This presentation provides a 12-slide snapshot in March 2016 of the D-TRANSFORM project funded under Erasmus+ to develop leadership training in e-learning (digital learning) for senior leaders (Rectors, Vice-Rectors, Board Directors) in universities and other higher education institutions across Europe. It was presented virtually to the workshop "Open Education - concepts, tools, resources, practices" in Timisoara, Romania, on 11 March 2016 - which was also streamed

1. Using OER and MOOCs for E&T:
The vital role of senior managers (and leaders)
Paul Bacsich, D-TRANSFORM project,
SeroHE and Open Education Working Group
Open Education – concepts, tools, resources, practices
Universitatea Politehnica Timişoara
11 March 2016

2. Acknowledgements and thanks
• To Diana Andone
• Sero interested in Romania since 2007:
– Re.ViCa (Review of Virtual Campuses – post-secondary)
– VISCED (Virtual Schools and Colleges) – report by SCIENTER
for Sero
– POERUP (Policies for OER Uptake)
• Report by Carmen Holotescu, Timsoft
– ADOERUP (Adult Education and OER)
• Report by Diana Andone and Giles Pepler (Sero)
2

3. Outline of presentation
• Background
• D-TRANSFORM brief overview
• The challenge!
• Policies at member state level
• Business models and sustainability
• What senior managers should do
3

4. D-TRANSFORM brief overview
• To set up a program on leadership development in
e-learning, focused on university senior leaders
gaining the knowledge of e-learning they require to
achieve effective leadership and decision-making
• Runs for 3 years from 1 September 2014
• 7 partners from 5 different countries
– France (2), Italy, Spain, Hungary and UK (2)
• One partner is EDEN, the Europe-wide membership
association in e-learning
• Supported by case studies and policy studies
4

5. Key numbers (Europe)
• “Opening up Education” has a challenge!
• Only 8 monolithic open universities in EU (UK,
NL, ES x 2, PT, DE, CY, GR, ...)
• Only 250 EU HEIs distance learning (100 in UK)
• 10 large VET DL providers (NKI, Klett, CNED etc)
• 81 virtual schools (2012 figure; 2015 less?)
• 3 million DL students in European HE (IDEAL)
• Unknown number of private providers
5

6. “New-gen”, “disruptive institutions
– only a few, small whole-system innovators

7. Policies at member state level (HE)
• The variation in higher education policies, funding and
structures between member states (and within some member
states e.g. UK) makes EU-level policies of limited practical value
• The range of variation in autonomy of institutions, from those
which are departments of government, to private sector actors
• In contrast, the differences in quality regimes are of low
significance
• An additional factor is the gulf between “education” and
“training” in most Member States – and now also at EU level
– Many innovative US providers exploit the overlap – e.g. Udacity and
corporate MOOCs – how can EU do this?
7

8. Fee dichotomies per country = Scotland
Full-time Face-to-face Bachelors Masters
EU students (not EWNI) Nil or low High (no loans yet)
Non-EU students Very high (no loan) Very high (no loan)
8
Distance Bachelors Masters
EU students Moderate High
Non-EU students High High
Part-time face-to-face Bachelors Masters
EU students Complicated High (pro-rated)
Non-EU students Not allowed Not allowed

9. Business models and sustainability
• Development of MOOCs and OER for non-accredited courses is
outside most providers’ mission (as set by government)
• The classic “UK/England high-fees” market/business model of
MOOC > MSc pull-through does not apply fully in most MS
• In contrast, the “research impact” argument is more uniform
• The classic “open textbook” cost-saving model can apply
(SharedOER) but only when teacher autonomy is limited; not
clear why education actors do not fix “market failure” problems
with procurement processes leading to expensive content
• There are not yet drivers for better retention or higher grades
• “Quality” is as usual too diffuse and procedural to be a driver
9

10. What senior managers should do
• Learn
• Not be afraid to admit that the answers are not clear
• Talk to staff – but two-way conversation
• Talk to their senior manager colleagues in other universities
• Work closely with government – never a good idea for a public
institution to be too “disruptive”
• Carry out collaborations with public VET sector
• And with private training providers – e.g. online coding camps
• Do not short-change core constituency of on-campus students
• Be more adventurous - but
• Be prepared to stop projects not just start them
10

11. What’s next in D-TRANSFORM
• Business Models report due in April, from D-TRANSFORM
– to answer many issues on sustainability of OER and MOOCs
• EDEN conference, Budapest, with many D-TRANSFORM experts
– http://www.eden-online.org/eden-events/annual-
conferences/budapest.html
• Leaders in digital learning Think Tank – workshop at
November 2016, for senior managers in universities
• Followed by a second Think Tank - and a MOOC !! (of course)
11

12. Thank you for listening
Paul Bacsich, paul.bacsich@sero.co.uk
D-TRANSFORM
http://www.dtransform.eu