Below is a description of the July-August 1999 issue of On the Horizon,
which is now available online at
http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/online/html/7/4/

On the Horizon On-Line is a strategic planning publication published in
print form by Jossey-Bass publications and published under contract in
online form by UNC-Chapel Hill on its Horizon Web page.

Please forward this announcement to colleagues who can benefit from a
print and Web-based periodical that focuses on signals of change on the
horizon that can affect educational organizations.

You may be in an organization with an institutional online subscription
(http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/subscribe.asp). If you are not, ask your
librarian to request a 60-day trial subscription, which will allow
everyone in your organization to have access to OTH On-Line without
logging on (your e-mail IP address does this automatically).
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ON THE HORIZON: The Strategic Planning Resource for Education
Professionals

IN THIS ISSUE

The University of Phoenix, Inc.
Arthur Padilla
Several features set the University of Phoenix in a league of its own: its
publicly traded stock and for-profit status, its focus on non-traditional
students, its heavy use of "satellite" campuses, and its reliance on
part-time faculty. Arthur Padilla considers several questions raised by
this institution's recent growth in enrollment. Are the types of
educational programs offered by Phoenix viable alternatives to the
traditional university system? Will schools like Phoenix replace more
conventional ones? What student needs does Phoenix serve? Against the
traditional campus, with its endowments, exhaustive libraries, and
full-time faculty members, the University of Phoenix competes only within
a small sector of the education market, and Padilla concludes that it does
well for the specific cohort it serves.


>From the Editor
Electronic Networking in the Future: An Interview with Judith V. Boettcher
James L. Morrison
As Executive Director of the Corporation for Research and Educational
Networking (CREN), a non-profit organization supporting low-cost access to
electronic networks, Judith Boettcher constantly evaluates the effects of
new information technology tools on educational practice. In this article,
Boettcher talks with editor James Morrison about which information
technology tools will become necessary in the future and how they will be
used. This discussion will be of particular interest to educators
interested in developing online courses and implementing new technology in
their classrooms; such readers will find that Boettcher answers not only
Morrison's questions but also their own.


Trends and Events: Social
The Internet: New Engine of Inequality?
Lawrence E. Gladieux and Wilson Scott Swail
Well-documented research supports Gladieux and Swail's sobering
observations regarding socioeconomic hierarchies and Internet access. As
the authors put it, the World Wide Web is "likely to create new barriers
and inequities, simply because of the differential availability of the
required technology." Currently, minority households are far less likely
than their white counterparts to own computers, and low-income families
have fewer computers and less online access than upper- and middle-class
families. Beyond defining the parameters of this problem, Galdieux and
Swail also analyze the larger social barriers that must be overcome in
order to resolve it.


Trends and Events: Technological
Wireless Networks: Setting Standards for Utility and Affordability
Angela Champness
New wireless LANs offer educators many advantages, not only in their
convenience but also in their cost and feasibility. Unlike wired systems,
these LANs can be installed without disrupting existing walls and
telephone or cable systems, making them a perfect choice for historic
buildings or remote locations. Further, Champness cites a study showing
that "a typical wireless installation pays itself back in less than one
year," a fact many educators may be pleasantly surprised to learn. Given
these advantages, many schools and businesses have integrated wireless
LANs, connecting laptop computers to each other and to the internet. This
article describes how these systems enable students to exchange ideas
easily with each other, with their professors, and with the world outside
the classroom walls.


Trends and Events: Economic
Knowledge Markets: A Primer
Michael D. Kull
Knowledge, that intangible advantage necessary for competitive
performance, needs to be cultivated, organized, and traded, but its
abstract nature makes these processes difficult to define. Kull offers
practical analysis of knowledge management, describing concretely how
organizations may effectively develop and maintain their employees'
knowledge to gain a market edge. This article describes a systematic
approach to educating the buyers, sellers, and brokers in the knowledge
market, rendering these abstract processes comprehensible.


Trends and Events: Political
Politics and College Choice
Laurence R. Marcus
Marcus evaluates The Intercollegiate Studies Institute's Choosing the
Right College: The Whole Truth About America's 100 Top Schools, locating
it in its conservative niche among the many educational ranking guides of
recent years. Unlike other guides which claim unbiased scientific accuracy
for their studies, ISI's guide clearly presents itself as a tool for
parents and students seeking a particular kind of education, one with "a
core curriculum focused on the study of Western civilization [and] strong
programs in traditional academic disciplines." Marcus praises ISI for its
straightforward disclosure of its political angle, but observes that the
guide may contribute to "a more encompassing political battle" on college
campuses.


Tools
Free and Handy
Bernard Glassman
Drawing on considerable experience on the Web, Glassman makes a little
more sense out of the information explosion, saving hours of time and
frustration for readers eager to find the latest and most useful internet
tools. In this article, he suggests some sites with efficiently organized
search engines and identifies the Web-based email site with the
best-designed features and most helpful customer support. And there's
more: if you'd like to have an "agent" watch constantly for new postings
on a given topic or alert you when a product in high demand becomes
available, this article will direct you to a site where you can find one.






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