Blazing New Trails - Connexions

Shifting From a Face-to-Face to an Online Educational Leadership Program: A Case Study 311
suggests that introduction of a radical innovation results in three significant effects on the
existing markets: (1) market expansion, (2) cannibalization, and (3) destabilization
(Christensen, 1997). The market expands with the entry of customers who had not previously
considered the product. The innovation pulls customers away from existing competitors
(cannibalization) and causes a general destabilization in the market as everyone seeks to
accommodate innovation. Departments of Educational Leadership and programs of principal
preparation are facing just such effects with the entry of new innovations in program delivery.
Charitou and Markides (2003) suggested that there are four approaches a department
or program may take in response to innovation: (1) focus on one's own program and invest in
it, (2) ignore the new delivery model if it is not a threat, (3) disrupt the radical innovation, or
(4) keep your own program but start a new program in competition with the innovation. Each
of these approaches has merit in different contexts if a program has a clear foundational
model of leadership preparation that provides the scaffolding for a quality program. The
radical innovation can be tested against this model to determine the best response for that
program. We propose that it is the clear foundational model of leadership preparation that
provides the touchstone that guides a department in responding to any of the three challenges.
This main focus has forced The University of Texas at Tyler’s Educational Leadership
preparation program to take a pragmatic stance on designing and delivering its offerings after
twenty-five years of face-to-face delivery.
PROGRAM MODEL
We chose a case study research design in order to situate our program into a real-life
comparison of one program that changed from face-to-face to online. This study is not
intended for generalization. However, we do suggest other programs can be informed by the
processes engaged in and the data reported in the study. In addition, this case study might
immerse readers into a setting that rests on both the researchers’ and the participants’ views of
the program (Yin, 2003).
The quandary that educational leadership programs face today is that programs need to
be perceived as pragmatic by both students and the institution delivering the program. Thus,
the programs now have two masters, the consumer and the producer. Prior to online
technology, the consumer had little choice but to select the educational leadership program
that was physically accessible to him/her. However, with the onset of online programs, the
consumer has other options. In our case, the significant reduction in our semester credit hour
enrollments caused us to alter our principal preparation program or results would have been a
loss of faculty.
The University of Texas at Tyler’s Educational Leadership program has two strands: a
Master of Education in educational administration with principal certification and principal
certification for those who already hold a master’s degree.
Four questions guided the restructuring of the program:
1. How much should be offered online?
2. How long should it take to complete the program?
3. How much will the program cost?
4. How do we assure the quality of the program?