Distance Education – Economic Perspective

Explore the economic dimensions of education, from investment decisions to cost analysis and funding strategies in distance learning systems globally.

Distance Education – Economic Perspective

1 Conceptual foundations

  1. What is economics of education?
  2. Public good and private good
  3. Consumption and investment goods
  4. Social good and merit good
  5. Human Capital Theory
  6. Rates of return approach to education
  7. Education as a screening or credentialism hypothesis
  8. Growth accounting framework
  9. Endogenous growth theory
  10. Privatization of education
  11. Internationalization of education

2 Education as investment

  1. Individual decisions
  2. Institutional decisions
  3. Collective decisions
  4. Human capital vs. physical capital
  5. Human capital: dimensions and determinants
  6. Education as human capital
  7. Formation of human capital
  8. Human capital formation: quantitative indicators
  9. Earning profiles
  10. Earning and productivity
  11. Production function in education
  12. Human capital and agricultural/industrial productivity
  13. Level of education and output return
  14. On-the-job training
  15. Educational wastage
  16. Effective utilization of resources

3 Cost analysis in education

  1. Different Types of Cost Analysis
  2. What Constitutes Cost in Education?
  3. Determinants of Costs of Education
  4. Unit Costs
  5. Cost Functions
  6. Cost in Education: Current and Constant Prices

4 Generation and utilization of resources

  1. Resource Generation and Mobilisation
  2. Problems of Educational Finance
  3. The Process of Financing Education in the Context of Centre-State Relations
  4. Mobilisation and Optimum Use of Resources
  5. Financing Mechanisms: Adequacy and Efficiency
  6. Equity in Financing

5 Distance Education and Human Resource Development

  1. The Context
  2. Human Resource Development (HRD)
  3. Distance Education for Human Resource Development
  4. Education as Investment vis-à-vis Distance Education
  5. Distance Education Mechanisms and Capital Formation Needs
  6. Distance Education, Human Resource Needs and National Economy
  7. Distance Education and the Quality of Human Resource

6 Funding of Distance Education

  1. Funding of Higher Education
  2. British Higher Education and Funding of UKOU
  3. Funding of Higher Education and the Open University of Hong Kong
  4. Funding of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University
  5. Funding of Universitas Terbuka, Indonesia
  6. Funding Pattern of Open University of Sri Lanka
  7. Funding Policies of Conventional and Open Universities in India
  8. Other Distance Teaching Institutions (DTIs) in India
  9. Analyzing Funding Policies

7 Pricing in Distance Education

  1. Cost Drivers
  2. Pattern of Expenditure
  3. Varying Student Fees
  4. WECT: A Case
  5. Costs versus Price

8 Cost and Quality in Distance Education

  1. Quality Dimensions of Distance and Online Learning
  2. Cost Aspects of DOL
  3. Cost and Quality
  4. Relationship between Cost and Quality
  5. Achieving Balance in Access, Cost, and Quality

9 Cost Analysis in Distance Education

  1. Why Study Educational Costs
  2. Types of Activities and Costing in Distance Education
  3. Input and Output Considerations
  4. Research on Various Costing Approaches
  5. Different Categories of Cost Factors in Distance Education

10 Cost Structures in Distance Education

  1. Fixed and Variable Costs
  2. Average and Marginal Costs
  3. Factors Affecting the Costs of Distance Education
  4. Media Choice and Costs in Distance Education
  5. Other Factors Affecting Distance Education

11 Cost Functions in Distance Education

  1. Cost Functions
  2. Economies of Scale
  3. Cost Estimation
  4. Costing Learning Resources
  5. Unit Cost of Education

12 Costing Technology-Enabled Learning

  1. Making the Shift from F2F Teaching to Technology-Enabled Learning
  2. Costing TEL: Framework of Analysis
  3. Calculating Costs of Online Learning
  4. Research on Costing of TEL

13 Cost-Effectiveness of distance education in Asia

  1. Choice of Institutions
  2. Distance Education in Asia: Costing Approach
  3. Case Studies of Some Asian Institutes of Distance Education
  4. Cost Advantage
  5. Success Rates and Learner Benefits

14 Cost of distance education in China

  1. Distance Education at Tertiary Level in China
  2. Theories and Methods for the Economic Analysis of RTVUs in China
  3. A Comparative Analysis of Economics of Distance Versus Conventional Education System in China
  4. Comparison of Cost Structures
  5. The Economic Advantage of China’s RTVUs
  6. New Changes and Trends

15 Costing open and distance education in India

  1. Cost of Distance Education: A Case
  2. Cost Per Course
  3. Cost Per Student
  4. Cost of Launching a Programme and Economies of Scale
  5. Economics of Scale

16 Costing of selective distance learning systems- International case studies

  1. Factors Affecting Cost of Distance Education
  2. The United Kingdom Open University
  3. The Universidad Nacional Abierta, Venezuela
  4. The University of the Air, Japan

17 The Economics of mass distance education – Greville Rumble

  1. The Basic Cost Function
  2. The Costs of Developing, Producing, and Distributing Course Materials
  3. The Problem of Student Variable Costs
  4. The Cost of the Curriculum
  5. Absolute Costs, Average Costs, Efficiency, and Effectiveness
  6. Who Should Pay?

18 The Distance education chameleon – New technologies and the changing cost-structure of ODL – Thomas Hulsmann

  1. Distance Education: What is it?
  2. Costs and Economics of Traditional Distance Education
  3. The Impact of New Technologies on the Cost Structure of Distance Education
  4. Recapturing Lost Efficiencies

19 Comparative cost analysis in distance teacher education – Alison Mead Richardson

  1. Issues in Comparative Costing
  2. Economies of Scale
  3. Comparative Cost Analysis of Teacher Training Programmes
  4. Recommendations

20 The Costs and costing of networked learning – Greville Rumble

  1. Frameworks for Costing
  2. Costing Online Learning
  3. Comparing the Costs of E-Education
  4. Challenges and Opportunities in Networked Learning Costs

21 A System-level comparison of cost-efficiency and return on investment related to online course delivery – Thomas R. Ramage

  1. Introduction
  2. Purpose
  3. Limits
  4. Historical Overview
  5. Methods and Procedures
  6. Expenditures
  7. Revenue
  8. Conclusions

22 Activity-based costing models for alternative modes of delivering on-line courses – Chris Garbett

  1. Introduction
  2. Costs
  3. Assumptions
  4. Model One: Traditional Face-to-Face Delivery
  5. Model Two: In-house Web-based Distance Learning
  6. Model Three: Outsourced Web-based Distance Learning
  7. Student Individual Contact
  8. Conclusion

23 Private cost of education- A comparative study of distance and campus-based university students in Nigeria (Felix Olakulehin & Santosh Panda)

  1. Introduction
  2. Cost Efficiency and Cost Effectiveness
  3. Private Costs of Distance and Conventional Education
  4. Methodology
  5. Analysis and Results
  6. Discussion and Conclusions

24 Costing of distance learning- A study of the Indian mega open university – Ashok Gaba, Santosh Panda & C.R.K. Murthy

  1. Introduction
  2. Review of Literature
  3. Research Design
  4. Institutional Costs
  5. Private Costs
  6. Total Costs
  7. Conclusions