The document discusses awarding academic credit for free online open educational resource (OER) courses through the OER universitas (OERu). It summarizes findings from three studies on assessing and accrediting learners who use OER courses. The key findings are that OER courses combined with disaggregated educational services can provide affordable access to education without material policy barriers if existing assessment practices are reused. Common methods for assessing OER courses for academic credit include transferring credit, challenge exams, course assignments, automated assessments, and recognition of prior learning.

1. The OER universitas (#OERu)
Anthony Mackintosh
Wayne Mackintosh
Awarding academic credit for free
online OER courses:
Lessons from the OERu

2. Open education
MOOCs
Virtual mobility
www.emundus-project.eu

3. The OER Foundation
The Open Education Resource (OER) Foundation
is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that
provides leadership, networking and support for
educators and educational institutions to achieve
their objectives through open education.
“OER is a sustainable
and renewable
resource”

5. OERu European partners

6. Smart philanthropy
Luis Argerich http://www.flickr.com/photos/lrargerich/3029485203
James Cridland http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescridland/2272701122James Cridland http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescridland/2272701122
Asenat29 http://www.flickr.com/photos/72153088@N08/6510934443/
Giving is receiving
Parallel learning universe|New business

7. Unsatisfied demand for HE
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescridland/613445810/sizes/m/in/photostream/
100 million additional places
By 2025
Slide 10

8. Open sourcing education

9. The OER university concept
Adapted from Taylor 2007
Free learning
opportunities for
all students
worldwide

10. OER & the sustainable disaggregation of services
Traditional university package OERu package

11. “It was also quite freeing not to be tied
to a textbook and able to follow what I
wanted to learn about and what I wanted
to write about”

12. Open but tough
too RIGID?| too FLEXIBLE?
Free OER courses |
Disaggregation of services |
CREDIBLE CREDENTIALS

13. Research on accrediting learners using OER
Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
(SSHRC) study on assessment and accreditation using OER
(Rory McGreal, Wayne Mackintosh, Dianne Conrad)
TOUCANS, SCORE Fellowship project, University of
Leicester: Testing the OERu Concept and Aspirations: a
National Study (Gabi Witthaus)
OERu Context Evaluation Study, Australian Digital
Futures Institute (Angela Murphy)
Download: http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=458
Drawing on three studies
Key findings and outputs
OER courses + disaggregated services = Affordable access
No material policy barriers – reuse existing assessment practices

14. Assessing for formal academic credit
●
Transfer credit (and associated “residency requirements)
●
Challenge for credit (proctored examinations)
●
Course assignments (e-portfolio)
●
Automated assessment (testing centres)
●
Recognition of prior learning
Traditional approaches
Emerging approaches
●
Competency-based
●
Open badges
●
VMPass (Learning Passport & clearing house)

15. Likely methods for OER assessment

16. Use of OER friendly acreditation activities

17. Growth in assessment services for OER

18. Cost to student
33% 54%
RPL cost for 3 courses as ratio of full-tuition fees
Average cost: 44.5% of comparable full-tuition costs
36% 57%
Credit by exam cost against full-tuition cost
Average cost: 48.8% of comparable full-tuition costs

19. Assessing for formal academic credit
●
Transfer credit
●
Challenge for credit (proctored examinations)
●
Course assignments (e-portfolio)
●
Automated assessment (testing centres)
●
Recognition of prior learning
Traditional approaches
Emerging approaches
●
Competency-based
●
Open badges
●
VMPass (Learning Passport & clearing house)

20. OERu fiscal sustainability
Slide 12

21. OER is a renewable & sustainable resource
Jason Scragz http://www.flickr.com/photos/scragz/132300147/
James Woolley http://www.flickr.com/photos/xtrato/6159728957
How do we achieve sustainable OER
projects?
How will your institution remain sustainable
without OER?
Slide 13