"American higher education is increasingly influenced by the technological society and the information explosion which we have substantially created. It is our universities that have played leading roles in the nation's dizzying move into a new world of high technology where the ways in which information is gathered, processed, and distributed have changed dramatically. The new world of e-mail and computers, chips, Internet, fiber optic transmissions, and other technologies already have-and in the future will have far more-impact on the way in which learning occurs and information is distributed. In the twenty-first century higher education will operate in ways far different than it does in the century now drawing to a close."

C. Peter Magrath, President NASULGC-August 1995

ADEC is a non-profit distance education consortium owned and operated by 50 state universities and land grant colleges. ADEC partners with government agencies and private sector organizations through affiliate agreements. ADEC welcomes educational associates, including community colleges and international entities, interested in receiving programming. ADEC is grounded in the land grant philosophy and includes teaching, research, extension and international programming among its priorities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in particular the Cooperative State Research, Extension and Education Services (CSREES), and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) link closely to ADEC. ADEC is a charter member of the EDUCOM driven National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII).

ADEC is a proactive response to a rapidly changing future where:

• local, state and national borders no longer bound education.
• people move frequently for economic opportunity.
• "just in time learning" becomes essential in the knowledge age society.
• commerce is conducted in a global marektplace.
• digital information explodes through new technologies.
• resources are respected and waste is not tolerated.
• education is challenged to compete with the private sector.

ADEC will be the nation's foremost leader in providing and creating access to customer driven distance education.

ADEC land grant members have a tremendous competitive advantage in building toward this vision including:

• a large and deep reservoir of expertise and quality subject matter.

• a tremendous technology infrastructure, including computer networking, satellite uplinks and downlinks, audio and video production capacity.

• a local to global set of structures,relationships and partnerships unparalleled in the world.

ADEC will develop and provide responsive, high-quality and economical distance education programs and services to diverse audiences. Primary emphasis will be placed on educational and informational programs and services related to:

• food and agriculture
• nutrition and health
• environment and natural resources
• community and economic development
• children, youth and families

ADEC will offer programs and services in the land grant philosophy through emerging network technologies creating access to quality distance learning opportunities. The consortium will draw upon the best and most effective subject matter specialists and information resources to share knowledge and content with learners. Academic, extension and research programs will be offered locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

ADEC will:

1. promote development of a virtual organization through internal marketing focused on program development, capacity building-and sharing of strategic information.

2. foster a dynamic and inclusive culture promoting institutional cooperation and build upon competitive advantages of members.

3. assure fair use and ethical standards are articulated and agreed within the consortium.

4. integrate and manage all operations between customers/learners and the land grant educational opportunities including development of standard approaches and one-stop shopping.

5. develop customer/learner based information systems to drive the program supply chain. The information pipeline will be developed to support and enhance the flow of market responsive programs and products, including customer satisfaction and learning based evaluations.

6. increase the quantity and quality of distance learning programs, products and services offered by members. Quality standards, research based models, faculty development and support structures will be developed.

7. develop learning approaches and modules that are adaptable to learning styles, life cycle needs and varied availability of technology.

8. cultivate partnerships and relationships with other educational organizations, businesses, foundations, non-profits and international groups to develop ADEC resources including human, financial and material.

9. liminate bureaucracy, promote low overhead and efficiency, minimize transaction expenses, develop commonly agreed upon licensing procedures and market driven pricing policies.

10. adopt a shared services model, centralizing functions such as purchasing, accounting, program promotion, marketing, registration and standard setting as needed.

ADEC will raise the distance education bar on quality and productivity. The consortium will become a global competitor known for local adaption and implementation. Together ADEC members can build on strengths and overcome weaknesses to promote teaching and learning approaches appropriate to a rapidly changing landscape.

ADEC will combine its content expertise, research base, communication and instructional design capacity to create access to learning opportunities - anytime - day or night- and anyplace - home, workplace, community setting. Programs, products and services will be delivered via the Internet, audio conference, videotape, satellite downlink, printed publications and in any combination appropriate.

