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The Great Unbundling of Higher Education: Dystopia or Utopia?
The document discusses the evolving landscape of higher education, focusing on the unbundling of educational services in relation to the knowledge economy and learning society. Professor Mark Brown emphasizes the critical role of higher education in fostering inclusivity and addressing global challenges through new learning pathways and micro-credentials. The conclusion advocates for utilizing unbundling as a means to serve broader educational goals rather than as an end in itself.
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The Great Unbundling of Higher Education: Dystopia or Utopia?
- 1. The Great Unbundlingof Higher Education: Dystopia or Utopia? Professor Mark Brown Director, National Institute for Digital Learning Melbourne 6th February 2017
- 3. • Credential • Content •Services • Clock • Mode • Border
- 4. Liverpool Hut, MtAspiring
- 6. Knowledge Economy • Mode •Credential • Services Clock • Border • Content • TWO MAJOR PERSPECTIVES Mark Brown, 2016
- 7. “Frankly, all thecomputers and software and Internet connections in the world won’t do much good if young people don’t understand that access to new technology means… access to the new economy” (President Bill Clinton; cited in Cuban, 2001, p.18).
- 8. Knowledge Economy • Mode •Credential • Services Clock • Border • Content • TWO MAJOR PERSPECTIVES Learning Society Mark Brown, 2016
- 9. “Higher education hasa crucial role to play in laying the foundations of a society that is more inclusive, participatory and equal...” The President said “…the role of the university in enabling citizens to develop the tools to address the great challenges of our time – global poverty, climate change and sustainability – was vital.
- 10. Different interest groupsand stakeholders borrow the same ‘language of persuasion’ to legitimize their own agenda
- 11. ReconceptualizingDeschooling ReschoolingReproducing • Just society •Lifelong learning • Pillars of learning • Education for change • Democratic • Opening access • Micro credentials • New learning pathways TWO MAJOR PERSPECTIVES Learning Society Knowledge Economy Mark Brown, 2016 • Mode • Credential • Services Clock • Border • Content • • Sifting agent • Human capital • Cultural heritage • Education as commodity • Competencies • Entrepreneurship • Technology as progress • Increased market competition
- 14. • Credential • Content •Services • Clock • Mode • Border
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- 20. Off Campus in Class OffCampus out of Class On Campus in Class Acquisition Participation On Campus out of Class Leakage The New Learning Ecology Physical Virtual 2. Mode
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- 23. 2. Mode A World-ClassIrish Education Online http://www.dcu.ie/online
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- 25. Allen, E., &Seaman, J., with Poulin, R., & Taylor Straut, T. (2016). Online report card: Tracking online education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group. 2% 3. Border
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- 32. New Learning Pathways 4.Credential
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- 48. uWOLA… University Worldwide OnlineLearning Alliance A World-Class Online Education, Wherever You Are
- 49. The Alliance… • 10universities • Estabished leaders • No more than two in each country • Opening access is core to mission • 25+ year history of flexible delivery • Ranked in the top 500 universities • Most in the top 100 under 50 years • Strong track record of student success
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- 51. “Unbundling should be in theservice of big ideas, not as a big idea in itself” (adapted from Barnett, 2011). Conclusion…
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- 53. Professor Mark Brown Director,National Institute for Digital Learning www.dcu.ie/nidlmark.brown@dcu.ie @mbrownz www.slideshare.net/mbrownz
Editor's Notes
- #2 Thank you very much.
- #3 In 2003, Apple unbundled the CD with the launch of iTunes. For the first time people could purchase the music they wanted rather than the bundle packaged by the record labels. The great unbundling of higher education parallels this development.
- #4 Put simply, the traditional degree is higher education's version of the bundle. As Ryan Craig (2015) points out bundling has been central to the higher education business model for centuries. Institutions combine content and a wide range of products and services into a single package, which generates revenue. However, this is a simplistic view as unbundling has many different faces. In this brief presentation, I will touch on six of these that have particular relevance to Irish higher education.
