MegaTrends in Elearning Provision European Megaproviders of Online Education

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MegaTrends inE-learning ProvisionEuropean
Megaproviders of Online Education

• Morten Flate Paulsen, NKI Distance Education,
  NODesmond Keegan, Distance Education
  International, IRL
• The slides are available via
• http//home.nettskolen.com/morten/
• A presentation (30 min) at the EADTU Annual
  Conference Tallinn 24.11.06.

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The MegaTrend project is based on the basic
assumption that the most evident mega trend in
online education today is the development from
small-scale experiments to large-scale operations
as discussed in my book
Online Education and Learning Management Systems
Global E-learning in a Scandinavian Perspective.
www.studymentor.com
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The Research Methodology

• Starting with the presentation of success in
  e-learning in Morten F Paulsens book Online
  education and Learning Management Systems
  (www.studymentor.com)
• The project set out to identify the European
  Mega-Providers of e-learning. Strict criteria for
  qualification were drawn up.
• The project then analyses the successful
  institutions on the causes of their robustness,
  sustainability and achievement of critical mass.
• The results of the analyses will be written up
  and published for the benefit of e-learning
  institutions and other providers throughout
  Europe.

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Criteria for Nominations

• The MegaTrends project will identify, survey and
  analyze European mega providers of e-learning.
  The criteria for qualification are
• The project concentrates on e- learning
  situations with more than 5000 course enrolments
  per year or more than 100 courses on offer on any
  one time.
• The project focuses on distance education and
  does not include the use of e-learning for
  on-campus students. At least 51 of a programme
  must be online to qualify.
• The project does not include corporate
  e-learning from a base outside Europe.

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Identification of Megaproviders

• The researchers personal and institutional
  networks
• Newsletters and conferences
• EDEN
• EADL
• EADTU

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27 Nominated Institutions Sorted by Country

• Universitat de Barcelona Virtual (Spain)
• Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain)
• Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain)
• Universidad de Las Palmas (Spain)
• CEPADE (Spain)
• Lund University (Sweden)
• Learn Direct (UK)
• Manchester Metropolitan University (UK)
• Staffordshire University (UK)
• The Open University (UK)
• The University of Leicester (UK)
• The University of Ulster (UK)

• Bit media (Austria)
• University of Liège (Belgium)
• University of Hradec Kralove (Czechia)
• University of Tartu (Estonia)
• Virtuelle Hochschule Bayern (Germany)
• Oncampus (Germany)
• Hungarian Telecom (Hungary)
• Dennis Gabor College (Hungary)
• Scuola IaD (Italy)
• Riga Technical University (Latvia)
• Open Universiteit Nederland (Netherlands)
• NKI (Norway)
• BI (Norway)
• NKS (Norway)
• Sør-trøndelag University College (Norway)

An updated list with further information is
available at www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatr
ends/nominated.html
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Help us improve the list of nominations

• We would like to get the list as complete and
  correct as possible. Therefore we request help to
  identify additional institutions that should be
  listed.
• We also appreciate feedback if you consider some
  of the nominated institution not qualify for the
  list.
• Please contact
• Morten Flate Paulsen, mfp_at_nki.no

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Country Reports by Project Partnerswww.nettskolen
.com/in_english/megatrends/workpackage3.html

• NKI Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany,
  Netherlands
• DEI Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Belgium,
  Luxembourg
• E-University Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
  Czech Republic
• UOC Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Greece
• EDEN Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia
• Norgesuniversitetet Norway
• BUTE Austria, Cyprus

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Hypothesis Robust and sustainable online
education is based on a number of

• Historical factors
• Technical factors
• Course factors
• Management and strategy factors
• Economic factors
• www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends/Factors.p
  df

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Historical factors

• Long history in distance/online/flexible
  education
• High competence in online education
• Evolutionary development
• Continuing research 

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Technical factors

• High competence in ICT
• Based on standard technologies
• Well integrated ICT systems
• Effective administrative systems

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Course factors

• Wide range of subjects and levels
• Wise choice of topics
• Flexible student start-up and progression
• Focus on asynchronous communication

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Factors related toManagement, strategy and
attitudes

• Support from top management
• Enthusiastic employees
• Strategies that support online education
• Focus on quality
• Effective administrative routines
• Predictable and manageable teacher workload
• Collaboration with other institutions
• High credibility with the government 
• Some sort of industrialization

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Economic factors

• Cost-effectiveness
• Stable and predictable sources of income from
  operation
• Pressure on the necessity to change
• Contracts with part-time tutors and course
  developers

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Matrix Model for Analyses
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German and Norwegian Case Studieswww.nettskolen.c
om/in_english/megatrends/workpackage4.html
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Virtuelle Hochschule Bayern www.vhb.org

• Institute set up by all nine state universities
  and all 17 state universities of applied sciences
  in Bavaria
• Founded 2000
• Courses in LMS systems at individual universities
• Central course catalogue and course registration
• 16-full-time and 250 part-time employees
• 20000 course enrollments and 150 courses

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Oncampus www.oncampus.de

• All e-learning activities of Lübeck University of
  Applied Sciences (LUAS), the German project
  Virtuelle Fachhochschole (VFH), and the European
  project Baltic Sea Virtual Campus.
• Online courses since 1997
• 80 online and 20 face-to-face courses in each
  program
• Blackboard, Luvit, implemented SAKAI open source
  LMS in 2006
• 38 full-time, 150 part-time employees
• 9386 course enrollments and 119 online courses

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Norwegian School of Management (BI)

• BI is a non-profit private institution offering
  courses at higher education (tertiary) level and
  within vocational training.
• The Distance Education Centre (BI DE) has offered
  online courses since 1989.
• Apollon, self-developed LMS
• 17 full-time and 50 part-time employees
• 8500 course enrolments and 54 courses.

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NKI Internet College www.nettskolen.com
October 2006

• Operated by NKI Distance Education (www.nki.no)
• Online education since 1987 (About 65 000 course
  enrolments)
• Broad spectrum of subjects from secondary to
  master level
• About 470 distance education courses online
• About 7700 online students in at least 35
  countries
• About 70 women
• Revenue of 7 million Euros in 2005
• You may start whenever you like
• Individual progress plans
• Always room for more students
• Exams at local schools and embassies
• Online students get better grades

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e-learning initiatives that did not reach their
targeted goals

• The MegaTrends project will also study important
  e-learning initiatives that did not reach
  targeted goals. The project partners therefore
  request information about such initiatives.
  Relevant information about contact people,
  articles, PowerPoint presentations etc. will be
  appreciated.
• The Megatrends project is concerned about
  e-learning initiatives which collapsed and faded
  away when the initial project funding was
  withdrawn, and initiatives that were launched
  with much political hype but failed and were
  closed, often with the loss of much taxpayers
  money.

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Online Education Obituaries

• The initial resource for this work was Online
  Education Obituaries, www.studymentor.com/studymen
  tor/Obituaries.pdf
• Many governmental initiatives have not been
  available
• Consortia are often not sustainable
• Many commercial and investordriven initiatives
  have failed
• Boardroom initiatives often fail
• Several high profile international ventures have
  been discontinued because of unhealthy economy.
• An updated list of resources and links to further
  informationwww.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatre
  nds/workpackage6.html

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Thank You!
Questions? The presentation and contact
information is available via http//home.nettskol
en.com/morten/