Access and enhancing the quality of higher education
- 1. Sustainable Development Goals: Ensuring Access and Enhancing the Quality of Education Gard Titlestad, Secretary General Member of UNESCO IITE Governing Board International Council for Open and Distance Education UNESCO IITE Series of Open Lectures St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation 5-6 September 2016, St Petersburg, Russia IITE-2016 International Conference “ICT in Education: Innovation for Quality, Openness and Inclusion”
- 2. • To be the leading global network for making quality learning accessible throughout the world using online, open, distance and flexible education. • To connect institutions, organisations and professionals from across the globe so that they can share ideas, resources and best practices, partner on major projects and advocate together. • To be the official partner of UNESCO, that shares that agency’s key aim inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all. • ICDE believes that in pursuing education as a universal right, the needs of the learner must be central. • To organize members in all regions of the world – global balance. Support From Norway 28 years Why is ICDE here? UNESCO Partner >50 years Platinum open access
- 3. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) and Vice- President, RMIT, Australia
- 5. 2000 Information Superhighway Knowledge based economy Information Society Research area Higher education area Mobility and internationalisation Globalisation Economic growth Jobs Education for all
- 7. Image: REUTERS/Daniel Munoz What are the 10 biggest global challenges? 2016
- 8. • On 25 September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the universal, integrated and transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 associated targets.
- 9. In historic ceremony, Ban commends China, US for formally joining Paris Agreement Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
- 11. Main principles • Education is a fundamental human right and an enabling right. • Education is a public good, of which the state is the duty bearer. • Gender equality is inextricably linked to the right to education for all.
- 12. Millennium Developments Goals 2000 – 2015 Education for All • Addressing developing countries - south • Addressing primary education SustainableDevelopment Goals 2015 – 2030 ”Towards inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all” • Addressing all countries, all the world • Addressing all education, including higher education
- 13. Education 2030 Framework for Action (FFA) • UNESCO is entrusted to lead Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all - through the Education 2030 Framework for Action (FFA).
- 14. ”Towards inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all” 1. By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes 2. By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education 3. By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university 4. By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship 5. By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations 6. By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy 7. By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development 8. Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all 9. By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries 10. By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing states
- 15. ”Towards inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all” 1. By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes 2. By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education 3. By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university 4. By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship 5. By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations 6. By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy 7. By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development 8. Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all 9. By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries 10. By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing states
- 16. Target 3, point 43.: A well-established, properly-regulated tertiary education system supported by technology, Open Educational Resources (OERs) and distance education modalities can increase access, equity, quality and relevance, and narrow the gap between what is taught at tertiary education institutions and what economies and societies demand. The provision of tertiary education should be progressively free, in line with existing international agreements. Framework for Action Education 2030: November 2015
- 17. SOME QUOTES TO SET THE SCENE:
- 20. Cognetive technologies “ The combination of people and computers will be able to think in a way that neither people nor computers have ever done before. I think that’s the really exciting potential and opportunity for us ahead. ” – Thomas Malone, Director, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence
- 22. «We think cognitive technologies will fuel the digital transformation as the damp machine fuelled the industrial revolution». – IBM Norway. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=cogni tive+technologies+and+education&&view=det ail&mid=4FDFBA52BEB89D240AE14FDFBA52B EB89D240AE1&FORM=VRDGAR
- 24. Learning analytics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUOrlp6AZ8E “enormous potential to improve the student experience at university” JISC, UK • As a tool for quality assurance and quality improvement • As a tool for boosting retention rates • As a tool for assessing and acting upon differential outcomes among the student population • As an enabler for the development and introduction of adaptive learning https://vimeo.com/105802864
- 25. http://www.policyconnect.org.uk/hec/research/report-bricks-clicks-potential-data-and-analytics-higher-education The Open University, UK, policy The UK Higher Education Commission 2016
- 26. Do we need a global code of practice for learning analytics?
- 27. “Education is on the brink of a revolution. Collaborating on learning-related work across disciplines through an integrated research agenda could yield powerful advances in optimizing online learning experiences.” MIT Online Education Policy Initiative. April 2016. http://news.mit.edu/2016/mit-releases-online-education-policy-initiative-report-0401 Just the beginning:
- 28. Trends - ICDE 1/2 • Open and distance learning, is now going mainstream: online, blended, open, flexible and technology enhanced learning. • Digital transformation is challenging the relevance of educational institutions all over the world. • New developments as OER and MOOCs are fueling innovation in education. • New methodologies; learning analytics, Big Data, and new online education systems, enable a shift to adapted, personalized learning and assessment. • Education is on the brink of a revolution caused by convergence of research. Education, Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience: powerful advances in optimizing online learning experiences.