ADEC will develop a world class reputation for quality academic courses, degree programs, extension offerings and certificate programs and conferences (ADEC).

ADEC programs will promote active learning, distributed education and marketing, experiential design and continuous improvement. Members of the public interested in ADEC Mission programs will be able to locate the offerings of the consortium, find them easy to access and affordable.

The following are the overall goals for marketing within this strategic plan. The goals should be added to and subtracted from in a regular analysis of consortium status and evolution. They provide the foundation for subsequent audience segment-based specific goals.

Overall Goals
1. Increase the audience of students and learners
2. Increase participation by educators and instructors
3. Improve understanding of distance learning and ADEC
4. Improve funding and support for ADEC programming and distance learning in general

OVERALL OBJECTIVES
1. Create awareness of ADEC programs, products and services among specific audiences
2. Build ties with fund and programming partners
3. Communicate well what ADEC does well
4. Attract and retain learners (users) and educators (suppliers)
5. Present a compelling case for increasing funds by establishing effective use of existing funds.

There are many audiences for distance learning. At any time, opportunities may arise to provide information for, and develop awareness among, additional segments of audiences.

Initial ADEC Target Audiences:

• Decision-makers and elected officials
• Business and Corporate
  • potential affiliates and associates
  • potential customers/learner sources
• K-12 educators
• Community Colleges
• Non-ADEC Four Year Institutions
• Social Service agencies
• Consumers
• Agricultural producers

These audiences were chosen because of the competitive advantage our consortium has based on the land-grant mission and focus of the institutions which make up the consortium.

Objective #1
ADEC will market the benefits of being a member to all existing and potential consortium members.

Actions:
-Define benefits of membership
-Develop internal communication tools and opportunities to effectively communicate these benefits to target audiences
-Develop a collaborative and interactive network among all ADEC institutions.

Objective #2
Promote the benefits of distance learning and ADEC to audiences including:
*Faculty
*Administration
*Extension Service field staff
*Learners
*Extended Campus Programs
*Community Colleges within the land-grant system
*Extension clientele

Actions:
-Help promote member-produced programs with development of formats for short promos of the projects to share internally and externally to potential audiences.

-Help members develop standard external marketing plans for individual projects.

-Develop special opportunities for Board and Administrative Council members to use the technology of distance learning in showcasing the usefulness of distance learning.

-Develop methods for generating capital for production of educational material and programming which has market value outside the consortium.

-Conduct an inventory of capabilities and interests within the consortium. Match the identified needs of the funding/source users listed with consortium ember capabilities.

-Focus on funding/source user needs which be matched to consortium member faculty on 9-month appointments who are looking for additional outside funding sources.

-Through an intimate understanding of the basic educational goals consortium members, maintain a regular flow of information concerning future educational products and services.

-Provide faculty and staff development resources for members, including case studies of successful distance learning programs.

-Develop a "brainstorming" system for member groups to enhance creativity for projects in the developmental stages that will be shared regionally or more broadly. In addition, provide incentives for program development, including royalties and income sharing.

-Develop standard forms for use by consortium members for licensing agreements between developers and users of products, including copyright issues, fair use, intellectual property rights, etc.

-Reach internal stakeholders in the land grant research community by developing various national seminars. These seminars or series of seminars should be developed through the leadership of national member institution centers or institutes. Possible frameworks include:
*National research seminar series from various leading research institutions focusing on issues such as food safety or biotechnology
*Distinguished lecture series.
*Special topics seminars on issues of immediate importance
*Symposium with research, extension, business, industry participation
*On-line symposia with Internet-accessible audiences.

Objective #1
ADEC will use research as a critical source of information in the program development and marketing process.

-Existing research must be analyzed and organized so that it can be used to address questions about our audiences, our products, and the process of learning and distribution unique and inherent to distance learning and ADEC.

Objective #2
ADEC will develop and market products and services appropriate to audience needs.

-Our product is consortium-based distance learning and information delivery. It can include formal higher education credit course opportunities; informal lifelong learning and outreach opportunities, and other unique distance information delivery opportunities such as national and international research seminars.

Revised 12/12/96