Distance learning is a new information technology application that is in a rapid growth phase. Business schools now seem to have their basic technological infrastructure in place and the focus has shifted to how to use the technology to support and extend business education. Microcomputers now are ubiquitous in business schools and mini/mainframes are becoming rare.

These are some of the findings of the most recent UCLA Survey of Business School Computer Usage, conducted in cooperation with AACSB. Survey results provide comprehensive overviews of business school computing, communication and technological environments - information that is designed to assist deans and strategic planners with developing business program plans and technology allocation decisions.

The Fifteenth Survey compiles data from 232 business schools in 11 countries and was conducted by a team from California State University, Dominguez Hills, led by Julia A. Britt, associate professor of management. Britt, who has co-authored the survey with Jason Frand, assistant dean and director, computing and information services at the UCLA Anderson School, took over primary responsibility for the survey this year.

This year, schools reported owning a total of 49,245 microcomputers, an average of 221 per school, a slight increase from the 215 microcomputers per school as reported last year. "The small increase seems to confirm the conclusion that the average number of microcomputers per school has reached saturation," said Britt. The computer operating budget as a percent of the school operating budget of 3.5 percent is just slightly above that of last year, 3.3 percent, indicating that the decline from the high of almost 5 percent in 1993 may have leveled off.

According to Britt, product and market developments have moved microcomputer equipment in the direction of a commodity product. "All Intel-based microcomputers offer essentially the same features, run the same operating system and application software, and individual purchases are frequently based on just price or convenience rather than unique capability or a proprietary operating system," she said. Overall, Windows now has a combined 92 percent share of the desktop operating system usage, up from the 87 percent reported last year. It appears that almost all of the DOS only systems now have been replaced.

Further, both the faculty-per-micro density and the student-per-micro density show very little change from last year. Eighty-four percent of the undergraduate schools and 91 percent of the MBA schools indicate that there usually is very little waiting for microcomputer access at a density level of 17. However, the data shows that when 24 or more students are required to share access to a single microcomputer, there always will be a wait. And finally, commercial systems now have allowed Email to become ubiquitous. The schools report that 92 percent of the faculty, 94 percent of the staff, 77 percent of the undergraduate, and 87 percent of the MBAs now use Email regularly. As can be seen in the table, local area networks (LANs) provide extensive access and communication opportunities.

"The excitement is in access to and utilization of this basic infrastructure," Britt said. "This is where the dynamic developments are occurring. Together with distance learning, the Internet and the Web are becoming one of business schools' most frequently used application resources. An increasing number of faculty members are using the Internet and the Web resources for classroom support, and more and more students are using these resources for business research," she said.

Web Site Resources and Uses
The survey reports that 98 percent of the business schools indicated having a Web site, provided their URL and answered the series of questions regarding their Web environment. As could be expected, all of the schools use text on their Web site and almost all now are using graphics capabilities, increasing from only 23 percent in last year's data. However, the other media are showing increasing usage with animation features now reported by 29 percent of the schools (up from 5 percent last year) and audio capabilities reported by 23 percent (also up from 5 percent last year). Video is the least common media, being reported by only 15 percent of the schools (up from 6 percent last year).

Further, 44 percent of the schools indicated having a formal Web team who is involved with the actual design and development of the Web pages. The second table summarizes the average composition of the Web teams. Compared to last year, usage of all of the development tools has increased. For instance, the percent of schools using MS FrontPage has increased from 52 percent in 1997 to 74 percent in 1998, Netscape Gold from 29 percent to 67 percent, and MS Word from 5 percent to 28 percent. The use of graphics tools has increased, as well. The percent of schools using Adobe PhotoShop has increased from 11 percent to 67 percent and Corel Draw from 5 percent to 33 percent. However, the largest increase shown in the data was in the usage of programming and database tools, with an increasing number of Web pages now including executable scripts and applets.

On average, it was estimated that 29 percent of the faulty used the Web for classroom support. Most schools provide basic support such as posting syllabi, class notes, shared files and handouts, some adjunct materials and grade posting, and a few schools integrated tools for chat and/or other communications formats. Some faculty also are using online discussion groups to bring students together with real-world managers to discuss management issues, problems and solution techniques. Other examples of classroom Web use are course textbook support on the Internet and accessing financial data from firms.

Distance Learning
Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents indicated that their business school offered distance learning programs. Analysis of the operational data of the distance learning schools, compared with the total sample, shows that the distance learning schools, with an emphasis on utilizing information technology in a more expansive scope, have allocated more resources to their computer operating budget. On average, the data shows that the distance learning schools are spending $481 dollars per student as compared to $359 for the total sample. The commitment of business school policymakers also is reflected in a higher computer/ school operating budget ratio, a mean of 4.5 percent as compared to the total sample mean ratio of 3.5 percent.

"It was interesting to find, however," said Britt, "that a comparison of the demographics shows that the distance learning schools are surprisingly similar to the total sample. No one particular set of schools is attempting to capture the niche in this emerging form of education." Further, Britt pointed out that the stereotypical distance learning student population, part-time students who are not in proximity to the business schools' actual locations, may be undergoing a transition.

"Many schools reported that their target user group included full-time students who are in proximity to the business schools' physical locations," she said. "The concept of distance learning now seems to have been expanded to encompass the provision of a convenient education." This convenience is seen in the scheduling of educational sessions, location of education and the speed of education, referenced by the phase "any time, any place and at any pace."

Over 60 percent of the distance learning schools indicated that their full-time faculty were involved in curriculum development and revision, governance and program supervision, and actual teaching of all of the distance learning courses. "These large response percentages indicate the extent to which some of the full-time faculty have embraced this emergent form of education," said Britt.

The largest percentage of the distance learning schools indicated that their faculty and students interacted through the use of Email (89 percent) and fax (65 percent). Lower interaction response percentages were seen with video and audio conferencing, yet these could be expected because of the requirements of more extensive technological infrastructures. Seventy-eight percent indicated that their distance learning programs involved some sort of collaborative projects, with these schools suggesting that, on average, 49 percent of their distance learning classes required some sort of group effort.

"While many schools indicated that there was very little difference between their on-campus classes and their distance learning classes with regard to collaborative projects, multiple schools stressed the importance of distance collaboration for future managers and emphasized their strong emphasis for student experience in virtual teams," said Britt. A smaller number of schools, 31 percent, indicated offering interactive Web-based courses.

When asked to identify the barriers that encumbered the development of distance learning, lack of funds was identified by 63 percent of the respondent schools. Faculty support and training also are seen as rather significant barriers to the development of distance learning programs.

Table A identifies the variety of roles that the business schools' full-time faculty play in distance learning programs. The large response percentages for most of these roles indicates the extent to which some of the full-time faculty have obviously embraced this emergent form of education. However, these large response percentages also assist in understanding more fully how faculty support and training can be perceived as barriers for the development of distance learning programs. All of these roles involve an extensive amount of time and energy on the part of the full-time faculty, and as limited resources, this time and energy must be taken away from their other business school commitments.

Detailed appendices in the survey identify key benchmarking metrics by business school, including budget ratios, computer ownership requirements, and microcomputer and staff density ratios, as well as examples of innovations in the areas of curriculum, Web development and the technological environment.

The executive summary of the survey report can be found on the Internet at http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/jason.frand/researcher/survey/15exsum.htm.   Schools participating in the survey received a free copy of the report. Additional copies can be ordered by sending a check for $50 per copy to: Jason L. Frand, Assistant Dean, Computing and Information Services, The Anderson School at UCLA, 110 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1481.