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eMonash Supporting Off-Campus Teaching

Alan McMeekin
Dennis Wheeler
Information Technology Services
1 June 2000

Introduction

The term eMonash has been used within a variety of contexts to embrace a range of electronic based services that support the core operations of the University. Supporting off-campus teaching is one of these, but eMonash potentially includes such functions as electronic publishing, document management, records management, electronic procurement, smart cards, and others; all integrated with University-wide administrative systems.

This discussion paper focuses principally on deploying electronic based services to support off-campus teaching, which is indeed one form of ecommerce, as defined by Weil and Vitale, 2000, a forthcoming publication in the "Harvard Business Review":

"the marketing, buying, selling, delivery, servicing, and payment for products, services, and information over non-proprietary networks between an enterprise and its prospects, consumers, agents, suppliers and complementors."

The prospect of deploying an ecommerce strategy to support off-campus delivery of services to our students is a challenging, but potentially a very rewarding one for Monash. If we can get the ecommerce model right for off-campus mode, then we can potentially satisfy several strategic objectives for Monash.

  • It can allow Monash to expand into new off-campus markets.
  • It can readily be adapted to support on-campus activities, by complementing the face to face models of teaching and learning with a wide range of additional and useful services that will enhance the on-campus experience for our students.
  • An ecommerce model can be used to provide a consistent and integrated set of online services to students and staff at each of Monash's campuses, anywhere in the world.

Services to support off-campus teaching in an ecommerce mode

The services that students and staff require are well understood, as are some of the possible strategic benefits to the University. Attachment 1 contains a summary functional definition for eMonash to support off-campus teaching.

Building an ecommerce initiative

Over the last five years, there has been a great deal of activity in this area by universities and non traditional suppliers of higher education services within Australia and overseas, with varying degrees of success. Monash is well positioned to address this opportunity at this time.

  • As Australia's largest University, Monash has the academic content and reputation to attract partners and students, and it has the capability and resources to develop the necessary infrastructure.
  • Unlike many of the smaller institutions who were early adopters in this market space, Monash is sufficiently diverse to integrate the "e" world within a much broader framework of higher education services.
  • Monash has been a major supplier of distance education services for many years. The methodologies commonly employed in DE form an excellent base for the formation of an electronic model.
  • Many of the electronic services already exist in production or pilot mode and these could be relatively easily scaled to operate more widely. These systems include the My.Monash portal; online enrolment system; University-wide email, calendar, discussion and directory services; University-wide administrative systems for students, finance, HR and Alumni; and the University web site. Other systems in embryonic form or requiring complete development include systems for authoring and managing course content, customer relationship management, call centre support, course planning and management, and on-line payment systems.
There are however, potential barriers to this venture.
  • In the past it has been very difficult to achieve agreement on University wide initiatives in flexible learning and teaching. Activities that have taken place have largely been the result of individuals or organisational units operating relatively independently. An ecommerce strategy will require the joint efforts and skills of people from across the organisation, hence the initiative will require the wholehearted support of senior academic and administrative management.
  • A dual development strategy of geographic expansion through the establishment of overseas campuses and the entry into new markets through ecommerce off-campus delivery models could compete for vital resources, to the detriment of both strategies. It is important for the ecommerce and on-ground initiatives to complement each other.

Generic ecommerce models

Weil and Vitale (2000) have identified eight "atomic ecommerce business models". The relevance of each of these to the eMonash concept is assessed in the table.

Atomic ecommerce business model Comments Suitablility
Virtual Community "Facilitate and create loyalty to an online community of people with a common interest enabling interaction and service provision."

The model has much to offer since it will enable Monash to address an extensive community of prospective, current and past students, on a global scale. This will provide an opportunity to develop services and to maintain long term relationships with a very large community of people who are already pre-disposed to the University. There are already 100,000 students in our Alumni data base.

It is also consistent with the Monash vision of providing a "one stop shop" for support services to all (off-campus and on-campus) students.

Highly suitable
Direct to Consumer "Provides goods or services directly to the consumer often bypassing traditional channel players", (e.g. Dell Computers).

There is potential for Monash here as this model presents an opportunity to deal directly with students, rather than work through intermediaries such as overseas agents. There are synergies with the "virtual community" model.

 Very Suitable
Full Service Provider "Provides a full range of services in one domain (e.g. financial, health) directly and via complementors attempting to own the primary consumer relationship".

This model describes Monash if it were to form partnerships with institutions operating in other fields (e.g. secondary, TAFE, community education, professional education), thereby diversifying its product offerings, and potentially increasing the number of students enrolling in Monash courses.

An attractive alternative of this model would be the formation of alliances with post secondary service providers whose courses and subjects complement Monash's offerings, providing opportunities for students to select subjects from a variety of sources.

An important consideration in this model is not to relinquish control over the relationship with the student to other organisations.

 Suitable
Shared Infrastructure "Brings together multiple competitors to cooperate by sharing common IT infrastructure".

Arrangements of this type might result in reduced costs, and/or improved levels of service. Nevertheless, the use of common applications and support structures could limit Monash's ability to differentiate itself to potential customers, and it is critical that Monash maintains the primary relationship with the student.

 Possible
Whole of Enterprise/ Government "Provides a firm-wide single point of contact consolidating all services provided by a large multi-business organisation organised by customer events", (e.g. Victorian Government MAXI service).

