Designing low carbon higher education systems: Environmental impacts of campus and distance learning systems

Purpose – This paper aims to summarise the methods and main findings of a study of the environmental impacts of providing higher education (HE) courses by campus-based and distance/open-learning methods. Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes the form of an environmental audit, with data from surveys of 20 UK courses – 13 campus-based, seven print-based and online distance learning courses – covering travel, paper and print consumption, computing, accommodation, and campus site impacts. Results were converted into energy and CO2 emissions per student per 100 hours of degree study. Findings – Distance learning HE courses involve 87 per cent less energy and 85 per cent lower CO2 emissions than the full-time campus-based courses. Part-time campus HE courses reduce energy and CO2 emissions by 65 and 61 per cent, respectively, compared with full-time campus courses. The lower impacts of part-time and distance compared with full-time campus courses is mainly due to a reduction in student travel and elimination of much energy consumption of students’ housing, plus economies in campus site utilisation. E-learning appears to offer only relatively small energy and emissions reductions (20 and 12 per cent, respectively) compared with mainly print-based distance learning courses, mainly because online learning requires more energy for computing and paper for printing. Research limitations/implications – Assumptions were made in order to calculate the energy and emissions arising from the different HE systems. For example, it was decided to include all the energy consumed in term-time accommodation for full-time campus students while part-time campus and distance learning students live at home, only requiring additional heating and lighting for study. Future studies could include more distance and blended learning courses offered by institutions other than the UK Open University and impacts other than CO2 emissions. Practical implications – Existing HE sustainability programmes should be broadened beyond considering campus site impacts and “greening the curriculum”. Indeed, were HE expansion to take environmental impacts seriously, then part-time and distance education should be prioritised over increasing full-time provision. This appears compatible with the Leitch Review of Skills on continuing education and training for the UK workforce. Originality/value – The paper is the only existing quantitative study of this issue

Software for Managing Parametric Studies

The Information Power Grid Virtual Laboratory (ILab) is a Practical Extraction and Reporting Language (PERL) graphical-user-interface computer program that generates shell scripts to facilitate parametric studies performed on the Grid. (The Grid denotes a worldwide network of supercomputers used for scientific and engineering computations involving data sets too large to fit on desktop computers.) Heretofore, parametric studies on the Grid have been impeded by the need to create control language scripts and edit input data files painstaking tasks that are necessary for managing multiple jobs on multiple computers. ILab reflects an object-oriented approach to automation of these tasks: All data and operations are organized into packages in order to accelerate development and debugging. A container or document object in ILab, called an experiment, contains all the information (data and file paths) necessary to define a complex series of repeated, sequenced, and/or branching processes. For convenience and to enable reuse, this object is serialized to and from disk storage. At run time, the current ILab experiment is used to generate required input files and shell scripts, create directories, copy data files, and then both initiate and monitor the execution of all computational processes

Factor 10 Visions project: Higher Education Sector Towards Sustainable Higher Education: Environmental impacts of campus-based and distance higher education systems

This report gives the findings of a major UK study of the environmental impacts of four different methods of providing higher education (HE) courses: Conventional campus-based full-time courses; Conventional campus-based part-time courses; Print-based distance taught courses; Part electronically-delivered distance taught courses. This is an environmental assessment of these different HE systems and does not assess their educational effectiveness or socio-economic costs and benefits. KEY FINDINGS • On average, the production and provision of the distance learning courses consumed nearly 90% less energy and produced 85% fewer CO2 emissions (per student per 10 CAT points) than the conventional campus-based university courses. (1 CAT point is equivalent to 10 hours total study and 360 CAT points are required for an UK undergraduate degree.) • Part-time campus-based courses also cut energy and CO2 emissions, though by a lesser extent (energy by 63% and CO2 emissions by 62%). • The much lower impacts of distance learning compared to campus-based courses is mainly due to a major reduction in the amount of student travel, economies of scale in utilisation of the campus site, and the elimination of much of the energy consumption of students’ housing. These are also key factors for the reduction in the environmental impacts of part-time course delivery. (The purchase and use of computers and consumption of paper and printed matter accounts for a relatively small difference between the distance and campus systems.) • E-learning courses appear to offer only a small reduction in energy consumption and CO2 emissions (20% and 12% respectively) when compared to mainly print-based distance learning courses. This is due to high student use of computing, consumption of paper for printing off Web-based material, and additional home heating (probably for night time Internet access). • Different campus courses involve a wide range of environmental impacts. Courses with low energy and emissions (per student per 10 CAT points) tend to have a high proportion of students who live at home while studying. The courses may also be taught at a compact, self-contained campus, perhaps containing energy efficient buildings. • Existing programmes aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of higher education should be broadened beyond considering campus site environmental management and ‘greening the curriculum’ to include the impacts of student travel (especially travel between ‘home’ and university) and student housing. • Nevertheless, there is evidence that HE courses with student-relevant environmental content can have a highly positive effect on student attitudes and behaviour towards the environment. • Generally, this study challenges claims about the ‘de-materialisation’ effects and environmental benefits of using ICT to provide services such as HE. The environmental impacts of a service depend mainly on its requirements for travel and a dedicated infrastructure of buildings and equipment. The use of ICT or other methods will only benefit the environment if they reduce the service’s requirements for energy-intensive transport, dedicated equipment and heating and lighting of buildings

