The OpenCred study investigates recognition of non-formal open learning in the EU. It identifies models for recognizing open learning and learners' perceptions. The study team includes researchers from the University of Leicester and the JRC. The study finds that robust assessment is key to recognition but can reduce openness if it is costly or limited to enrolled students. It also finds that open learning is currently recognized through partial qualifications rather than full credentials.

1. Recognition of non-formal learning in open
education:
where do we stand, how far can we go?
Andreia Inamorato dos Santos, Ph.D
JRC Institute for Prospective Technological Studies
@aisantos
Open Educational Resources: impact and outcomes. Fondation maison des
sciences de l’homme, Paris 8-9 December 2014

2. European Commission,
Joint Research Centre
(DG JRC)
Institute for Prospective
Technological Studies (IPTS):
Research institute supporting EU
policy-making on
socio-economic, scientific and/or
technological issues

3. ICT for Learning and Skills
http://essie.eun.org/
• >50 publications on IPTS eLearning website
• Principal client: DG Education & Culture
Team
What:
• ICT for modernising and innovating E&T in Europe
• 21st century skills for digital economy and society
Research strands
• Opening up Education, OER & Science 2.0
• Innovating Learning and Teaching
• Key Competences and 21st century skills
Team from left:
Yves Punie: Project Leader
Panayotis Kampilys: researcher
Andreia I. Santos: researcher
Jonatan Castaño: researcher
Riina Vuorikari: researcher
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/eLearning.html

4. http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/eLearningPublications.html

5. JRC IPTS – DG EAC studies on iCT and Open Education TIMING
DIGICOMP
Anusca Ferrari, Yves Punie
2010-2012
Scale CCR
Panagiotis Kampilys, Barbara Brecko, Yves Punie
2011-2013
OEREU
Christine Redecker, Jonatan Castaño, Yves Punie
2012-2014
OpenEdu
Andreia Inamorato dos Santos, Jonatan Castaño, Yves Punie
2013-2015
ongoing
COM4EDU
Panayotis Kampylis, Riina Vuorikari, Yves Punie
2014-2017
ongoing

6. #iptsedu
I. Open Education – policy context – drivers for IPTS research
II. OpenEdu Project on open education institutions & OpenCred study
in recognition of non-formal learning

7. Distance
Universities
Open Source
Software
Open
Content
(1998)
MIT OCW
(2001)
Creative
Commons
(2002)
1st cMOOC
(2008)
1st Stanford
xMOOC
(2011)
MIT edX
Coursera
Udacity
Open Virtual Universities (OUNL, OUUK, UOC…
OER Def.
(UNESCO
2002)
Increasing number of open access papers
and journals
UK Finch report
Certification
MOOCS
Open
badges
OpenLearn
(OUUK)
1st EU MOOC
platform
Before 1990 1990-2000
OERu
2001-2007 2008-2011 2012 2013
OU
OER
OA
Open Education

8. […] However, open education is not limited to just open educational
resources.
It also draws upon open technologies that facilitate collaborative, flexible
learning;
and the open sharing of teaching practices that empower educators to
benefit from the best ideas of their colleagues.
It "may also grow" to include new approaches to assessment, accreditation
and collaborative learning.

10. The range of opens"

11. European Policy Context
Educational targets
•Reducing Early School leaving
•Increasing Higher Education Attainment
Additional Aims
•Making LLL and mobility a reality
•E&T quality and efficiency
•Equity, social cohesion, active citizenship
•Creativity and innovation
Opening up Education (Sept. 2013)
http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.europe-2020-flagship

12. Summarising OE…
• Is not only about OER, MOOCs, content and learning resources
• Is not only about Technology-Enhanced Learning
• It is…
• part of a broader trends towards "openess"
• about widening access to education and learning (not only
formal),
• new ways of learning, assessing, recognising, and delivering
21st century competences
=> Vast, ambitious, difficult agenda

13. #iptsedu
I. Open Education & policy context
II. The OpenEdu project on open education institutions and OpenCred
study on recognition of non-formal learning

14. OpenEdu Project (Dec 2013-Dec 2015)
• …explores institutional strategies on opennes in
higher education with the aim of supporting the
design of suitable policies at a European level
• IPTS on behalf of DG EAC
• http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/OpenEdu.html

15. OpenEdu Project: studies
Moocknowledge (OUNL and partners, Netherlands)
Focus on OpenUpEd MOOC learners (quantitative)
OpenCred (University of Leicester, UK)
Focus on recognition (qualitative)
OpenSurvey (ACA – Academic Cooperation Association, Belgium)
Focus on instituional engagement with Open Education (quantitative)
Representative survey: Spain, UK, Germany, Poland, France
OpenCases (University of Bath, UK)
Focus on institutional strategies on open education (qualitative)
FUN, OpenClassrooms, ALISON, FutureLearn, TORQUE, OERu, and less
known cases

16. Recognition of learning is…
a process of granting official status to learning
outcomes and/or competences, which can lead to the
acknowledgement of their value in society (UNESCO
2012)

17. Open Education Recognition Routes
work in progress (OpenEdu project)

18. Thinking about the future…
• Newborns of today will be 17 years old in 2030 but will
they/how will they "graduate" in 2035?
• We expect the world to be somehow different by then

19. The OpenCred study
• The OpenCred study is part of the OpenEdu project.
• It investigates the current status of recognition of non-formal,
open learning within the EU Member States. The
study identifies models and frameworks that are being
used by institutions and employer bodies for the
recognition of non-formal, open learning, and also to
ascertain the perceptions of learners who have benefitted
from such recognition.

