Lifelong learning and partnerships: rethinking the boundaries of the university in the digital age

Higher education (HE) in Scotland has some very specific characteristics: a relatively small number of HE institutions (HEIs), nineteen at the time of writing; a strong college sector, which makes a significant contribution to the provision of HE; an all through credit and qualifications framework, designed to support transitions between different parts of the education system and through the lifecourse; no fees for full-time HE and more than fifteen years of policy initiatives aimed at (WP). Despite all this, unequal access between different socio-economic groups has remained stubbornly persistent. Moreover, the numbers of mature and part-time students in both the university and college sectors have declined. This paper looks at some of the evidence from the Opening Educational Practices in Scotland project, which is exploring the interface between open education and WP. In the context of the widespread availability of digital devices and the rapid increase in free, open online resources, are there new strategies to promote WP and lifelong learning

Towards Open Educational Practice

Significant claims are made for the potential of Open Educational Resources (OER) to widen access to higher education. Most recently, the very large numbers of individuals enrolling on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has dominated discussion in universities and beyond. Advocates such as D’Antoni (2013) have written persuasively of how OER can potentially open up access to education and redefine the boundaries between institutions and society. However, the evidence from the first wave of MOOCs suggests that the participants are primarily individuals with prior experience of higher education. While this indeed widens access, there is no evidence that it is widening participation from those distanced from education (Lane et al, 2014). Indeed there is limited evidence of significant impact on widening participation by OERs (Falconer et.al, 2013). The Open Educational Resources (OER) movement, however, has longer and deeper roots (Lane, 2012: 140), roots that are about more than licensing and has engaged in educational practices that break down barriers to education. This paper explores recent examples from Scotland of partnership-based approaches to the development, design and delivery of OERs. Drawing on this experience and ideas from the academic literature on educational technology, pedagogy and widening participation, we draw some provisional conclusions on an approach that combines key elements from all these fields. In particular we note that openness is not simply a matter of barriers to access related to licenses or technological aspects, but are inherently cultural, social and situational. We conclude that while the OER movements early focus on licenses and technology was useful, widening participation requires a shift in emphasis, a shift that accounts for peoples, places and the practices of open educatio

Exploring open educational practice in an open university

This paper looks at how partnership working, developed to support widening access objectives, has created opportunities for innovative initiatives involving Open Educational Resources (OER). The activity is located in Scotland, which forms one distinctive part of the increasingly differentiated UK higher education environment. Following a brief description of the types of organisations involved in partnership working, there is a brief reflection on the nature of partnership, and how policy and funding drivers in a national context shape and provide opportunities for innovative practice. Four selected case studies are provided to illustrate the development of Open Educational Practice and the paper concludes with some provisional thoughts on the distinctiveness and generalisability of these forms of practice

Higher education policy in Scotland and the implications for part-time study

The Scottish Government have initiated a major reform of post-16 education with a stated aim of increased flexibility for learners, including more part-time provision. The Open University is the largest provider of part-time higher education (HE) in Scotland and evidence gathered from students who have studied in the college sector suggests that part-time learners value the flexibility of part-time study that allows them to repeat study at the same level or start at a lower level or change subject from previous study. This paper explores the policy changes being made and questions if this flexibility will be maintained for part-time learners in a climate of efficiency savings in HE provision? Will adequate opportunities be made available for them? Will further incentives be put in place to encourage more part-time learning

Opening Educational Practices in Scotland (OEPS)

OEPS is a cross-sector project led by the Open University in Scotland (OUiS) and funded by the Scottish Funding Council. The project began in late spring 2014 and runs until the end of July 2017. It has its origins in OER projects carried out by the OUiS over the preceding four years. In most cases these involved close partnership between the university and other organisations that would not normally be involved in the creation of educational materials. OEPS aims to build on these approaches, and on other valuable experience from across the Scottish sector, to increase the use of open licensed resources in Scotland, develop better understanding of good open educational practice and support widening participation and transitions. The project is multi-stranded, involving a wide range of partners in development work. Integral to the project methodology is a process of embedded research and evaluation aimed at understanding and evidencing good practice. In this paper we share the progress of the project to date and highlight some of the questions and issues that are emerging

Practising open education

Decades of debate have centred on definitions of openness in higher education (HE) and have considered the potential of open education to align, and even transform, the relationship between knowledge creation and knowledge needs. Proposals and tactics for extending the benefits of access to information and participation in education have a long history. In recent decades, much of this work has taken place under the banner of ‘open’, a descriptor that has been attached to universities, learning, resources, technology and even practices. Supporters of greater openness in education share the belief and aspiration that, through this route, educational opportunities can be provided to all as a human right and education can be the catalyst for global equalisation in sharing and receiving knowledge

Rethinking graduate attributes: understanding the learning journeys of part-time students in the Open University in Scotland

Four in ten of Scotland’s university students study part time. But their voices and experience are often sidelined in debates about employability and graduate attributes. What do part-time students value in their course of study, and how does this differ from the experience of students in campus based universities? What is the relevance of current and future employment to their experience of study? What relevance might graduate attributes have to part time students? This paper draws on evidence gathered in two large scale surveys of Open University (OU) students in Scotland to explore these issues. The first of these studies explored study motivations and the relationship between study and employment. It highlights the fact that people often choose to study at points of change, or desired change in their life. Study either facilitates that change, or is in itself a part of the change. The aspirations of students does not neatly fit the traditional linear ‘graduate attributes’ model of progression from study to graduate career. Rather our findings suggest more complex journeys which pose challenges to that model and suggest alternative ways of viewing the relationship between study and ‘graduateness’. The second study explores the experience of OU students who studied previously at higher education level in a Scottish college. For these students employment and study is often intertwined and learning journeys are complex and non-linear. In the final section of the paper we look critically at the relevance of the idea of ‘graduateness’ for part-time / in work students and draw on the literature to suggest alternative ways in which the relationship between Higher Education (HE) and employment might be conceived in the context of the (changing) relationship between study and employment

Reflections on work and learning and flexible curriculum

In this paper we reflect on the curriculum implications of some recent initiatives undertaken by The Open University in Scotland (OUiS). The University has traditionally delivered a flexible curriculum aimed at a part-time student population who are predominantly in work. More recently there has been a development of work-based learning (WBL) qualifications across a range of different discipline areas. We consider examples of workplace learning initiatives that have made use of both more traditional curriculum and curriculum designed specifically as WBL. We also consider examples of the impact of the growth of the curriculum through the development of non-accredited Open Educational Resources. In reflecting on some representative examples we look at how a Higher Education (HE) curriculum, whether conventional or work-based, can intersect and interact with work experience. In the course of this we share a “rich picture” developed to help us conceptualise work and learning