Designing OERu Credentials

Wayne Mackintosh

Paul Stacey

LIVEWeb Conference

7-Sep-20112 pm PST

Thanks For Your Participation So Far!

Lots of posts from all over the world.Great recommendations.Really giving shape to OERu.

http://scope.bccampus.ca/mod/forum/view.php?id=8953

5 Things You Should Know

http://wikieducator.org/images/7/7d/OERu.pdf

OER University (OERu) AIMS

• Will design and implement a parallel learning universe to provide free learning opportunities for all students worldwide with pathways to earn credible post-secondary credentials.

• Offer courses and programs based solely on OER and open textbooks.

• Design and implement scalable pedagogies appropriate for the OER university concept.

• Will implement scalable systems of volunteer student support through community service learning approaches.

• Coordinate assessment and credentialising services on a cost recovery basis for participating education institutions to ensure credible qualifications and corresponding course articulation among anchor partners.

http://wikieducator.org/OER_university/Home

OERu Logic Model

http://wikieducator.org/OER_university/About

OER Tertiary Network Anchor Partners

• Athabasca University (Canada)• Thompson Rivers University (Canada)• Empire State College (State University of New York)• University of Southern Queensland (Australia)• Unisa (University of South Africa)• Otago Polytechnic (New Zealand)• Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (New Zealand)

Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and the USA

OERu Logic Model High Level

http://wikieducator.org/OER_university/Logic_model

OERu Credential - Baseline Requirements

• The qualification must be on the books of the anchor partner organisation

• In countries where there is a National Qualifications Framework (NQF), the OERu qualification must be registered with the respective NQF

• The OER Tertiary Education network leading the implementation of the OERu will only accept organisations who are duly registered and legally entitled to operate within their national jurisdictions

http://www.enic-naric.net

Non-Traditional Models

• Alternative ways of doing things• Redesign higher education?• Gina’s Dream

http://scope.bccampus.ca/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=16608 – An always-upgrading databank of knowledge/skills/attitudes defined for jobs in particular

fields.– Detailed and transparent evaluation tools that learners can self-access and use.

• “open learning objectives” and “open evaluation” within an OERu model - Asif

• OERu could theoretically offer a learning credential superior to those offered by traditional universities

• needs of "informal” & "Edupunk-like" learning -- for example, P2PU, initiatives like the Saylor Foundation and many dimensions of the MOOC model.

Inaugural Credential Possibilities• Diploma of Arts

– 6 partners, 3 courses = 18– Students select 8 from 18 – gain a Diploma of Arts– cluster the 18 courses

into (overlapping) sets of 8the initial OER/courses could focus on such areas as nursing and education or business with several of the OER/courses possibly common to all three or at least two of such areas while also allowing for an Arts diploma.

• Bachelor of General Studies• Bachelors of Education and Nursing• Associate of Science• Existing Examples:

– http://alison.com – Free MBA classes online

http://www.lsbf.org.uk/globalmba/globalmba.html

http://www.usq.edu.au/handbook/current/arts/DART.html

Common Recommendations

• Competency/national qualification frameworks– master database of social functions with the detailed list of

learnings required to work in job positions. Such a database would be outside & ABOVE the authority of the universities

• Prior Learning Assessment Recognition (PLAR)– too expensive? Thompson Rivers University model?

• Portfolios• Credit transfers & articulation agreements

http://www.tru.ca/distance/services/plar-ol.html

OERu Financial Models

• Three-tiered funding model for OER being researched at the Educational Development Centre at Otago Polytechnic.1. Open access to all learning materials for no fee.

2. Access to course facilitation for a limited fee for service.

3. Assessment and accreditation for a full fee.

• Public government funding formula– rather than providing one full-time equivalent grant for a student– package grant funding for services supplied– the OERu model with an assessment and credential service only could be

provided for roughly 20% to 25% of the current cost of a full package– huge potential savings and efficiencies to be gained using the OERu model. – possible to provide no-cost options for OER learners to acquire credentials

because the revenue stream is covered by government grant (or other sources of funding).

Next Steps

• Continue to participate in SCoPE seminar on Designing OERu Credentials through September 13http://scope.bccampus.ca

• Seminar is providing inputs to inaugural meeting of OERu founding anchor partners in Dunedin NZ on 9 & 10 November 2011

• Join the OER Tertiary Network• Provide feedback on the Commonwealth of Learning/UNESCO

OER Guidelines for Higher Education Stakeholders before 21-Sep-2011http://oerworkshop.weebly.com/guidelines-for-oer-in-higher-education.html

• BCcampus Vancouver f2f/online OER event scheduled for 17-Oct-2011

Thanks For Helping Design OERu Credentials!

Wayne Mackintosh

Paul Stacey

LIVEWeb Conference

7-Sep-20112 pm PST