King's College London developed a strategic plan for open, distance and e-learning. [1] The plan included developing a vision for technology enhanced learning by 2015 and constructing a strategy around resources, staff development, and integrating technology into the curriculum. [2] King's benchmarked other institutions and collected data on e-learning processes, provision and practice to inform the strategic plan. [3] An emerging issue is how to respond to MOOCs and ensure they align with the institution's strategic direction.

1. ICT Leadership in Higher Education
Developing an Institutional Strategic Plan
for Open, Distance and eLearning
Stylianos Hatzipanagos & Mark Russell
Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning
King’s College London
February 2013

2. Overview of presentation
• Dimensions of Open and Distance Learning:
implications for strategy development
• Developing a TEL strategy: The King’s example
• What’s next? An emerging landscape in TEL
provision and how it is affecting ODL

3. Dimensions of ODL
• System design
• Programme design, approval and review
• The management of programme delivery
• Student development and support
• Student communication and representation
• Student assessment
(Collaborative provision and flexible and distributed learning
(including e-learning), QAA 2010

4. Models of ODL?
Autonomy or collaboration?
Consortia-type ventures in which a number of
universities join forces, either within national higher
education systems or as an international enterprise.
Establishing local franchises to support student
learning and students–staff interaction. Mode of
operation depends on the technological infrastructure
of various national settings.
Consortia, as partnerships between universities and
the corporate world, such as publishing houses.

5. Understanding and managing change
• Development of an organizational vision, and a
strategy by which to reach it is a critical step.
• Link TEL to the need for institutional
transformation (HEFCE 2009).
• Flexible institutional strategic plan that
recognizes the importance of TEL as a
necessary prerequisite to the successful
implementation of TEL (Bullen, 2013)

6. King’s College profile
King's College London is England's fourth-oldest
•
university institution. It is also one of the 20
leading UK universities which make up the
Russell Group.
QS International Ranking: 26
•A research-led university
•more than 24,000 students (of whom nearly
10,000 are graduate students) from 150 countries
•6,100 employees.

7. King’s College London: constructing a strategy
Objectives:
•Construct a regularly updated TEL Strategy
•Should be integrated with Learning & Teaching Strategy
and related Distance Learning strategy.
•TEL strategy with an implementation time plan that could
have a positive impact on TEL uptake.
•Influenced by HEFCE's revised approach to strategy for e-
learning (2009)

8. Collecting evidence to inform strategy and
planning:
Benchmarking exercise
Based on the HEFCE-funded e-learning benchmarking
and pathfinder programme led by the HEA, UK and the
JISC. Main goal for the benchmarking of TEL was to
undertake a fundamental analysis of
(a)e-learning processes
(b)provision and
(c)practice, upon which future development decisions
could be based.

9. The King’s College Strategy
Vision
By 2015 all students and staff in the College will experience
the benefits of technology enhanced learning.
King’s TEL strategy

10. Constructing a TEL strategy
Principles of the strategy
•Staff
•Staff and students
•The Institution
Dimensions of the strategy:
Resources
Reward and recognition
Staff and student development
Using technology enhanced learning in the curriculum
Research
Culture
Future Innovations

11. Institutional partnership for ODL
• Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning
• Academic development unit: King’s Learning
Institute
• Distance Learning Unit
• Information Systems and Services

12. The Centre for Technology Enhanced
Learning
•Innovation
•Capacity and culture
•Developing digital literacy and professionalism
•Future-proofing the curriculum through TEL
•Stimulating and contributing to research vibrancy in TEL

13. An emerging landscape in TEL provision
and how it is affecting ODL strategies
• Strategic alliances
• Developing pedagogical models that still focus
on student centred teaching. Logistics?
• Evolving adaptive short term and long term
strategic plan and business model
• MOOCs as an experiment to engage huge
numbers of students.

14. Collecting evidence to inform future
strategy and planning
• Observing learner behaviour in blended learning
environments to inform the development of ODL and
strategic planning.
• Learning analytics employs sophisticated analytic tools
and processes in investigation and visualization of large
institutional data sets, in the service of improving
learning and education (Buckingham Shum & Ferguson,
2012).

15. Response to the emergence of MOOCs
Institutions need to consider seriously:
•How MOOCs align with strategic directions
•How MOOCs fit into their existing TEL practices
and infrastructure

16. Thank you
any comments or feedback
s.hatzipanagos@kcl.ac.uk