The OER mix in higher education: purpose,process, product,and policy

Success in open educational resources (OER) has been reported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA and the Open University in the UK, among others. It is unclear, however, how valuable OER are in learning and teaching. Approaches to OER policy and sustainability are just two other key aspects that remain unresolved across the sector. Based on the findings from the Open, Transferable, Technology-enabled Educational Resources (OTTER) project at the University of Leicester, UK, ¹ 1. Open, Transferable, Technology-enabled Educational Resources (OTTER) project, University of Leicester, UK, http://www.le.ac.uk/otter we introduce the OER mix framework: purpose, processes, product, and policy. We argue that different mixes of the four Ps can generate different approaches to OER. We discuss the relevance of the framework and its importance for social inclusion and widening access to higher education. We also discuss the implications of the OER mix for the openness agenda. Institutions may find value in adapting and applying the framework. We invite colleagues to critique it and report back.     

Financing higher education in India: principles,practice, and policy issues

Financing higher education in India has been a complicated problem due to theoretical and practical problems. It has been largely a state funded activity with about three-quarters of the total expenditure being borne by government. The shares of non-governmental sources such as fees and voluntary contributions have been declining. At the same time the needs of the higher education system have been growing rapidly. It is being increasingly realized that public budgets cannot adequately fund higher education, particularly when sectors of mass education are starved of even bare needs. Hence of late several policy proposals are made, including privatization. This article critically reviews these proposals, and argues that the Indian higher education system is not yet ready for privatization. At the same time the need for experimentation with several alternatives, including student fees, students loans, graduate tax, and privatization in general is emphasized.     

Adult higher education in the Netherlands: National policy and local practice

Policy papers published by the Ministry of Education and Science in the Netherlands show that the government is strongly interested in the concept of recurrent education. One possible way of implementing this idea is through university level evening programs. In the Social Science Faculty of the Erasmus University in Rotterdam the evening program in sociology (which was established through the institution's own initiative) has recently taken on an institutionalized character. This article reports the results of research on the first year's experience of the day and evening students who began their studies in 1974. Attention is devoted to evening student recruitment, motives to take up university study and sociology in particular, minimum conditions within the institution's infrastructure, the curriculum and output. University evening education in general is also discussed and some policy conclusions are formulated regarding the realization of university evening education in the Netherlands.Translation: Drs. Ray Jurkovich.     

低收费政策能改善教育公平和社会福利吗?——兼论高等教育不同收费政策的效应

Traditionally there has been a theoretical view that raising tuition fees will undermine education equity and social welfare. This study examines the effects of different tuition policies on both these factors. A statistical analysis is made on the theoretical relationship between higher education tuition fees and dropout probability, which leads to the conclusion that the effects of both policies on education equity vary with circumstances. Further, under severe polarization between the rich and the poor in China, low tuition fee policy fails to effectively improve access to higher education and social welfare for low-income groups. On the contrary, high tuition fee policy may have better effectiveness.     

Efficiency and equity in Japanese higher education

The historical background and institutional characteristics of theJapanese system of higher education are described and then analysed withparticular reference to their relationship to both efficiency and equity.Post-World War II developments are shown to have initiated a movement fromwhat was a system of government regulation towards one which is moremarket-orientated, including a measure of market segmentation. Thesignificance of a fast-growing private sector is emphasised. The socialcharacteristics of the present-day Japanese system are analysed in terms ofthe employment of graduates, the rate of return and the economic use offinancial and human resources. Factors such as family income, background andregion of residence all influence opportunities and it is argued that thesystem cannot be considered as being entirely meritocratic. Nor can it bedescribed as being dependent on market forces; though both price andacademic quality affect student choice of institutions, the two are notnecessarily correlated. The social and economic consequences of the systemare complex and the author concludes by discussing these in the context oflikely changes in the future.     

Expansion without equity: An analysis of current policy on access to higher education in Brazil

Access to higher education in Brazil is to a large extent restricted to the higher socio-economic groups. Public universities have limited places and entry is determined by highly competitive exams, thereby excluding those who have not had a high quality secondary education or attended an expensive preparatory course. There has been considerable growth in the private sector to absorb the excess demand, but the majority of Brazilians cannot afford the fees. This paper develops a concept of equity in higher education in which, firstly, there should be sufficient places in the system as a whole and, secondly, all people should have a fair opportunity of attending the university of their choice regardless of socio-economic background. Recent efforts to expand access are analysed, including incentives for the growth of private universities, student loans and the new Prouni initiative, in which private institutions provide free places to low-income students in return for tax exemptions. While these initiatives have the potential to increase the total number of places, they will not lead to an equitable expansion, as disadvantaged students will still be confined to courses of lower quality or with lower subsequent value on the employment market. Initiatives aimed at the public sector such as the introduction of quotas and changes to entry examinations are also discussed. Finally, some implications for future policy development are outlined. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, Havana, 25th–29th October 2004.     

