A Tale of Two Universities:
Evaluating the effects of different
approaches to the introduction of Virtual
Learning Technologies
Huw Morris
University of the West of England
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A Tale of Two Universities
It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age
of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was
the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of
Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the
spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we
had everything before us, we had nothing
before us, we were all going direct to Heaven,
we were all going direct the other way
(Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities)
2
A Tale of Two Universities
Research Approach
Institutional Context
Leadership and Strategy
Structure and Management
Support and Development
Adoption Process
Spread and operation
Impact on staff and students
Conclusions
3
Research Approach
Level
Questions
Institution level
* How was it managed?
* What was the VLE used?
* What were the links between
usage and introduction?
Methodology
Evaluative case studies:Monarch and Duchy universities
Methods
Participant observation
Semi-structured interviews
Usage statistics
Online survey in one institution
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Institutional Context
Monarch University
Medium sized new university
(16,000 students)
Based in London
Four campuses
Six faculties
Fair financial position
Strong student recruitment
Difficulty attracting staff
Overall fair competitive
position and strengthening
Duchy University
Large new university
(24,000 students)
Based in South of England
Five campuses
Nine faculties
Strong financial position
Weakening student
recruitment
Difficulty attracting staff
Overall strong competitive
position but signs of
weakening
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Leadership and Strategy
Monarch University
Supported by governors and
newly appointed VC & DVC
Senior managers active in
HEFCE and SRHE but also
took study trip to USA
Central in successive
corporate plans and TL&A
strategies
Research efforts focused on
a few key areas
Duchy University
Led by middle manager and
not by senior team
Senior managers active in
HEFCE and SRHE but other
external links weak
Not mentioned in corporate
plan or TL&A strategy (19982003). Mixed mention in
subsequent documents
Main strategic focus on
developing research
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Structure and Management
Monarch University
Merged Library, IT and
media services
Separate Educational
Development and
Educational Technology
units
No IT director and weak
library director at start
No requirements placed on
local faculty and department
managers
Broadband in halls of
residence
Duchy University
Library and IT separate
departments and no media
services
No educational development
or technology units
Strong and effective IT and
Library directors
Requirements placed on
Faculty managers to
implement scheme
Broadband in halls of
residence
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Support and Development
Monarch University
Four centrally funded staff in
ETU
Centrally funded fractional
PLs in each faculty
No academic staff time
allowance
Limited staff development
Requirement to detail plans
in course reviews and
validations
Student ICT skills
development in induction
Duchy University
Four centrally funded staff in
IT department
No centrally funded faculty
staff
Ear marked time allowance
in two faculties
Extensive staff development
Places for discussion
No requirement in course
reviews and validations
Student ICT skills
development in induction
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Adoption Process
Monarch University Duchy University
1997-98
Local experiments with
WebCT and Blackboard in
1998-99
Geography
Institution decides to buy &
1999-2000
roll out Blackboard
Student complaints about
2000-01
printing costs
University evaluation of
2001-02
Blackboard commissioned
2002-03
2003-04
•Faculties experiment
independently with different
packages (13 in total)
• Cross faculty group shares
experiences
•Group recommends WebCT
•University buys Blackboard
•Pilot of Blackboard in all
faculties with evaluation
• Phase 2 roll out
•Institution adopts
Blackboard
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Spread and Operation
Monarch University
Duchy University
Widespread in 5 of 6
faculties
700 of 800 lecturers (88%)
Some presence on 1,235 of
1,770 modules (70%)
13,000 regular student users
(81%)
Announcements and course
materials widely used but not
other functions
Widespread in 6 out of 9
faculties
795 out of 1,093 lecturers (72%)
Presence to a minimum standard
on 500 of 2,000 modules (25%)
Approximately 14,000 regular
student users (58%)
Announcements and course
materials widely used but not
other functions
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Impact on staff and students
Advocates

Deep and strategic users of a range of resources
linked to learning aims and objectives (10 to 20
percent)
Ambivalents

Surface users of resources on a just-in-time basis
(30 to 60 percent)
Apathetics

Disengaged users pursuing other objectives (20 to
60 percent)
Antis

Active opponents seeking to undermine operations
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Conclusions
A top down approach can produce rapid
increases in the number of modules
supported if there is:




Top management commitment
Appropriate use of benchmarking data
Funding of posts and infrastructure
A requirement to plan at course level
However, this approach may not deal with
apathetic staff and students and may provoke
resistance
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Conclusions
A bottom-up approach may produce more
consistent module presence and limit
resistance if there are:



Time allowances for development
Central and local services to provide training
Places for discussion and exchange of views
Regular evaluations
However this approach may take more time
and may not lead to complete coverage
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