At this stage of phenomenal growth in educational delivery
technologies and relative ignorance of the costs and effectiveness of
using these technologies in distance learning, we do not need to answer
the question, "Will MIT remain primarily a residential university or
become a 'virtual campus'?" The committee is divided on the answer to
this question. But, in order to position us strategically for whatever
the future may bring, we should put initiatives in place that allow MIT
to respond in creative and beneficial ways to the new technologies.
Those initiatives are listed in our recommendations.
The MIT imprimatur is known and respected world wide. It may be
that MIT-created, MIT-quality educational products and services would be
well received in new educational markets. These markets might extend
significantly beyond those explicitly listed in this report. They might
include a variety of K-12 programs, or students in developing countries,
or engineers and executives currently "on the job." A carefully
selected set of initiatives implemented now would put in motion a
scientific, data gathering exploration of this new frontier. We should
continually evaluate what we are doing and what we are learning. With
the new knowledge that such a process will bring, we will be prepared to
take maximum advantage of the new technologies commensurate with the
unique strengths of MIT.