the challenges of an international collaboration in higher-education.

1. Managing a successful
international partnership
in Distance Education
Dr. Stella Porto
Master of Distance Education
Graduate School of Management & Technology
University of Maryland University College

2. Overview
• The partners
 UMUC
 Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
• The MDE
 Past
 Present
• Managing the partnership
 Course development
 Course delivery
 Student support/services
 Faculty support/services
 Research
• The Synergy
• Final remarks

3. Master of Distance Education:
partnership

6. Online enrollment >
177,000
> 100 degree programs fully online
Head count > 86,000 2nd largest state
institution in the US
Enrollment > 272,000

7. Context and landscape
Oldenburg

8. Context and landscape
Oldenburg

9. Context and landscape
Oldenburg

10. Context and landscape
Oldenburg

11. Context and landscape
Oldenburg

12. Context and landscape
Oldenburg

13. The Master of Distance Education:
Past
• The creation of the program
 Natural fit for UMUC: practical leadership in DE translated
into theoretical leadership
 Historical accident: Two experts with a common project
funded by AT&T grant - “The Virtual Seminar”
 Seminar delivered online for professional development in DE

14. The Master of Distance Education:
Past
• Advantages of this historical ‘accident’…
 Quick ‘time to market’
 Trust among partners
 Test bed with a network of experts
 International dimension
 Quality beyond regular graduate programs
 Visiting experts
 Research
 Faculty development

15. The Master of Distance Education:
Present

16. The Master of Distance Education:
Present - Mission
Corporate
Training &
Learning
Faculty Media &
Support technology
Distance
Education
Instruction
Higher
Design &
Education
Support
Leaders &
Managers

17. The Master of Distance Education:
Focus
• Core competencies
 Managing the distance education system in a variety of settings
 Planning, budgeting, development, delivery, and support of distance
education and distance training programs
• Target Audience
 Potential managers of the distance education enterprise in:
 Educational organizations
 Corporate / Business
 Government & Military
 Non-profit and associations
• Entirely online for part-time working adults
• International
• Collaborative

18. The Master of Distance Education
Present - Curriculum
Core
DE Foundations: systems view, technology, online teaching
& learning, costing and student support
Technology Teaching & Training Policy & Management
Leadership Instructional Design Leadership
Instructional Design Library & Copyright DE Systems
Multimedia Assessment Library & Copyright
Globalization & Multimedia Assessment
Development Distance Training DE Business
Advanced Technologies Virtual K-12 Globalization &
Internet Technologies Development
Capstone : E-portfolio & Research Project

19. Managing Partnership:
Course development
• UMUC • Oldenburg
 DE Technologies  Foundations
 Training at a distance  Costing and Budgeting
 DE in K-12  Learner support
 Library and copyright  Multimedia in DE
 Instructional design  Assessment
 Leadership  Globalization and
 DE systems development
 Business in DE

20. Managing Partnership:
Course development
• UMUC • Oldenburg
 DE Technologies  Foundations
 Training at a distance  Costing and Budgeting
 DE in K-12  Learner support
 Library and copyright  Multimedia in DE
 Instructional design  Assessment
 Leadership  Globalization and
 DE systems development
 Business in DE Each partner is responsible for the
development of its share of courses, and
owns the decisions of staffing the course
every time it offered

21. Managing Partnership:
Course delivery

22. Managing Partnership:
Course delivery
UMUC is the responsible partner for all of
course delivery functions:
- IT infrastructure & support
- Operational teaching & learning support
(other than faculty staffing)
- Digital library & copyright support

23. Managing Partnership:
Student support

24. Managing Partnership:
Student support
UMUC is the responsible partner for all*
of student support functions:
- Graduate advising
- Admissions, registering, financial aid…
- Applying for graduation, diplomas &
certificates…
- Self services through portal

25. Managing Partnership:
Faculty support

26. Managing Partnership:
Faculty support
UMUC is the responsible partner for all*
of faculty support functions:
- Faculty services
- Faculty training
- Faculty assessment

27. Managing Partnership:
Research
The 13 volumes
already developed
will be soon
available in e-book
format.
Books are adopted
as part of several
courses.
Several edited with
contributions with
many experts in
DE

28. Synergy:
International faculty & visiting experts

29. The Synergy
• Technological infrastructure
• Organizational support Communication
• Leadership support Diversity
• Support and training Recognition & Value in DE
infrastructure Quality
Autonomy
Faculty development
• Research
• Historical involvement in
DE
• Network of experts

30. The Synergy: Community information

31. The Synergy: Community knowledge

32. The Synergy: Community building

33. The Synergy: Faculty Sharing

34. Final remarks:
Challenges & opportunities & must do’s
• Continuous communication
• Coordination of functions
• Recognition & effective use of cultural differences
• Managing and supporting faculty
• Effective use of resources
• Maintaining dependability and trust
• Shared decision making (accepting organizational limitations)
• Shared responsibility
• Shared values (student-centered mission)
• Continuous communication again

35. Final remarks:
Latest and future
• Extension of the collaboration
 Dual degrees
 Oldenburg PhD option
 Partnering with international programs in smaller scale
• Potential greater internationalization of the student body
 Bologna process
• Greater interest in the partnership at the leadership level
• Community building efforts
• Student and graduate involvement

36. Thank you…
Contact:
sporto@umuc.edu
Don’t forget the evaluation forms!