Presentation about Policy Arguments for MOOCs and Open Online Learning at the Open Online and Flexible Higher Education Conference

1. Policy arguments for MOOCs
and open online learning
Susanne Koch
OOFHEC Pre Conference
Rome, Oct. 18 2016
Norwegian Agency for Digital Learning in Higher Education

2. The need for national MOOC policy
• What policies exist?
– Preliminary analysis of results from Ireland,
Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Norway and Sweden
• For discussion:
– Do they fulfil their purpose?
– Are they needed?

3. Sources

4. The Netherlands
• Open University est. 1984 to improve access
to higher education
• OU developed a repository for OER from 2009
in collaboration with Kennisnet
• Several government initiatives for open
electronic tools and resources for education
since

5. The Netherlands, current policies
• Dutch government aims to be a
forerunner in the field of open and
online education, as stated in the
Strategic Agenda 2015. This was
substantiated by a subsidy of € 1 mill
for projects aimed at big societal
problems
• In 2015 the Ministry of Education
awarded a total of € 830.000 to 11
projects to stimulate the development
of MOOCs, SPOCS, online and blended
learning

6. The Netherlands, current policies 2
• By 2025 all educators are expected to share their
educational resources and HEIs have to
acknowledge MOOCs from other institutions
• A broad research program started in 2016 to
develop a vision on innovation and improvement of
HE, e.g. learning analytics, MOOCs (€ 1.350.000)

7. Ireland 1
Proposed collaborative national online
education initiative for higher education:
• Feasibility study proposed in by the National
University of Ireland
• This tender closed in September 2014 and
there has yet to be any public statement in
response to this initiative.

8. Ireland 2
National Roadmap (2015) for enhancing teaching
and learning in higher education in a digital world
• Enhancing traditional campus-based experience,
largely silent in terms of off-campus provision
• Makes very few references to MOOCs and no
high-level recommendations in this regard
• Does little to address the current barrier to online
delivery as a result of Ireland’s restrictive funding
model for students studying off-campus

9. Ireland 3
The Tata Consulting Group, a global enterprise with
operations in 100 countries, met with senior Irish
politicians and institutional presidents in 2014 to
make Ireland centre of the world for online degrees
• After this meeting, the Irish Government’s Joint
Committee for Education and Social Protection
held a special meeting to discuss the future of
online learning
• This story is still playing out

10. Ireland, conclusion
• No centrally managed Irish initiatives available
or planned for the future with reference to
MOOCs
• Wider national efforts to harness the
economic and pedagogical affordances of new
technologies
• Yet almost no understanding of the benefits of
distance and online education in comparison
with those of face-to-face education

11. Sweden, background
• HEIs offer courses mostly through major US platforms
• There have been many smaller initiatives for open
education, OER, etc., but without coordination or
incentives on a national level
• The agency that handled issues concerning IT and
learning, Agency for Networks and Cooperation in
Higher Education was discontinued in 2008
• Sweden currently lacks an overbridging organization
and therefore there has only been small projects and
initiatives over the past 7 years

12. Sweden, MOOC report 1
• Agency for Growth Policy Analysis were in 2014
tasked by the Ministry of education to study the
possible impact of MOOCs on higher education.
• The analysis has focused on the development in the
UK, USA, China and India.
• Main challenges: issues related to quality and the
ability to acquire credits

13. Sweden, MOOC report 2
• Swedish Higher Education Authority in 2016
published a report with recommendations on how
MOOCs can be promoted in Swedish higher education
• Positive to the integration of MOOCs within the pubic
higher education.
• Leaves the strategic decisions regarding funding,
credits and certificates to the institutions.

14. Sweden, MOOC report 2, cont.
• Charging fees for MOOC certificates is the main
barrier as it breaks a central principle of Swedish
higher education.
• Recommends a greater focus on pedagogical
development in e-learning
• The proposals and recommendations outlined are
thought to lead to higher quality and increased
efficiency

15. Norway, background
Open education is not a frequently referred to in the
policies of Norwegian higher education because:
• All public higher education is free and open
• Almost all higher education is public
• The Norwegian higher education sector is well
established and has sufficient capacity
• Even though it is not a right established by law, any
candidate holding a high school diploma can enter
some kind of higher education

16. Norwegian MOOC report
The official report to the Ministry of Education and
Research MOOCs for Norway (2014) made many
recommendations within a proposed national initiative
amounting to an annual total of € 14 – 40 million, e.g.:
• National MOOC plaform(s)
• National MOOC portal
• Support centre to develop relevant educational and
technological skills
• Nordic cooperation to promote Nordic MOOCs
internationally
• Repository for OER for higher education

17. Norwegian MOOC report, cont.
Unfortunately the nex government largely ignored the
report. The only recommendation to become a reality is:
€ 2.5 mill over 5 years for research into the posibilities in
and barriers for learning analytics.

18. Norway, current status
The Ministry of Education and Research is restructuring
and merging their agencies.
• Might result is one or two centres that concentrate
the skills and experiences needed to support MOOCs
• On the other hand, these merged centres might
spend a lot of resources merging, which might detract
from their innovative capabilities.

19. Norway, current status
• National strategy for ICT in higher education due in
2017
• Government white paper / report to parliament on
quality in higher education (2017) is expected to
incorporate some of the recommendations from
MOOCs for Norway
• The majority of Norwegian HEIs are going through
mergers this year, which means more robust
institutions, new strategies and new oportunities

20. Spain
• There are no policy statements or financial incentives
on this topic in Spain
• The majority of HEIs are governed by regional
authorities, not national
• There is yet no cross-institutional collaboration
around MOOCs, but this might come when the
institutions deem MOOC a mature technology

21. Portugal
• There are no policy statements or financial incentives
on this topic in Portugal
• HEIs do not perceive MOOCs and Open Education as a
serious option. Some universities are gathering
experience in this field through European projects
• The Universidade Aberta (Open University) is the
most active and strong institution in this regard