presentation at the annual meeting of the Council of Higher Education Accreditation in Washington 27 January 2014

1. Quality: Challenges for Post
Traditional Higher Education?
Do MOOCs change the
idea of the university?!
Ulf-Daniel Ehlers

2. Presentation in short

3. What is it we are in currently?
• Traidional
• Modern/ Industrial (Post traditional) (Quality!)
• Individualized / Rip&Mix / Patchwork
(Quality?)

4. What are the challenges of the
emerging model?
Modern
(Massification ) HE Model
Post modern
HE Model
Defined degrees
Short and patchwork study cycles
Study in a degree framework
Study according needs and interest
Curriculum is oriented to professions
No clear curriculum, but certifiation needs
Expert led/ Prof. led knowledge transfer
Students are peers
Exam driven/ Certification bound
Learning experience in the foreground
Certifiation of knowledge/ achievements
Assessment of competences
Institution bound
De-institutionalised
Institution‘s reputation determines value
Experience + practice value gain importance
Clear timebound structure of degrees
Flexibilisation
Disciplins are structure giving
Inter-disciplinary/ trans-disciplinary
Disciplin oriented: canon of methods and knowledge
Problem oriented
Academic status, traditions, clothing
individualised
Differentiation against „non-higher education“
Continuum through ed.-sectors + levels

5. Why are MOOCs & Open Eductaion so
popular? MOOC characteristics
Modern
(Massification ) HE Model
Post modern
HE Model
Defined degrees
Short and patchwork study cycles
Study in a degree framework
Study according needs and interest
Curriculum is oriented to professions
No clear curriculum, but certifiation needs
Expert led/ Prof. led knowledge transfer
Students are peers
Exam driven/ Certification bound
Learning experience in the foreground
Certifiation of knowledge/ achievements
Assessment of competences
Institution bound
De-institutionalised
Institution‘s reputation determines value
Experience + practice value gain importance
Clear timebound structure of degrees
Flexibilisation
Disciplins are structure giving
Inter-disciplinary/ trans-disciplinary
Disciplin oriented: canon of methods and knowledge
Problem oriented
Academic status, traditions, clothing
individualised
Differentiation against „non-higher education“
Continuum through ed.-sectors + levels

6. What are the important imperatives
for QA?
• Quality and Innovation are one family
• Technology is a game changer
• Openess leads to disaggregation

7. http://www.oer-europe.net/
7

8. Presentation long version

9. Welcome!!
Prof. Dr. Ulf-Daniel Ehlers
Vicepresident Quality and Academic
Affairs, Baden-Wurttemberg
Cooperative State University
President European Foundation for
Quality in E-Learning, Brussels
(www.efquel.org)

10. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Part 1: MOOCs are a sympton.
The cause is a changing idea of the
university
Old
Terms which struck
New
me and which are
important to clarify!
Different
Traditional
Industrial Model & Massification
Modern
Post traditional
Post modern

11. Bologna University, Italy (1088)
http://isdsbologna2013.org/blog/location/bologna/#!prettyPhoto-205/0/

12. University of Bochum, Germany (1965)
http://www.rd.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/imperia/md/images/rd/plasma/news/luftbild_rub_s__dwest.jpg

13. Workers Housing, Plymouth, UK
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/display/19141958

14. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
Guggenheim, Bilbao
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Guggenheim-bilbao-jan05.jpg

15. STATA Center, MIT (2004)
http://web.mit.edu/jsaa/www/photos/stata.jpg

16. Which graduates?
Depth in a knowledge field,
depth in a system
Ability to act successfull across disciplins,
contexts and systems

17. Which Qualification? Today‘s Scenario
Today
Top
Managers
Experts Senior
Managers
Senior
Specialists
Managers
Specialists
Operational, Back Office
© Matthias Landmesser, 2013

18. Which Qualification? Future
Scenario
Future
Drivers:
Top
Managers




Experts
Senior
Managers
Senior Specialists
Specialists
Operational, Back
Office
Managers
Globalisation
Changed Value Chain
Demographic Change
Growing Complexity
And therefore …
1. More higher
qualifications
2. New academic job
profiles
3. Cross-Competencies
gain importance
© Matthias Landmesser, 2013

19. Are MOOCs really the question?
Or is it a question of HE systems change?
Evolving questions:
• What is post traditional higher eductaion?
• Is it not rather post industrial / post modern higher education?
• Do we have to look at the HEI or the traditional learner?
• How can we prepare for the new learner?
Precisely:
• How can HEI cater for the quality needs
of the 21st century student? Are MOOCs
doing that?

20. First conclusion:
Where does that leave us?
• The traditional model: Exclusively for few
chosen.
• The modern (massification) model: Standard
model for masses.
• The post-modern model: Individualised and
diversified HE (Rip and Mix Approach/
Patchwork)

21. Part 2:
The changing nature of HE
The open questions...:
1. What are the characteristics of ‚the modern HE
model?‘
2. What are the needs of the 21st centruy student?
3. How do MOOCs fit in there?
And then - more general: What does that mean for
Quality of Open Education?