20. The OpenCred Study Team
• Gabi Witthaus (ILI, University of Leicester)
• Mark Childs (ILI, University of Leicester)
• Grainne Conole (ILI, University of Leicester)
• Bernard Nkuyubwatsi (ILI, University of Leicester)
• Andreia Inamorato (IPTS, European Commission)
Yves Punie (IPTS, European Commission)

21. Study design - qualitative
Desk research
• 6 interviews (HE institutions, employer bodies and learners)
• 6 months
• http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/OpenCred/ISUNITWEBSITE-IPTS-JRC-EC.htm

22. • “If open education is to promote democratisation of
education and social and economic mobility, then it
must provide pathways to more widely accessible
credentials”.
• OpenCred study, 2014

23. What has the greatest impact on formality of
recognition in open learning?

24. Answer: robustness of assessment
Pic by Karl Baron on Flickr (CC-BY), reuse from Withauss 2014

25. FLeoverlmDaeslcriitpytor sof recognition L0-3
0 No formal recognition
1 Unauthenticated completion certificate or badge showing proof of
participation or completion
2 Authenticated certificate issued by provider (educational institution or
employer) that is accredited/ recognised in its own national context but no
information included on the nature of the course, the nature of the learner’s
achievement or the nature of the assessment process used.
3 Certificate providing exemption from a specific entrance exam
Authenticated certificate from an accredited/recognised institution with some
information included on the nature of the course, the nature of the learner’s
achievement and the nature of the assessment process used.
Certificate conferring fewer than 5 ECTS credits

26. FLeoverlmDaeslcirtipyto rsof recognition L4
4 Certificate conferring a minimum of 5 ECTS credits
Certificate providing exemption from a specific module/course or part of
qualification at the issuing institution
Certificate which ‘(a) formally and clearly states on whose authority it was
issued, provides information on the content, level and study load, states that
the holder has achieved the desired learning objectives, provides information
on the testing methods employed and lists the credits obtained, according to
a standard international system or in some other acceptable format, (b) is
demonstrably and clearly based on authentication [i.e. student’s identity is
verified] and (c) states that the examinations have been administered under
supervision and specifies the nature of this supervision.’ (NVAO 2014, p.9)

27. What other aspects of open learning have
an impact on recognition?

28. Affordability for learners
Pic by epSos.de on Flickr (CC-BY), reuse from Withauss 2014

29. ALefvfeol rDdeascbriipltiotrys for learners
0 More than €200
1 €80-€200
2 €25-€80
3 €1 to €25
4 No cost to learners

30. Eligibility for assessment/recognition
Pic by Hamburg Sankt-Georg.info on Flickr (CC-BY-NC)

31. Leve
l
Descriptors
Eligibility for assessment/recognition
0 No assessment
1 Only members of a specified group/ profession are eligible for
completion certificates or badges (This is common practice in in-house
CPD programmes offered by employers, and programmes
run by employer bodies for members of a professional
association.)
2 Open learners may obtain completion certificates or badges, but
credit-bearing examinations are only available to registered
students.
3 Examinations are available to all, but only students enrolled on a
specified programme are eligible for academic credit. (This
means that potentially a different institution could recognise the
learning achievement of an open learner.)
4 Everyone is eligible for assessment and recognition.

32. Assessment-recognition matrix
Witthaus, Childs, Nkuyubwatsi, Conole, Santos & Punie (2014 submitted)

33. The OpenCred Recognition Framework
Formality of
recognition
4
3
2
1
0
Affordability
for learner
Robustness
of
assessment
Eligibility for
assessment/
recognition

34. Typical MOOC with little or no recognition
Formality of
recognition
4
3
2
1
0
Affordability
for learner
Robustness
of
assessment
Eligibility for
assessment/
recognition
E.g. the CARNet MOODLE MOOC; MOOCs on the French FUN platform

35. MOOC offering full recognition, but only enrolled students
are eligible
Formality of
recognition
4
3
2
1
0
Affordability
for learner
Robustness of
assessment
Eligibility for
assessment/r
ecognition
E.g. the University of Nicosia’s Digital Currencies MOOC

36. MOOC offering full recognition; assessment is paid for by
learners
Formality of
recognition
4
3
2
1
0
Affordability
for learner
Robustness of
assessment
Eligibility for
assessment/r
ecognition
E.g. University of Osnabrück MOOC on Data Structures and Algorithms

37. Insights from the study – catch 22
• “Robust assessment is central to recognition of open learning.
The need to pay for robust assessment leads institutions to
either pass on the cost of assessment to learners, or require
learners to enroll at the institution – in both cases reducing
the openness of the assessment and recognition process” .
• OpenCred study, 2014

38. Insights from the study
• “ Recognition of open learning is limited to
components of programmes rather than full
qualifications. No evidence of individuals receiving a
full credential for open learning has been found to
date” .
• OpenCred study, 2014

39. To think further…
HE institutions to recognise each others’ credentials
(need for clearer course and assessment description in
MOOCs, ECTS mapping, learner identity verification
mechanism, trust)
Interinstitutional collaboration to foster open educational
practices

40. Thank you for your attention!
Research Fellow: Andreia Inamorato dos Santos
(andreia-inamorato-dos.santos@ec.europa.eu)
@aisantos