- #5 Imagine two people are standing on opposing hilltops looking into the valley below. One sees sunshine; the other, shadow. Both are right. Accordingly this talk invites you to think about the light and DARK sides of the unbundling debate.
- #6 Extending the metaphor by looking more deeply through the lens of a telescope we can better understand some of competing and co-existing drivers for the re-bundling of higher education.
- #7 This framework illustrates that there are two overarching perspectives influencing the debate: the tradition of the Learning Society and the influence of the Knowledge Economy. It is fair to say that a strong Knowledge Economy discourse is imbued in the languages of persuasion surrounding the unbundling movement.
- #9 This framework illustrates that there are two overarching perspectives influencing the debate: the tradition of the Learning Society and the influence of the Knowledge Economy. It is fair to say that a strong Knowledge Economy discourse is imbued in the languages of persuasion surrounding the unbundling movement.
- #10 Borrowing the words of President Michael Higgins, from this perspective higher education has a role in promoting more inclusive, participatory, equitable and sustainable futures for all.
- #11 Extending the metaphor by looking more deeply through the lens of a telescope we can better understand the grand narratives and some of the competing and co-existing discourses of persuasion surrounding the MOOC movement and online learning more generally.
- #12 The Reconceptualising Discourse builds on the original UNESCO pillars of learning—learning to be, learning to do, learning to know and learning to live together. It promotes life-long learning and skills and knowledge beyond mere preparation for work. The focus is on active participation in all aspects of society.
- #15 Put simply, the traditional degree is higher education's version of the bundle. As Ryan Craig (2015) points out bundling has been central to the higher education business model for centuries. Institutions combine content and a wide range of products and services into a single package, which generates revenue. However, this is a simplistic view as unbundling has many different faces. In this brief presentation, I will touch on six of these that have particular relevance to Irish higher education.
- #16 The first is the clock—that is, traditional measures of credit hours, study time and course length. In the United States, for example, Straighterline allows students to complete their degree online through over 100 accredited colleges with flexible start and stop times. It offers the opportunity for first year students to embark on study without the expensive risk of attending College in person, with the option to transfer in the future.
- #17 In a similar vein, the Global Freshman Academy allows students to earn credit through Arizona State University on the EdX MOOC platform for their first year of study. This partnership challenges our conception of traditional credit hours and what constitutes the first year.
- #18 Similarly the strategic partnership between Starbucks and Arizona State University challenges the traditional model of the length of a full-time undergraduate degree.
- #19 Over 70% of Starbucks employees are students or aspiring students who appear to be seeking greater flexibility through part-time study options allowing them to earn whilst they learn. How applicable are these examples to the future of Irish higher education? Currently the number of part-time and online students is relatively low, especially when compared to other countries. How could we support increasing demand for part-time and online study through a more inclusive funding model?
- #20 The modern higher education institution can no longer be seen as a bounded, stable place – a static container within which education takes place.
- #21 As this diagram shows the modern learning ecology goes beyond the confines of the traditional classroom. Despite exponential growth in the number of online students globally, in my experience the stimulus in Ireland for new innovative models of flexible learning is severely restricted by the current funding model.
- #22 In this respect Ireland is out of step with recommendations of the High-Level Group on the modernization of European higher education.
- #23 At the same time the current focus on online learning as a separate delivery mode may be shortsighted. There are already signs that the definition of ‘online learning’ is coming under threat in the re-bundling of delivery modes.
- #24 Indeed, at Dublin City University we adopted the brand and learner centric language ‘DCU Connected’ to describe the range and variety of course offerings available when student choose to study from a distance. How will the Irish higher education system respond to increasing demand for more flexible delivery modes, especially in the face of increased student mobility? More specifically to what extent with demographic changes will online delivery lead to the unbundling of the postgraduate degree?
- #25 The unbundling movement is redefining the nature of international education. Notably, over 70% of EdX’s learners live outside of the United States.