An investigation of vocational progression pathways for young people and adults in building crafts and hospitality CoVEs: a London case study

This report was commissioned by the Learning and Skills Development Agency’s (LSDA’s) strategic programme of research and development, funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Project aims and objectives The principal aim of this project is to explore how vocational pathways have been developed and enhanced in two occupational areas – building crafts and hospitality – among 14–19 year olds and employed adults in London

Report to Foundation Degree Forward on the impact of foundation degrees on students and the workplace

The study (commissioned by Foundation Degree Forward) was undertaken by a team of researchers from the Open University's Centre for Higher Education Research and Information and the Learning and Skills Network. It set out to explore the impact of foundation degrees from students' and employers' perspectives. By design it also aimed to build capacity among (mainly) staff in further education colleges delivering Foundation degree (Fd) 8 programmes through the involvement of Fd practitioners in the study. Many of the Fds in the study were still rather new, and some of the research findings reflect this recency. The study found that students and employers perceive a range of benefits that Fd study brings to individuals and the workplace. Full-time students cited gaining real business/industry experience, gaining broad knowledge of a specific industry, developing relevant knowledge and skills, and making contacts for future jobs as some of the benefits. Those already in employment cited getting back to learning, gaining new subject knowledge and an understanding of theories linked to, and informed by workplace practices, the development of academic skills, and gaining broader perspectives on their current work. Most students considered they had gained confidence through their studies. Employers also noted the gains in broader understandings and improved performance in the workplace. However, the study also found that employer involvement in the design and delivery of Fds was very variable. A few had been actively engaged, and practitioners acknowledged that engaging employers effectively and persuading them to take part in future developments could be a challenge. The report notes that many of the Fds involved in the study had yet to capitalise on the intended levels of integration of academic and work-based learning, and of employer engagement which are seen as some of the distinctive features of Fds

Vocational higher education - does it meet employers’ needs?

This report is the outcome of a study funded by the Learning and Skills Council, the Department for Education and Skills, the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Council for Industry and Higher Education. The study was undertaken at a time when government policies for higher education included a new ‘push’ towards work-related higher education, and educational policies more generally were seeking to redress the balance between academic and vocational qualifications at various levels within the compulsory and post-compulsory education and training systems in England. One part of the study re-analysed existing data sources to explore the size and nature of vocational higher education provision in England. The main part of the study was an exploration of employers’ views (in a limited number of employment sectors) on the value of vocational higher education for recruitment and workforce development purposes. To complement the ‘employer view’ a limited investigation of the ‘direct consumer’ view (i.e. students on vocational higher education programmes) was also undertaken. The report highlights a series of key issues for policymakers, and also makes recommendations for improvements to data collection

Psychology and aggression

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68264/2/10.1177_002200275900300301.pd

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

Towards sustainable higher education: environmental impacts of conventional campus, print-based and electronic/open learning systems

This chapter summarises the methods and main findings of a study of the environmental impacts of providing HE courses by campus-based and distance/open learning methods. Methodology Surveys of 20 UK courses – 13 campus-based, 7 print-based and on-line distance learning courses – covering travel, paper and print consumption, computing, accommodation, and campus site impacts. Conversion of results into energy and CO2 emissions per student per 100 hours of degree study. Findings Part-time HE courses reduce energy and CO2 emissions by 60% compared to full-time campus-based courses and distance learning courses involve nearly 90% less energy and 85% fewer CO2 emissions than the full-time campus courses. The lower impacts of part-time and distance compared to full-time campus courses is mainly due to a reduction in student travel and elimination of much energy consumption of students’ housing, plus economies in campus site utilisation,. E-learning appears to offer only small energy and emissions reductions compared to mainly print-based distance learning courses, mainly because e-learning requires more energy for computing and paper for printing. Research limitations Assumptions were made in order to calculate the energy and emissions arising from the different HE systems. E.g. it was decided to include all the energy consumed in term-time accommodation for full-time campus students while part-time campus and distance learning students live at home only requiring additional heating and lighting for study. Future studies could include more distance and blended learning courses offered by institutions other than the UK Open University and impacts other than CO2 emissions. Practical implications Existing HE sustainability programmes should be broadened beyond considering campus site impacts and ‘greening the curriculum’. Indeed, were HE expansion to take environmental impacts seriously, then part-time and distance education should be favoured over increasing full-time provision