Abstract
<p>We engage with and respond to the debate raised by this theme issue of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning with a particular question in mind: namely, as universities are using new labor displacing technologies to export degrees to meet the international demand for higher education, how is this influencing – negatively and positively – the workers involved? Contemporary transitions in political and economic globalization are being used to press universities into becoming ‘transnational businesses,’ seemingly driven by a primary concern for marketing educational commodities. The neo-liberal politics driving these currents in universities are increasing the multiple online and offline networks. These local/ global meshworks engage the labors of a small but growing percentage of the world’s population (Singh, 2002, pp. 217-230). Writing this paper at Jilin University in China, we find that many of our academic colleagues and students have limited access to a personal desktop computer, the Internet, and email. They must pay for timed access to their email accounts and for downloading attachments. They do not have access to high-speed data networks. A timer indicates how long it will take to open and send emails. Around us, construction workers are building massive facilities to house the burgeoning on-campus student population. Their offline education is being supplemented – but not replaced by ever-advancing online technologies. </p>
Highlights
We engage with and respond to the debate raised by this theme issue of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning with a particular question in mind: namely, as universities are using new labor displacing technologies to export degrees to meet the international demand for higher education, how is this influencing – negatively and positively – the workers involved? Contemporary transitions in political and economic globalization are being used to press universities into becoming ‘transnational businesses,’ seemingly driven by a primary concern for marketing educational commodities
Some universities have introduced ‘enterprise systems’ (McConachie and Danaher, this issue) to direct online teaching/ learning. These provide access to cooordinated services and resources through integrated technological systems that are fundamental to a university’s administrative, teaching/ learning, and student support functions. These enterprise systems may contribute to cost effectiveness by potentially increasing access to education on a global scale
Is the nation state retreating from, or intervening in, local/ global education markets? Ostensibly, one function of a quality audit is to assure the quality of the national brand for university education
Summary
We engage with and respond to the debate raised by this theme issue of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning with a particular question in mind: namely, as universities are using new labor displacing technologies to export degrees to meet the international demand for higher education, how is this influencing – negatively and positively – the workers involved? Contemporary transitions in political and economic globalization are being used to press universities into becoming ‘transnational businesses,’ seemingly driven by a primary concern for marketing educational commodities. The neo-liberal politics driving these currents in universities are increasing the multiple online and offline networks These local/ global meshworks engage the labors of a small but growing percentage of the world’s population Writing this paper at Jilin University in China, we find that many of our academic colleagues and students have limited access to a personal desktop computer, the Internet, and email They must pay for timed access to their email accounts and for downloading attachments. Construction workers are building massive facilities to house the burgeoning on-campus student population Their offline education is being supplemented – but not replaced by ever-advancing online technologies. Neo-liberal governments are ideologically committed to reducing investment in the tertiary education of a democratically inspired citizenry This has stimulated people’s desire to engage in learning and re-learning throughout their lives in their quest for socio-economic security. We foreground related dilemmas shaping the internationalization of education by teaching students at a distance
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