There are synergies with the "virtual community" and "full service provider" models.

Possible
Content Provider "Provides content via other intermediaries." There seems to be little advantage in this model. Monash could become a secondary player and lose control of the primary relationship with the student, and the quality of the Monash product. Unlikely
Intermediary "Brings together buyers and sellers by concentrating information (e.g. search agents, auctions, www.jango.excite.com; www.seek.com.au )". Unlikely
Information Broker "Coordinates the value chain activities by gathering, synthesising and distributing information." Unlikely

Weil and Vitale argue that a fundamental principle underpinning a successful ecommerce model is to retain control over the relationship with the customer and not to relinquish this to third parties. This also applies to related data and transactions. In conclusion, the most suitable ecommerce approach for Monash might be to combine the synergies of the atomic models "virtual community", "direct to consumer" and the "full service provider", with the prospect of utilising the "shared infrastructure" model to reduce costs and/or improve performance.

Next steps

The challenge facing Monash is to turn these generic concepts into a productive set of actions that are aligned to the strategic goals of the University. There a number of issues for consideration.

  • Market opportunities
    One way of implementing these models on an institutional scale would be to develop a set of course offerings (i.e. "whole products") aimed at meeting the needs of targeted market segments. Potential markets might be viewed by:
    • Award/non award courses, or particular examples of these
    • Mode of study: off campus/ on campus/ mixed mode
    • Location: country of residence or the home campus of each student
    • Level of course: undergraduate or postgraduate
    • Type of course: course-work/ research based study
    • Potential/ current/ past students

A faculty based strategy and planning model is an appropriate way to assess these many options.

  • Developing content
    Online subject materials and teaching strategies must meet the needs of the target audience, be pedagogically sound, and be of a consistent and defined standard of quality. Several complementary strategies can be used to achieve this including the use of multidisciplinary project teams with specialists in content, instructional design and project management, joint venture arrangements with other universities, publishers, or the use of outsourcing services. Faculties, CHED and CeLTS have important roles to play. But whatever model is adopted, authoring systems which help academic staff prepare electronic based course content will need to be integrated within the overall ecommerce systems architecture.

  • Systems and procedures to support an off-campus ecommerce delivery strategy
    The adoption of an ecommerce model will require the design, development and implementation of an integrated set of applications, computer systems, networks, procedures and support services. Some of the systems include:

    • A delivery system such as the My.Monash "portal" which customises services to individual students and staff and acts as a "director" providing links to other online services.
    • Interfaces with subject materials produced by authoring systems.
    • Integration with the back-end University-wide data bases and information systems (such as Student Records systems, Timetabling, Human Resources, Alumni etc).
    • Customer Relationship Management systems to improve the quality of support services provided to students and staff, so that support services are provided in a consistent and timely way.
    • The deployment of a University-wide Call Centre to provide a consistent level of customer support services across multiple time zones.
    • Electronic transfer of course and student data between other institutions participating in a joint ecommerce strategy, e.g. enrolments, results, credit, etc.
    • Middleware systems (such as Directory, Authentication, Security, Email, etc) that underpin various applications services provided to staff and students.
    • Online payment systems.

  • Going live with production services
    Development activities best occur in multidisciplinary project teams, but production services need to be integrated into normal operating procedures within the University organisational structures. Services should appear seamless to users, transcending divisions of responsibilities between various organisational units. Monash must manage this environment to provide high standards of service, to conform to defined quality standards, approaching 24 hour by 7 day service delivery.
  • Competencies
    No "off the shelf" package will serve the needs of Monash for an ecommerce off-campus delivery model. Many products have been evaluated, but to date all have been lacking significantly in functionality. Monash will need to use a strategy to build, buy and integrate a variety of systems into a single functioning solution that provides a positive educational experience for students. Monash has many of the skills necessary for achieving a satisfactory outcome, and a number of relevant systems are already in place. However, the implementation of a fully fledged ecommerce strategy will require the formation of partnerships whose members can contribute resources, infrastructure, markets and products. This will be a critical aspect of achieving the vision.

Conclusions

The business of ecommerce is not new to Monash. Many of the concepts, policies and procedures that underpin this new era are already operating successfully, but not on an institutional scale.

For Monash, the ecommerce models known as the "virtual community" and "direct to consumer" appear to be the most consistent with the University's strategic directions. Membership of such a virtual community would extend beyond current students studying via off-campus and on-campus modes on any of our campuses, to include prospective students, and alumni. Core to the success of this strategy is the implementation of appropriate policies that manage relationships between the University and members of the extended Monash community.

Coincidentally or otherwise, this model is also consistent with the directions already set and with work already underway. The My.Monash portal provides an ideal method to interact with members of this virtual community, since it is possible to provide customised services by tailoring the interface specifically to individual needs.

There remains however, much work to be done to implement eMonash broadly across the University. A fully featured ecommerce model will cost tens of millions of dollars. It is recommended that the model be implemented in stages, in the form of strategic pilot projects rather than risking large levels of investment and our reputation with a "big bang" approach. Progressively the model can be adopted more widely within the Monash extended community.

A major issue will be the establishment of a University wide ecommerce initiative which brings together the essential competencies from within the organisation and from other relationships, and provides a focus for future development.


  
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