PART ONE Scope and scale of e-learning delivery amongst UK business schools.

David Birchall and Matty Smith

This project set out to investigate the scale and scope of the use of e-learning for management and leadership development delivered by business schools within the UK by reviewing experiences in a selected group of business schools and other university departments.

The project identified some the common experiences and shared challenges that e-learning had stimulated within the Business Schools.

'Blended' or mixed format solutions combining the use of ICT alongside more traditional approaches is preferred to exclusive use of e-learning.
E-learning is seen as a means for delivery of some elements of management and leadership development to a more diverse market.
Most Business Schools have focused on niche markets in which they have established expertise rather than e-learning MBAs where price competition is likely to increase.
E-learning is seen to be most appropriate as a means to support knowledge transfer and directed models of learning and therefore most applicable at lower levels of management and leadership development.
The dynamics of the relationship between parent Universities and Business Schools was very much in evidence. Examples included issues relating to centralised IT resources, RAE foci, limited opportunities to develop in separate directions, a lack of autonomy on the part of the Business Schools and a lack of opportunity for staff development in the use of e-learning.
The business model for implementation of e-learning is still unclear and Business Schools are adopting an incremental approach to innovation so as not to over commit.
E-learning is used in diverse ways to replicate familiar learning experiences, as a substitute for them or to create innovative approaches to the support of management and leadership development but the limitations of current technology remain a challenge as do the cultural dimensions of the Business Schools themselves.
For Faculty e-learning presents a wide range of issues and challenges. The gap between Faculty capabilities and motivation and the demands of e-learning is a significant area as is the question of recognition and reward of Faculty for adoption of e-learning.
There was a strong theme of e-learning adoption in the face of little or no evidence about either its effectiveness or about the e-learner's experience. Innovation may inhibit the scalability of developments and lead to outcomes of isolated developments not being disseminated effectively.
The contribution of e-learning to management and leadership development is not well understood with the use of ICT to support traditional approaches dominating developments.