Changing the course: equity effects and institutional risk amid policy shift in higher education financing in Kenya

Reform in higher education financing in Kenya has been occasioned by both endogenous and exogenous variables. Internal pressures of a declining economy, rapid demographic growth and increased inter-and intra-sectoral competition for scare financial resources, couple with external neo-liberal doctrine championed by global donors like the World Bank have resulted in a new market-competitive policy of financing higher education. This paper analyzes the equity and risk effects of the new policy for the main stakeholders, namely students, academics and institutions themselves. The paper contends that the policy shift has had a significant effect on equity just as it has introduced universities to risks through engagement in academic capitalism with its emphasis on marketization of university programs and services. The paper concludes with suggestions on some policy options that could help to mitigate the negative consequences of this new policy.

Comparing with caution: thoughts on aspects of higher education policy and practice

This paper is an edited version of a keynote lecture given by Professor Sir William Taylor at the Annual Conference of the History of Education of Education Society held at the University of London Institute of Education on 24 November 2001.     

The sublime objects of education policy: quality,equity and ideology

Quality and equity are touchstones of education policy in the twenty-first century in a range of global contexts. On the surface, this seems fitting: after all, who could object to more quality and greater equity in education? Yet what do we mean by quality and equity, and how are they related? This paper draws on Lacanian psychoanalytic theory to argue that not only are quality and equity far more complex than education policy formulations typically imply, but also that despite their elevated place in policy debates they remain elusive, serving as sublime objects that function as sites for the investment of desire, while simultaneously covering over and compensating for the ultimate impossibility of a complete and harmonious society. The paper argues that it is a result of their occupying this empty place, and through their holding out the (illusive) promise of enjoyment, rather than as a consequence of their specific or intrinsic content, that sublime objects such as equity and quality exert their particular ideological force.     

Equity,justice and standards: assessment decision making in higher education

Recent concerns about ‘fairness’ in university entrance have highlighted the need to review existing practices in admissions processes. The agendas for equity and social inclusion, however, must also apply to the processes and outcomes of higher education, where considerations of ‘standards’ are additionally crucial. As principles underpinning the assessment process, ‘equity’ and ‘justice’ and ‘academic standards’ are part of taken‐for‐granted cultures and practices which impact on decisions about progression, eligibility for awards and degree classification for individual students. Changing discourses of academic standards have given rise to contrasting decision‐making processes rooted in the role and operation of assessment boards. Contrasting models of assessment board cultures are developed to highlight how practices are beset by conceptual confusions about what is being assessed and the basis for judgements about success and failure in higher education. There is a strong case, not only for critical review of assessment processes, but also for monitoring outcomes for different social groups.     

关于我国高等教育公平概念及实践问题的文献述评

教育公平问题是一个与我国教育发展进程相伴的问题,是世界近现代教育民主进程中一个普遍的重要原则。随着经济发展和社会进步,高等教育公平成为社会关注的热点,在我国高等教育迈向大众化阶段的特定时期,教育公平问题不断凸显,因此它越来越成为社会关注的话题。许多学者对高等教育公平问题进行了研究,主要内容包括:关于我国高等教育公平的概念研究,关于我国高等教育公平的实践问题研究等。     

Use, updating and integration of ICT in higher education: Linking purpose, people and pedagogy

In this article the use, updating and integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for teaching and learning purposes is discussed. Based on an empirical study using interviews and document analysis of the implementation of ICT in five Norwegian universities and colleges, the article analyse a number of factors that are of importance for the implementation of ICT in higher education. The analysis discloses that Norwegian higher education institutions often have adequate economic resources and a rather well developed technical infrastructure and support structure related to the use of ICT. However, attempts to link ICT initiatives to organisational development issues and to human resource management have not been very successful. In the conclusion it is argued that pedagogical issues and organisational and human development aspects must be better linked if ICT is to play a more effective role in teaching and learning in Norwegian higher education.