A web-based course with tutorial support provided via computer conferencing was developed at the UK Open University and piloted with 850 students. The following year, the course was scaled up to accept a student cohort of over 12,000. This article addresses the issues that operating on such a large scale raises for educators. The course team aimed to maintain an intimate, personal experience for students and tutors, whilst establishing industrial scale support systems. The issues identied are categorised as tutor, student and course team ones. The nature of the support for the 600 tutors on the course and the new roles required of them are described. The conferencing structure necessary to provide a valuable learning environment for students is also detailed. In addition, the new roles, responsibilities and working methods that the course team needed to develop are outlined. The authors suggest that although there is much talk about the ‘massication’ of knowledge in education, there is considerable time, effort and resource required in providing large-scale online courses. If the student experience is to be meaningful and satisfactory, then the cost of implementing the necessary support structures may well negate any savings made elsewhere, such as in the distribution and reproducibility of material. p. 1

At the Open University in the UK (OU), a level one course, T171, You, Your Computer and the Net, has been developed. The authors are the joint chairs of the course p. 1

based largely on a website which contains specically authored material. The tuition of the course is conducted online via asynchronous computer conferencing. The course was piloted in 1999 with 850 students. Once publicised, student uptake of the course was considerable, and by September 1999, there were 9000 students registered for the 2000 presentation of the course, with some 73% of students new to the OU. p. 2

The development and structure of the course has been detailed elsewhere (Weller, 2000). This article is concerned with the issues that arose when the course was scaled from its pilot year to its full presentation in 2000. p. 2

T171 was the rst undergraduate course to utilise the Internet as its sole delivery and tuition medium. p. 3

Large Scale vs. a Personal Experience for Students p. 3

As a level 1 course, T171 may be the rst experience of higher education, or distance education, for many of its students. Many students are in fact returning to education after a break of many years. It is thus important to provide students with adequate support and a good experience, not only of the course, but of higher education as a whole. p. 3

For instance, Rayburn & Ramaprasad (2000) classify the strategies for usage of the Internet in universities and one of their categories is the ‘Large Lecture Hall’, of which they say: p. 4

The Large Lecture Hall strategy reveals itself in concerns to deliver instruction more productively at less cost or to more students for greater revenue. (p. 55) p. 4

Others see computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a technological panacea that can uniquely support the move towards a ‘post-industrial’ approach to education. Garrison (1997) argues that computer conferencing is the most feasible and effective technology for achieving the ideals of a collaborative constructivist approach to distance education. p. 4

The issues discussed have been categorised as tutor, student and course team issues. p. 5

Tutor Issues p. 5

Recruitment and Induction p. 5

Management of Tutors p. 6

Tutor Training and Development p. 6

450 February tutors p. 6

Traditionally one meeting to train tutors, but because so many, an online workshop approach p. 6

Ongoing Tutor Support p. 7

Traditionally one conference, but because so many, a hierarchy of conferences (online) p. 7

Quality Assurance of Teaching p. 8

For traditional OU courses, tutors are monitored by examining samples of the feedback they provide to students on their assignments, and by pre-arranged Staff Tutor visits to face-to-face tutorials. On T171, the tutorial visit was implemented by Staff Tutors, who joined each tutor group conference. As with face-to-face visits, the Staff Tutor requested permission to visit the conference, and usually had access for a speci c period. p. 8

Student Issues p. 9

Access to the Wider Student Group p. 10

Reducing Isolation p. 11

As has been previously reported (Mason & Weller, 2000), the group work element was one of the most contentious for many students in the 1999 presentation—for some, it represented the key component of the course, and they would have liked more, whilst others resented it. This was still largely true for the presentations of the course in 2000, although the activities had been modied slightly. In some respects, this represents a fundamental shift from traditional OU courses in that students become more dependent on others, and lose some of the time independence and exibility that studying more independently affords. However, the very existence of group activities meant that many students logged in to the conferences. Often, the group activities formed the centre of debates in the Cafe ́ areas, so in this respect they ful lled their function of overcoming isolation and encouraging interaction, even if students did not always nd them to their preference. p. 11

Student Success and Satisfaction p. 12

Impact of T171 on Wider OU Student Services p. 12

Course Team Issues p. 12

New Course Team Roles p. 12

Increased Direct Contact with Students p. 13

Amendments for 2001 p. 14

Conclusion p. 15

REFERENCES p. 16