Putting the University Online : Information,

* What kind of university is emerging from the widespread adoption of new information and communication technologies in teaching, research and administration?* What is the nature and scale of the work required to put the university online?* What are the consequences - for academics, students, managers and others - of putting the university online?New information and communication technologies (ICTs), and above all the internet, hold out many promises for higher education institutions in terms of flexibility, efficiency, quality and access. The vision is that of a virtual institution. Putting the University Online seeks to uncover what the pursuit of that vision means for an institution, its staff, students and other stakeholders, and consequences, intended and unintended, for the role and identity of the university.This is the first book length study, based on detailed fine-grained analysis of what 'putting the university online' actually means for those involved and the wider institutions. James Cornford and Neil Pollock draw both on theories from the sociology of technology and on a large and diverse body of empirical research in order to explore how universities are attempting to build and use new ICTs to sit alongside, complement and, in some cases, replace established means of delivering, organizing and managing higher education. Their book will help sensitize policy makers, academics, university managers, and students to the limits to, and implications of, the pursuit of a virtual future for higher education.

James Cornford is a Principal Research Associate in the University of Newcastle's Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS). His research interests are focused on the implications of the application of information and communication technologies for organizations, cities and regions.

Neil Pollock is a Senior Research Associate in the Newcastle School of Management at Newcastle University. His research is focused on the application of computer systems in higher education, most recently leading an Economic and Social Research Council funded study of the development of a self service student management system.

Acknowledgements

viii

The Online Imperative

1

(14)

The university in crisis: collapsing boundaries

1

(1)

The online threat

2

(1)

The online imperative

3

(4)

Putting the university online

7

(5)

Structure of this book

12

(1)

Conclusions

13

(1)

Note

14

(1)

Researching Changing Universities

15

(10)

Introduction

15

(1)

Ethnography

15

(2)

The sociology of science and technology

17

(3)

The four field sites

20

(2)

Through the eyes of designers

22

(1)

Research and reflexivity

23

(1)

Conclusion

24

(1)

Notes

24

(1)

Working through the Work of Making Work Mobile

25

(13)

Introduction

25

(1)

The online university as mobile work

26

(1)

The work of making work mobile

27

(2)

Building the virtual university into the traditional university

29

(2)

The virtual university only partially exists

31

(2)

What is a course?

33

(1)

Conclusion

34

(3)

Notes

37

(1)

The Campus and the Online University

38

(14)

Introduction

38

(1)

The virtual university and the campus-as-constraint

39

(3)

Creating distance education as the assemblage of actor networks

42

(2)

The campus as a resourceful constraint

44

(2)

Assessing assessment

46

(2)

The Cyber Culture course is too virtual

48

(2)

Conclusion

50

(1)

Note

51

(1)

The Online University as Timely and Accurate Information

52

(15)

Introducing a new informational model of a university

52

(2)

Redefining the problem

54

(1)

Reasons given for replacing the previous system

55

(1)

The mantra shaping the move from MAC to Enterprise

56

(2)

How the project team used its mantra to drive Enterprise

58

(2)

The transition from an old to a new model of the university

60

(2)

Living in the space and time of the virtual university

62

(3)

Conclusion: is the university to be redefined as an `information institution'?

65

(1)

Notes

66

(1)

Keeping Up Standards: The Virtual University is the University made Concrete

67

(11)

Introduction

67

(1)

The virtual and the university

68

(4)

Building the virtual university in practice

72

(4)

Conclusion: the virtual university is the university made concrete

76

(2)

Customizing Industry Standard Systems for Universities

78

(15)

Introduction

78

(2)

Theoretical background: studying `translation' and `biographies'

80

(1)

Restructuring the university, customizing an ERP system

81

(3)

Building the system and the university

84

(1)

Where do defaults come from?

85

(2)

Coping with the specificity of universities

87

(3)

Conclusion

90

(1)

Notes

91

(2)

Campus Management and the Self-service Student

93

(14)

Introduction

93

(2)

Self-service: where did the concept come from?

95

(1)

University self-service

96

(1)

Building a new student-university relationship

97

(4)

Counteracting the sponsors group

101

(2)

The American model of the student

103

(2)

Conclusion

105

(1)

Notes

105

(2)

Reflection and Conclusion

107

(6)

Information

108

(1)

Technology

109

(2)

Organizational change

111

(1)

Conclusion: back to knowledge

112

(1)

Notes

112

(1)

References

113

(7)

Index

120

(2)

The Society for Research into Higher Education

122

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Putting the University Online : Information, Technology and Organisational Change

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials