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According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, education services are now
Australia's third top export earner, increasing by 21 per cent in 2007 to bring in $12.5 billion.
ABS figures released in February show earnings from foreign students studying in Australia overtook tourism and were third behind coal exports, which generated $20.8 billion, and iron ore, worth $16 billion.
In 2006-07 education export income rose 16 per cent on the previous year, contributing to an average annual growth of 15 per cent over the previous decade.
In 2006 there were 383,818 full fee-paying students enrolled to study in Australia, 14 per cent higher than the previous year.
However domestically, as people’s lives get busier there is less time for education. In a busy working environment and with families to feed, who can spare the time to go back to university?
With advancing technology, doing a degree online now seems a popular option. The University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba reflects this change with over 80 per cent of its students pursuing distance or e-Learning.
InvestorTV spoke to USQ’s head of e-Learning, Professor Alan Smith, about the evolution of the online degree.
“USQ’s had a very long tradition of being involved in distance education right back to sort of the mid-70s when, correspondence education as it was probably better known then, was started mainly in this area to cater for, you know, regional students,” Prof Smith says.
“But it soon became apparent that there was a demand for distance education far beyond the local area. And so we found that we expanded into areas throughout Queensland, Northern NSW, and then, in fact, within five years, we had a presence right down the eastern seaboard of Australia.”
It seems that distance education has come along way since the days of snail mail.
“Well certainly, when we first started in distance education it was almost exclusively print-based material that would be sent out,” Prof Smith says.
“Over the years, as the technologies have grown, particularly audio, video, multimedia and subsequently the Net, we’ve tried to add to the mix and we’ve found that many of the systems and processes that we’ve developed for distance students are now becoming part of the whole university’s way of providing teaching and learning.
“In 1990, this particular facility that we’re in now was built. So it offers everything from the production and development side, the use of multimedia, graphics, audio, video, desktop publishing and a distribution setup.”
But what is an online degree worth? Professor Smith says that USQ is at the forefront of ensuring online study materials are properly accredited.
“We’ve worked very hard over a number of years to convince both accrediting bodies and international groups that the quality of education you can receive by distance education is just as good, and in some cases I’d argue that it’s probably better, than what you would perhaps get in a face-to-face situation,” Prof Smith says.
“I believe we were the first institution worldwide to have ISO9001 accreditation. So in other words there is a process and a procedure for the way that we go about developing and distributing our materials.
“Certainly, that was an important step in being able to convince many of our overseas partners that we did offer high-quality materials and support to students.”
A key growth factor in USQ’s e-learning programs is the continuing shift and expansion in international markets with China, India and the Middle East currently exploding with demand for education.
Professor Smith said there is competition worldwide to admit international students as development gathers pace in many countries around the globe.
“It’s a very, very competitive market,” Prof Smith says.
“Most universities, including most overseas universities, are also trying to get into those markets.
“What we’d like to do is establish a relationship with a partner and tell them and explain to them what the USQ experience is; this is how we do business, these are the materials you will get, this is the sort of level of support, this is what we expect of you as a partner, you know, what are you going to be able to bring to this partnership that we couldn’t do ourselves.
“I think there’s going to be tremendous demand from certain regions in the world. But with that is coming more providers of education; not just traditional universities.
“There is a swathe of new content providers. I do believe with the right reconnaissance and the right attitude and the right people that USQ should be able to not just maintain its high level of success with distance education but expand that into new areas.”
Australia's third top export earner, increasing by 21 per cent in 2007 to bring in $12.5 billion.
ABS figures released in February show earnings from foreign students studying in Australia overtook tourism and were third behind coal exports, which generated $20.8 billion, and iron ore, worth $16 billion.
In 2006-07 education export income rose 16 per cent on the previous year, contributing to an average annual growth of 15 per cent over the previous decade.
In 2006 there were 383,818 full fee-paying students enrolled to study in Australia, 14 per cent higher than the previous year.
However domestically, as people’s lives get busier there is less time for education. In a busy working environment and with families to feed, who can spare the time to go back to university?
With advancing technology, doing a degree online now seems a popular option. The University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba reflects this change with over 80 per cent of its students pursuing distance or e-Learning.
InvestorTV spoke to USQ’s head of e-Learning, Professor Alan Smith, about the evolution of the online degree.
“USQ’s had a very long tradition of being involved in distance education right back to sort of the mid-70s when, correspondence education as it was probably better known then, was started mainly in this area to cater for, you know, regional students,” Prof Smith says.
“But it soon became apparent that there was a demand for distance education far beyond the local area. And so we found that we expanded into areas throughout Queensland, Northern NSW, and then, in fact, within five years, we had a presence right down the eastern seaboard of Australia.”
It seems that distance education has come along way since the days of snail mail.
“Well certainly, when we first started in distance education it was almost exclusively print-based material that would be sent out,” Prof Smith says.
“Over the years, as the technologies have grown, particularly audio, video, multimedia and subsequently the Net, we’ve tried to add to the mix and we’ve found that many of the systems and processes that we’ve developed for distance students are now becoming part of the whole university’s way of providing teaching and learning.
“In 1990, this particular facility that we’re in now was built. So it offers everything from the production and development side, the use of multimedia, graphics, audio, video, desktop publishing and a distribution setup.”
But what is an online degree worth? Professor Smith says that USQ is at the forefront of ensuring online study materials are properly accredited.
“We’ve worked very hard over a number of years to convince both accrediting bodies and international groups that the quality of education you can receive by distance education is just as good, and in some cases I’d argue that it’s probably better, than what you would perhaps get in a face-to-face situation,” Prof Smith says.
“I believe we were the first institution worldwide to have ISO9001 accreditation. So in other words there is a process and a procedure for the way that we go about developing and distributing our materials.
“Certainly, that was an important step in being able to convince many of our overseas partners that we did offer high-quality materials and support to students.”
A key growth factor in USQ’s e-learning programs is the continuing shift and expansion in international markets with China, India and the Middle East currently exploding with demand for education.
Professor Smith said there is competition worldwide to admit international students as development gathers pace in many countries around the globe.
“It’s a very, very competitive market,” Prof Smith says.
“Most universities, including most overseas universities, are also trying to get into those markets.
“What we’d like to do is establish a relationship with a partner and tell them and explain to them what the USQ experience is; this is how we do business, these are the materials you will get, this is the sort of level of support, this is what we expect of you as a partner, you know, what are you going to be able to bring to this partnership that we couldn’t do ourselves.
“I think there’s going to be tremendous demand from certain regions in the world. But with that is coming more providers of education; not just traditional universities.
“There is a swathe of new content providers. I do believe with the right reconnaissance and the right attitude and the right people that USQ should be able to not just maintain its high level of success with distance education but expand that into new areas.”
