1. Providing Access to Higher Education
through Online Programs in
Developing Countries
Dr. Carlos Rodríguez Rubio
(on behalf of Dr. Fernando León García and based on H. Shirvani, J.
Scorza, K. Alkhathlan, and F. León-García)
CETYS Universidad, México
IMHE General Conference 2012

2. There is a world-wide
crisis. This is not in
reference to the financial
crisis and is rather a huge
human capital crisis.

3. There exists a wide gap
between what most people
know, and what is available for
them to know.

5. A college education is more important
than ever before. Globally, more jobs
are requiring an education as our
global economy becomes knowledge-
based.

6. By the year 2050, more than
97% of the future population
growth will be in Asia, Africa,
Middle East, Latin America
and the Caribbean.

7. POPULATION
GROWTH

10. But most people, in
particular in developing
countries, still lack access to
educational opportunities,
either because these
opportunities are not
available or are not
affordable.

11. The world economy is moving more and
more to being supported by job
requirements based on knowledge and
skills-- knowledge and skills that are far
beyond what most people now have.

12. To be gainfully employed and to become
economic contributors most workers will
need to have knowledge and skills
primarily obtained through a college
based education.

13. Online education presents unique
opportunities to overcome these issues of
access.
 Available at any location
 Courses are more affordable
 Education available even to people who
are working and supporting their
families

14. The very popular Sloan Consortium
Quality Framework conceives five
“pillars” of on-line learning, which are:
 Learning Effectiveness
 Cost Effectiveness
 Access to Learning
 Faculty Satisfaction
 Student Satisfaction

15. A fairly recent work by IAUP1 proposes
four “arches” for the cross-cultural transfer
of on-line programs:
 Academic Norms and Standards
 Appropriate Pedagogies and Technologies
 Content Relevance and Coherence
 Faculty Presence and Responsiveness

16. Dr. Carlos Rodriguez Rubio 16

17. Common elements of successful cases
of online programs primarily related
to working adults.
Standardized curriculum based on learning
outcomes;
Faculty orientation and training as standard
practices; and
A strong academic and student support system
whereby students receive active attention and
support as students progress through their programs
of study.

18. Drawing from different experiences in the U.S., Mexico,
China, Spain, Slovakia, and Saudi Arabia, the following
are some common elements of successful cases of online
programs primarily related to working adults.
 Standardized curriculum based on learning outcomes;
 Faculty orientation and training as standard practices;
and
 A strong academic and student support system
whereby students receive active attention and support
as students progress through their programs of study.

19. There are some contextual challenges that
arise now that online education connects
instructors and students from all around the
world and from very different cultures,
including cultural misunderstandings.

20. In developing countries one is likely to find one or more
of the following conditions:
Varying learning styles
Different academic standards
A preference for of face-to-face interaction with
faculty
Local relevance
Cultural and language differences
Different cultures
Perceptions of online education

21. These challenges, give a clear
perspective of what online
education in developing
nations face.

23. The cultural perspectives on e-learning, is
that different national systems impact e-
learning differently. For one, the global
infrastructure is not distributed evenly
around the world,

24. The social and cultural aspects of
education demand that curricula retain
specific aspects of a nation's cultural
heritage to retain some of its traditional
functions, rather than reflect the
universal theme of globalization

25. As e-learning solutions continue
to gain increased popularity in
the sphere of global e-learning,
concern ensues about cultural
standardization rather than
differentiation.

26. The limited resources and relatively
dense population in developing countries
is an obstacle for the availability of
on-campus education for the whole
population.

27. This type of education has been hailed as a
boom to potential students in developing
countries, and some researchers and
educators claim it will end the digital divide
between the developed and developing
world.

28. With online education, students could
have access to teachers anywhere, and
best of all, geographic barriers will not
be a factor to get in the way of
opportunities to learn.

29. Overall, academic programs delivered at
least partially online represent an area of
opportunity to extend higher education
access to unmet and underserved
populations

30. As the digital native generation
progresses, there will be a challenge
and a need for colleges and universities
to integrate online learning into the
mainstream of academic programs.

31. Thank you very much!

32. Dr. Carlos Rodriguez Rubio 32

33. That is the final question!

34. References
Hamid Shirvani, Jason Scorza, Khalid Alkhathlan and Fernando León
García, 27 November 2011
Olaniran, 2007a; Olaniran & Agnello, 2008; Van Dam & Rogers, 2002
Economides, 2008; Olaniran, 2007a, 2007b
Diana Oblinger: Education and Technologies; Educause; 2012
Cavin Mugarura on March 16, 2010 in eLearning Promise
Junaid A. Khan Salman A. Khan Reslan H. Al-Abaji. International
conference on Millennium Dawn in Training and Continuing Education 24-26
April 2001 University of Bahrain, Bahrain
Gulati 2008; Kozma 1999; Oliveira 1989; Parliamentary Office of Science
and Technology 2006