This document discusses a project to make course information more accessible and comparable for prospective students. There are three main drivers for the project: allowing students to compare academic experiences, improving student outcomes, and increasing transparency. The project will fund institutions to publish structured course data and create a demonstration site to search and compare courses, especially those not easily found like online programs. This will standardize data and improve quality while making it easier for students to find and compare options. The document then provides an overview of the project plan, including technical development of course feeds, an aggregator site, and expanding the amount of information included in course data.

2. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT?
• 3 main drivers for making it easier for people to find and compare
courses:
• Prospective fee paying students want to know more about the academic
experience a course will provide and be able to compare this with other
courses
• Better informed students are more likely to choose a course that they will
complete, and be more motivated to achieve better results;
• Increased scrutiny by quality assurance agencies and the Government’s
requirement for transparency of publicly funded bodies.

3. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT?
The Course Data programme will support the sector to prepare for the
increasing demand for course information, and increase the availability
of high-quality, accurate information about part-time, online and
distance learning opportunities offered by UK institutions teaching HE
by:
 funding institutions to make the process and technical innovations necessary
to release a structured, machine-readable feed of their course-related
information
 create a demonstrator aggregator to bring together this course information and
enable prospective students to search it.

4. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT?
There will be increased usage of appropriate technology to streamline
course data processes leading to:
 More standardised, and therefore comparable, course information in a
consistent location making discovery easier.
 Improved quality and therefore more efficient and effective course data.
 Increased ease in finding and comparing courses, especially types of courses
that are currently hard to find, such as ones delivered by distance learning.
 Institutions are able to make appropriate and informed decisions about
their processes for managing course-related data, leading to a reduced
administrative data burden, cost-effective working, and better business
intelligence.

5. WHAT IS XCRI-CAP?
XCRI-CAP Video
XCRI-CAP has been developed to enable learning providers to publish online
prospectus information in a standard format that facilitates efficient
collection by aggregator and broker agencies (such as UCAS and the Skills
Funding Agency).
XCRI-CAP also supports major initiatives in the Higher Education sector, such as
the Key Information Set (KIS) and the Higher Education Achievement Report
(HEAR).
XCRI-CAP is designed for two primary purposes for which planning and
implementation of process improvements are key:
For publication of course advertising information for consumption by the learner
without re-formatting or further classification, in a manner similar to an RSS
newsfeed;
For data exchange between learning providers and data collection organisations,
for example between UCAS and its member institutions.

6. WHICH INSTITUTIONS ARE INVOLVED?
Stage 1 Institutions
Stage 2 Institutions
We are likely to be working with Creative Arts Institutions, Regional
Institutions and CREST Guild HE Institutions

7. OUR PROJECT PLAN
Technical Interface
Domains Domains
Content
Domains

8. TECHNICAL DOMAINS
• Creation of XCRI-CAP COOL URI feed
• Process redesign relating to course advertising information
• Technical documentation
• Verification of working feed
• Sign off by Executive Board
• Completion 30th June 2012
Technica
l
Domains

9. INTERFACE DOMAINS
Creation of aggregator site for Art and Design provision which utilises the
XCRI-CAP feed
• Website scope and specification
• Commission of website
• Creation of Aggregation website with regular feedback
• Reporting to stakeholders
• Technical and process documentation
• Completion 31st December 2012
Interfac
e
Domain
s

10. CONTENT DOMAINS
To develop an extended XCRI-CAP feed which provides greater information
relating to the nature of the course specifically in relation to staffing
profiles
• Utilising information from Mahara GuildHE CREST system
• Extending Mahara to include information to create staff CVs
• Undertake a comparison between Moodle and Mahara systems
• Technical documentation to be produced
• Work to be undertaken by ULCC
• Completion date: 30th September 2012
Content
Domains

11. DISSEMINATION
• JISC Meetings (online and face to face)
• Opportunities for training (Enterprise Architecture)
• Dissemination of XCRI-CAP extension through CREST network
• Formation and support for Creative Assembly
• Aggregator website
• Internal dissemination
• Symposium event

12. ROLES
Malcolm Ferris – Project Director Project Champions
Elaine Garcia – Project Manager Barbara Jones (SMT)
Kerry Dungay – Project Administrator Tim Bolton (SMT)
Alisa Miller – CREST GuildHE
Representative Operational Champions (x2)
Tom Archer – Technical Manager
Executive Committee
Margaret Campbell – Website Manager
Andrew Brewerton (PCA)
Zac Gribble – Website Manager
Nick Johnstone (GuildHE)
Jo Cowper – Marketing / Branding
Martin Scarrott (St Mary’s College)
Manager

13. HOW TO PROGRESS
• Project Plan
• Work packages
• Project Meeting Groups (Technical, Interface, Content)
• Additional aspects to the project
• HR – Mahara
• Internal Mahara system
• Symposium event

14. RESULTS FROM STUDENT SURVEY
The top five important factors to students in choosing a course:
Content of Course
Facilities / Resources
Atmosphere / environment
Career / Job Prospects
Teaching Staff

15. RESULTS FROM STUDENT SURVEY
The most important way for students to get course information is via:
Interview with course staff
Web site
Open Day
79.2% of student’s decision to study a course was affected by the Course Leader or Manager whilst
the Course Team affected 70.1% of student’s decision.
75% of students would have found a website detailing specialist Art and Design provision useful to
them.
79.2% of students would find a staff profile useful to them when choosing a course
89.6% of students would find it useful to be able to ask teaching staff a question when trying to
decide on a course

16. RESULTS FROM STUDENT SURVEY
A sample of comments from the survey:
’(Would like more) information about the tutors/opportunities to meet the
teaching staff.’
‘After my interview I felt the people, facilities and general feel of the College
appealed to me.’
‘The staff on my course are really friendly and approachable, they made the
choice easy for me.’

17. RESULTS FROM STUDENT SURVEY
‘When I first head about the facilities I was ecstatic, but it was upon meeting the
lecturers and other students that made me decide it was right.’
‘The fact that it was a specialist college, with specialist teachers…’
‘… Because it was a specific college of art rather than an art department in a big
university.’
‘The course leaders were friendly and approachable.’
‘Charismatic and committed course leader.’
‘Lecturers are much more exciting / interesting than they are described as in the
prospectus.’

18. REFERENCES
JISC– Making the Most of Course Information Briefing Sessions
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/coursedata.aspx