Because they are mentioned in Prof. Coffin's editorial, the editors thought our readers would like to see the actual text of The Montana Learner Imperative and The Montana Academic Forum as they were issued from the Commissioner's office. We have not edited them. We will be pleased to received reactions from our readers and will, if asked, publish them subject to our usual editorial concerns.
Distinctive Montana circumstances combined with national trends in higher. education call for a new approach to the future of the Montana University System--balancing the equation comprised of quality, access, and cost. To this blend of circumstances and trends can be added the unique possibilities provided by rapidly developing technology. For the first time in the history of American higher education, information technology provides the opportunity to increase access to higher education, improve the quality of students' learning experiences, enhance the faculty role as teacher/scholar/learner, and control the costs of education--simultaneously. However, this can be achieved only by a rethinking of how we do our work of educating undergraduates. The challenge is to incorporate these things into the Montana Learner Imperative
Montana
What are the special circumstances which make Montana's situation distinctive, if not unique?
Inability of state to provide sufficient resources to maintain high quality and low tuition.
Expectation that qualified Montana residents will have access to the Montana University System, if not the campus or program of their choice.
Special challenges provided by distances and sparsity of population
The pattern of declining state support as a percentage of the budget and increasing tuition and fees so a percentage of income
Learner
While Chancellor of the State University of New York, Bruce Johnstone contributed to the start of a revolution in higher education by stressing the importance of learner productivity. Since that time there has been a veritable tidal wave of movement away from the emphasis on teaching (what teachers teach) to learning (what students learn). Discussions of alternative leaning styles abound, as do research studies on whether different teaching methods produce different amounts of student learning.
Phase III of the restructuring of the Montana University System will implement an unwavering commitment to the learner. Phase I focuses on the realignment of organizational units and the more effective delivery and sharing of resources; Phase II focuses on the issues of how the student gets in to the university system, how quickly the student gets through the undergraduate program, how the student pays for the education received, and gets a job after graduation. Phase III will be Montana's participation in this higher education revolution by (1) making the learner the centerpiece for educational policy and practice; (2) making the systematic use of information technology the characteristic approach; and (3) reallocating resources to implement this learner orientation and full use of information technology.
What will be the characteristics of this emphasis on the learner?
Budgetary reallocations will take place to increase the availability of information technology
Online courses and the use of innovative multi-media will rapidly increase for both off campus and on campus students and the use of new technology will remove the significance of the distinction between off campus and on campus programs
Faculty and stall development activities will be upgraded and significantly increased in order to accommodate the changes in educational practice
New kinds of support personnel and positions will be created to work with regular faculty in developing appropriate learner experiences
The nature of the role of faculty will change (from the "sage on the stage to the guide on the side"); the faculty will spend more time developing learning materials and more time with students ("virtually") helping them interpret what they have learned; faculty time spent in regular periods in the classroom dispensing information to groups of students will diminish as recognition spreads that it is an unproductive use of faculty time; dispensing of information to students electronically, rather than by lecture, will become the standard
New ways to measure faculty productivity will be developed based upon faculty contribution to student learning.
The unholy alliance between credit and classroom contact hours will be destroyed
Students will take more responsibility for their own learning outcomes, working independently and with their peers
Active and cooperative learning experiences will become the standard
Outcomes-based academic programs will become a reality
Asynchronous learning will be the standard response to the special needs of time-and place-bound students
Imperative
The fiscal situation and future of the Montana University System leaves us little time for delay or inaction. A sense of urgency must characterize our behavior. Academic and fiscal plans for the next five to seven years must be laid quickly. If not, the future will provide us with disaster, not opportunity. What are the factors that lead to this imperative mode?
Current levels of state support are not likely to improve
Tuition increases cannot be relied upon to make up the difference between what the state provides us and what we need to spend for quality programs
Other competitors (in-state and out-of-state, public and for-profit) will use information technology to provide our students quality learning experiences in a manner that is responsive to their needs and personal circumstances
To implement information technology in a manner that will permit us to do our work in different ways the ratio of capital expenditures to labor expenditures must increase
Traditional pace of change at American universities will not be sufficiently responsive to our current situation
Conclusion
Action on this Montana Learner Imperative
will improve the quality of learning experienced by students at our universities
will broaden access to higher education for all Montanans
will refocus faculty roles to increase contributions to student learning and improve faculty satisfaction with the quality of their professional and academic lives.
The Montana Academic Forum is proposed as a periodic, open meeting of faculty, students, and administrators in the Montana University System to develop a plan -for future academic programs, policies, and initiatives. The first such initiative will be the reform of teaching and learning in the Montana University System.
The planning committee for the Montana Academic Forum will be: the Deputy Commissioner for Academic Affairs, a representative from the chairs of the faculty senates, a representative from the chief academic officers, and a representative from the Associated Students of Montana
The Montana Academic Forum will not be a part of the formal governance structure of the Montana University System, but will provide a mechanism for the discussion of academic issues affecting the system and a vision for the academic future of the system. Proposals. plans, policies, and programs developed by the Montana Academic Forum will be reviewed through the regular governance processes on the campuses and at the system level.
A major purpose of the Montana Academic Forum will be to facilitate communication and enhance the discussion of proposals from all sources in the early stages of their development.
Members of the Board of Regents will be encouraged to attend all meetings of the Montana Academic Forum. Invitations will also be extended to members of the executive branch of state government, the legislature, and other higher education institutions In Montana.