- 29. • Lack of resources or lack of understanding of the concept of online, open and flexible education is observed in some parts of the world as a major threat to scalable quality higher education both on a national and institutional level, and therefore also as a threat towards SDG 4. • Skills and the relation education - employment, is a hot topic in all regions. Life long Learning is becoming more important than ever. • Quality, quality assurance and accreditation become a top priority issues. Trends 2/2
- 30. The big quality agenda Led by UNESCO • The SDGs • SDG 4 • Global and regional conventions • Quality assurance imitative • X direct for education • Education 2030: Towards inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all • Preparation of a GLobal Convention on the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications – to be decided 2019 (UNESCO) • Quality assurance: Achieving sustainable development through a diverse provision of higher education, regional meetings and studies leading up to a global conference issuing guidance 2018 (UNESCO, INQAAHE, ICDE and COL)
- 31. QUALITY ASSURANCE: ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH A DIVERSE PROVISION OF HIGHER EDUCATION Global Conference 2018 6 – 10 regional meetings 2016 - 2017
- 32. Quality issues • Opportunities – Online learning – Student support and mentoring systems – Learning analytics and other personalised technology enhanced learning systems • Challenges – Competencies • Faculty • Quality agencies • Experts on quality assurance – Innovation – Access, inclusion – Ethics
- 33. Quality issues • Weaknesses – Failures in current system e.g. • Weak employability • Drop-out • Weak retention and – Access, lack of inclusion – Digital divide • Threats – Corruption – Underfunding – Class distinction, stratification
- 34. The ICDE Quality initiatives • Benchmarking and good practice • Address quality: • Explore new methodologies: • Build future capacities • Models for Online, open, flexible and technology enhanced higher education • Global Quality Network • Learning analytics initiative • The Global Doctoral Consortium
- 36. The change • From focus on – Quality of students admitted – Qualification of faculty – Design and management of programmes – Rigour of marking – Course outputs as intended outcome? • To focus on – Student engagement and satisfaction – Data analytics – Reflective assesments by students – Student-instructor- student interaction – Assessments for learning – Faculty satisfaction and engagement
- 38. The message: Holistic • All relevant SDG • All levels, global, regional, national, institutional • Mainstream conventional and digital, on and off campus, off and online • Formal post secondary and lifelong learning
- 39. • Change focus to the students learning experience, student success. • Good governance for quality education, transparancy and accountability. • Ethics on all levels. The message: Specific
- 40. ”TOWARDS INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE QUALITY EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING FOR ALL” Sustainable Development Goal 4: Education 2030 THANK YOU titlestad@icde.org www.icde.org Seize digital opportunities, lead education transformation
Editor's Notes
- #29: What before was in the margins, open and distance learning, is now going mainstream in large parts of the world, materialised as online, blended, open, flexible, technology enhanced and e-Learning. Convergence is here, followed by increasing competition (and collaboration) and diversity in higher education. While this is the main trend, the situation in some regions will provide a different picture, e.g. in parts of the south. Digital transformation is challenging the relevance of educational institutions and services all over the world, so also for ICDE members and those that have been in the distance and open field for a long time. While digitalisation is penetrating all fields and all regions, the pace and situation is different among regions, between developed and developing countries and within nations. Skills and the relation education - employment, is becoming an increasingly hot topic around the world and in different contexts. The new SDG 4 puts utterly pressure on massification and the relevance of sustainability for education, to achieve the SDG goals. Lack of resources or lack of understanding of the concept of online, open and flexible education is observed in some parts of the world as a major threat to scalable quality higher education both on a national and institutional level, and therefore also as a threat towards SDG 4. Quality, quality assurance and accreditation have become more important than ever and are top priority issues – having the alternative in mind. New developments as OER and MOOCs have been championed by ICDE member institutions, e.g. Athabasca University, Canada, coining the term MOOC in 2008, and Maryland University College introducing an OER based curricula up to Bachelor degree, August 2015. Through new methodologies and concepts becoming mature, such as learning analytics, Big Data, MOOCs and new online education systems, a real shift to adapted, personalised learning and assessment – with great progress for student success – is becoming realistic, though – it is not a quick win or low hanging fruit. This development opens up for pedagogical changes and improvements in a number of other areas, e.g. curriculum content and design. Open University, UK, provides an annual overview “Innovating Pedagogy”, exploring new forms of teaching, learning and assessment, to guide educators and policy makers. In the report “Online Education: A Catalyst for Higher Education Reforms” (2016), the MIT Online Education Policy Initiative suggests that education is on the brink of a revolution caused by convergence of outside-in and inside out research. Ref. the figure below. Collaborating on learning-related work across disciplines through an integrated research agenda could yield powerful advances in optimizing online learning experiences, the report suggests. ref: http://news.mit.edu/2016/mit-releases-online-education-policy-initiative-report-0401