Presentation at the Graduate Employment Conference: The Economic Value of Higher Education. Commonwealth Association of Universities, Auckland, 12th July, 2013.

1. The Value of Distance Education:
Burden or Blessing?
Professor Mark Brown
Director, National Centre for Teaching and Learning
Director, Distance Education and Learning Futures Alliance
12th July 2013

2. Outline…
1. Why this focus?
2. What are the key assumptions?
3. What do we know about distance education?
4. How can we better calculate the return on investment?
- private
- public
5. Why should digitally-mediated distance education be a matter
of strategic priority?

4. 1. Why this focus?

5. 1. Why this focus?
• Distance is the new normal
• Increasingly demand for flexibility
• Response to major societal changes
• Shifting emphasis to life-long learning
• Meeting growing international demand
• Questions about the return on investment
• Concerns based on performance indicators

7. 82%
66%

9. Note: 46% of Massey University students over 25

11. Major
distance
providers

12. Far better than the UK Open University…

13. 2. What are the key
assumptions?

14. • Matters for individuals - private
• Matters for regions and countries - public
• Contributes to economic development
• Provides significant societal benefits
• Distance education is a subset of these benefits
Higher education….
2. What are the key
assumptions?

15. Scott, 2010

16. Education Counts…

17. Education Counts…

18. New Zealand
Education at a Glance…

19. New Zealand
Education at a Glance…

20. New Zealand
Education at a Glance…

21. New Zealand
Education at a Glance…

22. Education at a Glance…

23. A third of GPD
growth is related to
labour income
growth.
New Zealand
Education at a Glance…

24. - April, 2012

25. http://trends.collegeboard.org/education_pays
In the US…

26. Smoking Rates Among Individuals Ages 25 and Older,
by Education Level, 1940–2008
In the US…

27. Smoking Rates Among Individuals Ages 25 and Older,
by Education Level, 1940–2008
Education at a Glance…

28. Obesity Rates Among Adults Ages 25 and Older,
by Age and Education Level, 2008
In the US…

29. Obesity Rates Among Adults Ages 25 and Older,
by Age and Education Level, 2008
Education at a Glance…

30. Volunteering Rates Among
U.S. Citizens,
by Age and Education
Level, 2008
Higher Levels of Civic Engagement
In the US…

31. In sum…
“The evidence is overwhelming that higher education
improves people’s lives, makes our economy more efficient, and
contributes to a more equitable society. The existing gaps in
participation and success are detrimental not only to individual
lives, but also to society as a whole.

32. “The evidence is overwhelming that higher education
improves people’s lives, makes our economy more efficient, and
contributes to a more equitable society. The existing gaps in
participation and success are detrimental not only to individual
lives, but also to society as a whole.
Different pathsare appropriate for different individuals, and our
challenge is to make the most promising paths readily available to
students from all backgrounds. We will all be better off if we
continue to make progress in this direction”
(Education Pays, 2010, p.9).
In sum…

33. 3. What do we know about
Distance Education?

34. 3. What do we know about
Distance Education?
In 2009…
• 26.5% of all tertiary students studied by distance
• distance students account for 14% of total tertiary EFTS

35. In 2009…
• The university sector enrolled 25% of distance students (EFTS)
• The ITP sector (mainly polytechnics) accounted for around 35% (EFTS)

36. In 2009…
• The university sector enrolled 25% of distance students (EFTS)
• The ITP sector (mainly polytechnics) accounted for around 35% (EFTS)
• 15% of undergraduate degrees were being studied by distance students
• 18% of postgraduate students (excluding doctorates) study by distance
• Almost 80% of all distance students are over 25 years of age
• Approximately two-thirds of distance students are female

37. • Distance learners are likely to study under conditions that are
far less common among first year campus-based
undergraduates.
Poskitt, et. al. (2011) report…

38. • Distance learners are likely to study under conditions that are
far less common among first year campus-based
undergraduates.
• Average commitment of 17.6 hours per week to paid
employment, in contrast to 12.9 hours per week by campus-
based students.
Poskitt, et. al. (2011) report…

39. • Distance learners are likely to study under conditions that are
far less common among first year campus-based
undergraduates.
• Average commitment of 17.6 hours per week to paid
employment, in contrast to 12.9 hours per week by campus-
based students.
• Family circumstances, including the number and age of
dependents, housing conditions and the pressures of
responsibilities such as earning an income to support the
family, can all have a significant impact on a distance
learner’s decision to dropout.
Poskitt, et. al. (2011) report…

40. AUSSE (2012) report…

41. What doesn’t appear in these data?

42. “Groups with similar characteristics to distance learners, such as
part-time and older students, generally use student loans at
lower rates and leave school with lower levels of indebtedness.
More specific data on the indebtedness of distance students
might be helpful, but seems unlikely to change this picture”.
(2011)

43. Of those earning $100K+, 85% were distance students
Graduate Destination Survey (2012)…

44. 4. How can we better
calculate the ROI?

45. (Professor Christoph R. Schumacher, 2011)
• In 2010, distance programmes offered by Massey University
contributed a total of $470.9 million to the regional economies of
New Zealand.
4. How can we better
calculate the ROI?

46. (Professor Christoph R. Schumacher, 2011)
• In 2010, distance programmes offered by Massey University
contributed a total of $470.9 million to the regional economies of
New Zealand.
• After taking into account the direct, indirect and induced
expenditure impacts, Massey University contributed $238.0
million worth of output focused on the Manawatu, Auckland and
Wellington regions.
4. How can we better
calculate the ROI?

