The organizational structure of online academic advising

Academic advising is a key element for learning success in virtual environments that has received little attention from researchers. This paper focuses on the organizational arrangements needed for the delivery of academic advising in online higher education. We present the general dimensions of organizational structures (division of labor, hierarchy of authority and formalization) and their possible forms when applied to academic advising. The specific solution adopted at the Open University of Catalonia is described and assessed in order to draw general conclusions of interest for other institutions.

La coordinación de la actividad de tutoría en las universidades virtuales. El caso de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

El esfuerzo por desarrollar metodologías de enseñanza-aprendizaje específicas para el entorno virtual no ha venido acompañado de un impulso similar para adaptar los mecanismos de coordinación del profesorado, en general, y la actividad de tutoría en particular, a las características de las universidades virtuales. Esta comunicación contribuye a elaborar modelos organizativos que faciliten un buen desarrollo de la acción tutorial en línea. Con este fin, se presentan los principales elementos para estructurar y coordinar la acción tutorial, y se explica el modelo concreto adoptado en la UOC. Finalmente se presenta una valoración de la experiencia que puede ser útil para otras instituciones.

Efficiency and Equity in Learning Communities and schools

Traditionally, school efficiency has been measured as a function of educational production. In the last two decades, however, studies in the economics of education have indicated that more is required to improve school efficiency: researchers must explore how significant changes in school organization affect the performance of at-risk students. In this paper we introduce Henry Levin’s adoption of the X-efficiency approach to education and we describe the efficient and cost-effective characteristics of one Learning Communities Project School that significantly improved its student outcomes and enrollment numbersand reduced its absenteeism rate to zero. The organizational change that facilitatedthese improvements defined specific issues to address. Students’ school success became the focus of the school project, which also offered specific incentives, selected teachers, involved parents and community members in decisions, and used the most efficient technologies and methods. This case analysis reveals new two elements—family training and community involvement—that were not explicit parts of Levin’s adaptation. The case of the Antonio Machado Public School should attract the attention of both social scientists and policy makers