Universities are facing growing internal and external pressures to generate income, educate a widening continuum of learners, and make effective use of digital technologies. One response has been growth of online education, catalysed by Massive Open Online Courses, availability of digital devices and technologies, and notions of borderless global education. In growing online education, learning and teaching provision has become increasingly disaggregated, and universities are partnering with a range of private companies to reach new learners, and commercialise educational provision. In this paper, we explore the competing drivers which impact decision making within English universities and their strategies to grow online education provision, through interviews with senior managers, and interrogation of their views through the lens of a range of internal, external and organisational drivers. We show that pressures facing universities may be alleviated by growth of online education provision, but that negotiating an appropriate route to realise this ambition involves attempts to resolve these underlying tensions deriving from competing drivers. We use a modified form of the PEST model to demonstrate the complexities, inter-dependencies and processes associated with these drivers when negotiating delivery of unbundled online education through use of private company services, or in partnership with private companies.

中文翻译：

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在高等教育中协商在线教育的增长

大学正面临越来越大的内部和外部压力，需要创收、教育不断扩大的学习者以及有效利用数字技术。一种回应是在线教育的增长，在大规模开放在线课程、数字设备和技术的可用性以及无国界全球教育概念的推动下。在不断发展的在线教育中，学习和教学的提供越来越分散，大学正在与一系列私营公司合作，以吸引新的学习者，并将教育提供商业化。在本文中，我们通过与高级管理人员的访谈，探讨了影响英国大学决策的竞争驱动因素及其发展在线教育的策略，并通过一系列内部、外部和组织驱动因素的视角询问他们的观点。我们表明，在线教育供应的增长可能会缓解大学面临的压力，但谈判实现这一雄心的适当途径涉及尝试解决这些由竞争驱动因素引起的潜在紧张局势。在通过使用私营公司服务或与私营公司合作协商提供非捆绑在线教育时，我们使用 PEST 模型的修改形式来展示与这些驱动因素相关的复杂性、相互依赖性和流程。但是，通过谈判实现这一雄心壮志的适当途径涉及尝试解决这些由相互竞争的驱动因素引起的潜在紧张局势。在通过使用私营公司服务或与私营公司合作协商提供非捆绑在线教育时，我们使用 PEST 模型的修改形式来展示与这些驱动因素相关的复杂性、相互依赖性和流程。但是，通过谈判实现这一雄心壮志的适当途径涉及尝试解决这些由相互竞争的驱动因素引起的潜在紧张局势。在通过使用私营公司服务或与私营公司合作协商提供非捆绑在线教育时，我们使用 PEST 模型的修改形式来展示与这些驱动因素相关的复杂性、相互依赖性和流程。