Monographs and Reports

Core Data Service Monographs

The ACE/EDUCAUSE Monograph Series

The Distributed Education: Challenges, Choices, and a New Environment series, commissioned by the American Council on Education (ACE) and EDUCAUSE, consists of six monographs. The monographs are available in print or PDF format.

• Distributed Education and Its Challenges: An Overview
• Maintaining the Delicate Balance: Distance Learning, Higher Education Accreditation, and the Politics of Self-Regulation
• Distributed Learning: New Challenges and Opportunities for Institutional Leadership
• Student Learning as Academic Currency
• Partnerships in Distributed Education
• Barriers to Distance Education

The EDUCAUSE Monograph Series

NLII Monographs

• The Need for a National Learning Infrastructure
  By Carol A. Twigg

  This paper discusses the changing definition of learning and how institutions need to respond to the changing demographics of learners. The National Learning Infrastructure calls for a new infrastructure to move from a teacher-centered model of education to a learner-centered environment. The paper also discusses strategies to bring about this change. This paper was originally published by Educom in Educom Review, Volume 29, Numbers 4, 5, 6, 1994. HTML format

• Academic Productivity: The Case for Instructional Software
  By Carol A. Twigg

  The National Learning Infrastructure Initiative believes that high-quality instructional software will increase productivity in higher education environments, and that a commercial market for creating interactive learning materials is needed. This paper synthesizes the most pertinent issues discussed on this subject during a July 1996 Educom Roundtable of 20 representatives from universities, publishing houses, hardware and software companies, and the federal government. The roundtable discussed the issues involved with creating a demand for this software market and then successfully supplying it. This report from the Broadmoor Roundtable, Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 24-25, 1996 was originally published by Educom. HTML format

• The Virtual University
  By Carol A. Twigg and Diana G. Oblinger

  This paper synthesizes the discussion on the future of higher education held by a 1996 Educom/IBM Roundtable of 45 higher education leaders. The paper gives an overview of the trends affecting higher education, and the possible result of a move to a more consumer-centric model. The Roundtable discussed what the higher education environment might look like in ten years in terms of institutions, academic programs, financing, and public policy issues. This report from a Joint Educom / IBM Roundtable, Washington, D.C., November 5-6, 1996 was originally published by Educom and IBM. HTML format

• Using Information Technology to Enhance Academic Productivity
  By William F. Massy and Robert Zemsky

  This paper reports on a 1995 Educom Roundtable of higher education administrators, policy analysts, faculty members and independent information technology consultants. The Roundtable discussed how information technology could be used to increase academic productivity. The paper highlights information technology's potential, barriers to adoption, productivity enhancement; capital-labor ratio, and visions for the future. This paper was originally published by Educom. HTML format

• The Public Policy Implications of a Global Learning Infrastructure
  By Robert C. Heterick, Jr., James R. Mingle, and Carol A. Twigg

  This is a report from a symposium co-sponsored by the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII) and the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) held November 13 and 14, 1997. Part I, A Vision of a Global Learning Infrastructure, is a paper by Robert C. Heterick and Carol A. Twigg about the impact of information technology on society and the higher education environment. This part presents a vision of a global learning infrastructure for student-centered learning. Part II, An Information Technology Agenda for State Policymakers, outlines public policy implications of the global learning infrastructure described in Part I. This section describes challenges state boards face and offers insights into their resolution. This report was originally published by Educom and the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO). HTML format