- #27 Australia’s recently launched International Strategy (2016) estimates that by 2025 “the relatively untapped borderless skills market of online and blended delivery” will be in excess of one billion students around the world” (p.3).
- #28 There are already over 9000 online distance learning programmes listed on the Study Portals website.
- #29 At DCU we currently offer a number of online programmes in partnership with other institutions, including an MSc in Biomedical Diagnostics with Arizona State University (ASU).
- #30 In our experience there are many commercial partners wanting to work with Irish institutions, such as Wiley, Academic Partnerships, and Tata Consultancy Services. How should Ireland strategically respond to these opportunities in the new unbundled global higher education market? Conversely what are the implications when Irish students can access a wider range of study options from anywhere in the world?
- #31 The traditional degree is claimed to be the sonic barrier that the unbundling movement has yet to break through (EdX, 2016). However, there are already signs of this happening with nano-degrees and micro-masters from reputable universities such as MIT.
- #32 In Europe, Delft University of Technology has established an international consortium based on the air alliances business model to pilot new pathways to degrees. This model aims to use the European Credit Transfer System to allow students to gain credit towards their degree from MOOCs at partner institutions around the world.
- #34 The recent emergence of the “Block Chain” takes this type of international consortium to another level by allowing student data to be exchanged, understood and validated amongst many parties. The “block chain” is the next BIG THING in the unbundling movement.
- #35 The advent of digital badging is also challenging the status of traditional degrees. A more agile "just-in-time" and “just enough” education is emerging through byte size courses and competence frameworks which issue badges for soft skills and work ready capabilities increasingly expected by employers.
- #36 Arguably, digital badging is a visible example of how neo-liberal principles promoting education as a personal commodity, disguised in hegemonic language, infuses the unbundling movement. What are the implications of the block chain for Irish higher education? Do Irish institutions become global traders, boutique specialists or independent premium providers?
- #37 In contrast the Open Education Resource (OER) movement is very much owned by educators. Although OERs are poorly understood, the emergence of national open textbook initiatives in Canada and Poland demonstrates how the unbundling of content can result in significant savings at the same time as supporting more engaging learning experiences.
- #38 How could Ireland more strategically engage with the OER movement? Is there an opportunity to develop an Irish open textbook platform? This is a conversation currently in progress.
- #40 The unbundling movement has contributed to new types of digital content, which go beyond the current MOOC. In many respects second generation MOOCs are becoming a hybrid form of a guided non-fiction book, as evidenced by new paid short courses and subscription models targeting a wider market.
- #41 There are also opportunities to re-bundle professional development services for teachers, as illustrated by this suite of courses on blended learning developed through a commercial partnership. However, there is a danger that unbundling will lead to greater casualization of teachers where professional development focuses on individuals and decontextualized skills, which underestimate the networked nature of professional expertise.
- #42 The unbundling of student support services has potential to enhance efficiencies and effectiveness. For example, Smart Thinking allows students from anywhere in the world to pre-submit written assignments and receive feedback on any aspect within 24 hours.
- #43 In Ireland, ‘Write My Assignments’ is a relatively new initiative providing a range of services targeting individual modules.
- #45 The dark side of these student-focused developments in an increasingly unbundled market is paid cheats notes and ghost writing services.
- #46 Notably, in New Zealand the growth of such services led to a high profile prosecution and urgent change to the Education Act. How should Ireland respond to the growing range of online student support services? Do they require some form of regulation? Is this even possible in a global unbundled market?
- #48 This is a concern shared in this recent tweet by Professor George Siemens, a widely respected thought leader. How does Ireland get around the table in an emerging unbundled world in order to shape its own future?
- #49 In New Zealand a high-level public consultation process is currently underway to grapple with some of these challenges and to identify preferred scenarios for the future. This initiative reminds us that we have choices.
- #51 In New Zealand a high-level public consultation process is currently underway to grapple with some of these challenges and to identify preferred scenarios for the future. This initiative reminds us that we have choices.