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AAUP Testifies About Distance Education
AAUP General secretary Mary Burgan testified this summer before the Web-based Education Commission. Established by the 1998 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the commission is composed of policy makers, members of Congress, educators, and distance education providers. In her testimony, Burgan encouraged commissioners to consider the ramifications of distance education for pedagogy, student retention and socialization, and intellectual property. While the Web is a valuable teaching tool, Burgan said, it is not an adequate substitute for face-to-face interaction between students and faculty, and the extent to which market forces, rather than educators, are driving the current boom in distance education should be kept in mind. "Ultimately, I believe that the Web, like other innovations in the media, will become one in a constellation of techniques used to support the teaching-learning process," Burgan said. "We need to integrate these technologies into the academic environment with as much care and scrutiny as the process requires, and resist the siren call to bring the academic environment into the rush of the technology marketplace."
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