ABSTRACT
Expectations regarding the nature of the emergent demand for higher education appear to tend towards an increasingly expanding and yet, discerning clientele. Moreover, global competition is sharpening the focus on competitive strategy. In response to this rapidly developing higher education market, some of the new commercial institutions and larger open and distance learning institutions have adopted aggressive information technology strategies including the virtualisation of conventional delivery methods. The aim of this paper is to investigate alternative approaches to using information technology to promote flexible delivery, whilst also promoting improvements in the quality and cost of higher education provision. It is suggested that higher education institutions do not have to accept a general convergence in their delivery environment, provoked by the face-to-face and virtualisation trade-off. Applying Business Process Reengineering, it seems possible to create an alternative vision of higher education delivery, beyond the mere automation of conventional approaches. This then raises the possibility of higher education institutions providing far more flexibility in their delivery whilst, at the same time, retaining the capacity to develop student capability.
