Montana University System Distant Learning Report

The Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education announces the completion of a new report on distance learning in Montana. Commissioned early in 2009 by the MUS eLearning Advisory Committee, the State-wide survey of citizens was conducted by the Bureau of Business & Economic Research at the University of Montana, Missoula. The survey looked at consumer experiences in distance learning, as well as interest in engaging in additional distance learning specifically from the campuses of the Montana University System. The survey identified the academic program and workforce development areas of greatest interest to consumers, the gaps in academic delivery that exist, the barriers to distance learning from the consumer perspective, the preferred type of distance delivery, and the manner and location consumers most often use to access the internet. The survey also estimated demand for dual-credit online academic courses, from both student and parent perspective.

The survey is now available to the public at the MUS web site, http://mus.edu/online and can be downloaded. Campus eLearning teams and administrations now are digging more deeply into the survey data to identify gaps in academic and workforce educational delivery, as well as other citizen needs that can best be met by the Montana University System and community college campuses. If there are questions regarding the survey document, please contact Tom Gibson.

Contact:

Dr. Tom Gibson, Director eLearning Business Development

406-994-6677

[email protected]