47. • In 2010, distance programmes offered by Massey University
contributed a total of $470.9 million to the regional economies of
New Zealand.
• After taking into account the direct, indirect and induced
expenditure impacts, Massey University contributed $238.0
million worth of output focused on the Manawatu, Auckland and
Wellington regions.
• After taking into account the direct, indirect and induced
expenditure impacts of the University’s extramural students, a
further $232.9 million worth of output was added to regional
economies across New Zealand.
(Professor Christoph R. Schumacher, 2011)
4. How can we better
calculate the ROI?

48. Three case studies…
1. Getting off a benefit
2. Unlocking human capital
3. Benefits beyond paid work

49. “The cost of paying benefits to working-age people is now over $8
billion a year, with much higher lifetime costs. The cost alone is
concerning, but it is only a portion of the entire economic and social
cost to New Zealand caused by lost productivity and negative social
impacts.”
August 2012
Getting off a benefit…

51. “Distance Education…
…it has made me the person I am today, a productive working
woman in her late forties contributing to society. I was in my early to
middle thirties when I found distance education and… it was a godsend
to enable me to make my life and my son’s life a much better one in
the long term. I wanted to better myself by studying while on a benefit
and not being able to afford childcare, distance education was the best
way of making my life better.

52. “Distance Education…
…it has made me the person I am today, a productive working
woman in her late forties contributing to society. I was in my early to
middle thirties when I found distance education and… it was a godsend
to enable me to make my life and my son’s life a much better one in
the long term. I wanted to better myself by studying while on a benefit
and not being able to afford childcare, distance education was the best
way of making my life better.
I am now employed by a government department in a role helping
victims in the community. I am now in a position that I am not reliant
on a benefit and not likely to need one in the future. Where would I be
if distance education was not available to me? Still in the same place
as I was 12 years ago, stuck on a benefit with no future to speak of.
Now I am… proof that it’s possible to change your life for the better by
utilizing distance education”
Sharon (18th Jan, 2011)
http://exmss.org/presidentsblog/2011/01/18/treat-distance-students-with-respect

53. 2009 2010 2011
University 434 EFTS 480 ETFS 476
Auckland
University of
Technology
9 EFTS 18 EFTS 22 EFTS
Lincoln
University
0 EFTS 0.5 EFTS 4.3 EFTS
Massey
University
376 EFTS 353 EFTS 337 EFTS
University of
Auckland
0 EFTS 0 EFTS 3 EFTS
University of
Canterbury
14 EFTS 14 EFTS 7 EFTS
University of
Otago
35 EFTS 30 EFTS 36 EFTS
University of
Waikato
36EFTS 48 EFTS 46 EFTS
Victoria
University of
Wellington
13 EFTS 16 EFTS 21 EFTS
Unlocking human capital…

54. “Closing the gap between
labour market participation
rates and unemployment
rates for people with and
without disabilities by one-
third would result in a
cumulative $43 billion
increase in Australia’s GDP
over the next decade in
real dollar terms.”
2009 2010 2011
University 434 EFTS 480 ETFS 476
Auckland
University of
Technology
9 EFTS 18 EFTS 22 EFTS
Lincoln
University
0 EFTS 0.5 EFTS 4.3 EFTS
Massey
University
376 EFTS 353 EFTS 337 EFTS
University of
Auckland
0 EFTS 0 EFTS 3 EFTS
University of
Canterbury
14 EFTS 14 EFTS 7 EFTS
University of
Otago
35 EFTS 30 EFTS 36 EFTS
University of
Waikato
36EFTS 48 EFTS 46 EFTS
Victoria
University of
Wellington
13 EFTS 16 EFTS 21 EFTS
Unlocking human capital…

55. Benefits beyond paid work…

56. What price do you
place on a gold medal?

57. Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pTUHd1iF1Q

58. • The contribution of sport and recreation to GDP (including
volunteered services) in 2008/09 was more than $5.2 billion, or
2.8%.

59. • The contribution of sport and recreation to GDP (including
volunteered services) in 2008/09 was more than $5.2 billion, or
2.8%.
• This is as large as a recent estimate of the contribution made to
GDP by the dairysector.

60. • The contribution of sport and recreation to GDP (including
volunteered services) in 2008/09 was more than $5.2 billion, or
2.8%.
• This is as large as a recent estimate of the contribution made to
GDP by the dairysector.
• Including the value of social and personal benefits, the total value
of sport and recreation to New Zealanders is around $12.2
billion.

61. 5. Why a matter of
strategic priority?

62. 5. Why a matter of
strategic priority?
“It will not be possible to satisfy the
rising demand for Higher Education,
especially in developing countries, by
relying on traditionalapproaches”
(Sir John Daniel, President, Commonwealth of Learning).

63. Now we can go to them…
Previously international students
had to come to us

64. • Singapore - Food Technology | Early Childhood
• China - Business / Sciences
• Vietnam - English Language / Business Studies
• Brunei - Defence Studies
• Open Universities Australia
• World Bank – MVM/MPH (Biosecurity)
Massey worldwide…

65. Conclusion

66. Conclusion
Burden or Blessing?

67. Expanding access to tertiary education through different
pathways has always been central to our mission.
At Massey…

68. Expanding access to tertiary education through different
pathways has always been central to our mission.
More than any modern-era digital university we are committed to
promoting development and life-long learning.
At Massey…

69. Expanding access to tertiary education through different
pathways has always been central to our mission.
More than any modern-era digital university we are committed to
promoting development and life-long learning.
Massey understands the transformative potential
oftertiaryeducation for inspiring people to better themselves,for
building capacityfor change withincommunities and for
promoting wider societal benefits.
At Massey…

70. Final word…
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfq5kju627c

71. Questions…
“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.”
Francis Bacon
http://www.slideshare.net/mbrownz