22. What are the characteristics of ‚the
traditional HE model?‘
Modern
(Massification ) HE Model
Defined degrees
Study in a degree framework
Curriculum is oriented to professions
Expert led/ Prof. led knowledge transfer
Exam driven/ Certification bound
Certifiation of knowledge/ achievements
Institution bound
Institution‘s reputation determines value
Clear timebound structure of degrees
Disciplins are structure giving
Disciplin oriented: canon of methods and knowledge
Academic status, traditions, clothing
Differentiation against „non-higher education“
Post modern
HE Model

23. What are the needs of the 21st
centruy student?
Modern
(Massification ) HE Model
Post modern
HE Model
Defined degrees
Short and patchwork study cycles
Study in a degree framework
Study according needs and interest
Curriculum is oriented to professions
No clear curriculum, but certifiation needs
Expert led/ Prof. led knowledge transfer
Students are peers
Exam driven/ Certification bound
Learning experience in the foreground
Certifiation of knowledge/ achievements
Assessment of competences
Institution bound
De-institutionalised
Institution‘s reputation determines value
Experience + practice value gain importance
Clear timebound structure of degrees
Flexibilisation
Disciplins are structure giving
Inter-disciplinary/ trans-disciplinary
Disciplin oriented: canon of methods and knowledge
Problem oriented
Academic status, traditions, clothing
individualised
Differentiation against „non-higher education“
Continuum through ed.-sectors + levels

24. In essence
Post-Modern HE:
Disaggregation of the model
Diversification of the model
(Do MOOCs fit here? By the way – what is the
definition of MOOC?
mooc.efquel.org)

25. MOOC characteristics
Modern
(Massification ) HE Model
Post modern
HE Model
Defined degrees
Short and patchwork study cycles
Study in a degree framework
Study according needs and interest
Curriculum is oriented to professions
No clear curriculum, but certifiation needs
Expert led/ Prof. led knowledge transfer
Students are peers
Second conclusion: in the foreground
Learning experience
MOOCs meet many requirementsofof a contemporary
Certifiation of knowledge/ achievements
Assessment competences
Institution bound model – but personalDe-institutionalised
HE
tutoring, certification or
Institution‘s reputation determines value
Experience + practice
curriculum pathways are not yetvalue gain importance
solved.
Exam driven/ Certification bound
Clear timebound structure of degrees
Flexibilisation
Disciplins are structure giving
Inter-disciplinary/ trans-disciplinary
Disciplin oriented: canon of methods and knowledge
Problem oriented
Academic status, traditions, clothing
individualised
Differentiation against „non-higher education“
Continuum through ed.-sectors + levels

26. Part 3: Some grand quality challenges
ahead for providers of post modern HE
1. The quest of „individualised quality“
CONCEDE
2. The quest of openess  OPAL
3. The quest of recognition  OERTest +
VMPass
4. An exploration into MOOC quality

28. www.efquel.org/projects

29. www.oer-quality.org

31. http://www.oer-europe.net/
32

32. Part 4:
The MOOC Quality Project
12 weeks, 12 experts, 12 posts,
12.000 Readers, >150 comments
mooc.efquel.org

33. 1. Massive Target Audience?
• Change from „no target audience“-thinking to
having one in mind, even if it is wide. Take into
acount new participation profiles.
Lurkers
Drop-ins
MOOC
Active participants
Passive
participants
HILL, P. (2013) “The Four Student Archetypes Emerging in MOOCs” [Online] e-Literate
blog post 02/03/13 [accessed 19/04/13]. Available: http://mfeldstein.com/the-fourstudent-archetypes-emerging-in-moocs/

34. 2. Mixing Groups?
• Be aware that inviting the world
means to bring in the worlds
opinion (existing groups might be
disturbed)
• Mixing campus and MOOC
Students might be challenging:
drive in/by learners vs. highly
motivated learners who want a
masters degree.
http://www.teleskop-service.de/Veranstaltungen/ITT2007/Blick_in_die_Berge.jpg

35. 3. Learning Across Contexts
• Be aware that the quality paradigm “fitness
for purpose” is not working for MOOCs
because MOOCs mean learning across
contexts and purposes.
• Quality measures become individualised,
quality methods like self- & peer-assessment
and –reflection are suitable.
http://www.teleskop-service.de/Veranstaltungen/ITT2007/Blick_in_die_Berge.jpg

36. 4. Support Self-Organization
• Be open about your requirements of selforganisation, provide scaffolding for those
who lack that self-organisation.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Fugle%2C_%C3%B8rns%C3%B8_073.jpg

37. 5. Declare What‘s in it!
Be precise about the content and
purpose of the MOOC (selfdeclaration) and keep promises! (Use
a MOOC description model)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
the degree of openness,
the scale of participation
(massification),
the amount of use of multimedia,
the amount of communication,
the extent to which collaboration is
included,
the type of learner pathway (from
learner centred to teacher-centred
and highly structured),
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
the level of quality assurance,
the extent to which reflection is
encouraged,
the level of assessment,
how informal or formal it is,
autonomy,
and diversity.
(Conole 2013)

38. 6. Peer-to-Peer Pedagogy
• Use peer-to-peer pedagogy: peer-learning,
peer-review, peer-assessment, collaborative
learning, multiple learning pathways and
exploratory learning
• Understand that teaching is not a prerequsite
of learning.
http://www.naset.org/uploads/pics/choice.gif

39. 7. MOOCs Support Choice Based
Learning
• Get away from
– the notion that „ending a MOOC early“ means
dropping out
– looking at MOOCs like (structured, paced, timebound)
courses
• Be aware that MOOC learning is an opt-in/out
learning model
• MOOCs follow voluntary sequencing and are
based on choices. The choices they offer make
their attractiveness.
http://www.naset.org/uploads/pics/choice.gif

40. Prof. Dr. phil. Habil. Ulf-Daniel Ehlers
ehlers@dhbw.de
WWW.EFQUEL.ORG
EFQUEL office in Brussels
Rue des deux Eglises 35
B – 1000 BRUSSELS
BELGIUM
Tel : + 32 2 639 30 32
Fax : + 32 2 644 35 83
Email : info@efquel.org