athabasca universityoverview jiangsu open university, may 2017

Athabasca University-

Canada’s Open University

May 21, 2107

Jiangsu Open University

Terry Anderson

Professor Emeritus,

Athabasca University

Presentation overview

• Introduction to Athabasca University

• Course Production Process

• Innovations at Athabasca

• Your questions and comments

Mission

Athabasca University, Canada’s Open University,

is dedicated to the removal of barriers that

restrict access to, and success in, university-

level studies and to increasing equality of

educational opportunity for adult learners

worldwide.

We are committed to excellence in teaching,

research and scholarship, and to being of service

to the general public.

rededicated by Athabasca University Board of Governors October 21, 2011

History

1970 Established by Province

(June 25, 1970)

1973-75 Pilot Project

(First Course ‘World

Ecology’ Opened in 1973)

1975 Approval in Principle

1978 Permanent Mandate

1984 Relocated to Athabasca

History

1992 Revised Mandate

(Masters Programs)

2005 First Canadian

university regionally

accredited in U.S.

2006 EdD approved

2011 Academic &

Research Centre

opened

2014 Architecture

Program opened

Size of Canada

Student Locations in Canada

Athabasca

University

Historic Enrolment Trends

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

199

0-9

1199

1-9

2199

2-9

3199

3-9

4199

4-9

5199

5-9

6199

6-9

7199

7-9

8199

8-9

9199

9-0

0200

0-0

1200

1-0

22

00

2-0

3200

3-0

4200

4-0

5200

5-0

6200

6-0

7200

7-0

8200

8-0

9200

9-1

0201

0-1

1201

1-1

2201

2-1

3201

3-1

4201

4-1

5201

5-1

6

Graduate Undergraduate

Registrations (3 credit equivalents)

56,519 66,02366,414

68,62467,759

67,682

7,834

9,617 9,936 9,931 10,020 10,425

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000Graduate Undergraduate

Undergraduate Age &

Gender 2015-16

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

Under25

25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 64 65 +

Female Male

Graduate Student Age & Gender

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Under 25 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 64 65+

Female Male

Graduate Students by DisciplineFaculty 2013/14 2014/15 2015/ 16

Business 865 834 911

Distance Ed 400 348 431

Health

Disciplines 1,919 2,076 2,202

Hum. & Soc.

Sciences 653 630 575

Science &

Technology 254 238 252

Convocation – First time students meet each other (F2F)

and their professors

Main Delivery System

Learner Support

Student Support

Centres

Library

Counselling

AdvisingServices for Students with Disabilities

Write Site / Math Site

Academic support from

Tutors – all with PhDs

Skills Acquired by Graduates

Top Five % Bottom Five %

Learn Independently 88% Speak in Public 27%

Writing 81% Develop Math Skills 32%

Work Independently 80% Resolve Conflicts 43%

Analyze Information 80% Computer Skills 46%

Research Skills 75% Interpersonal Skills 47%

2014 AET Graduate Outcomes

Staff Complement By Type

16%3%

31%

21%2%

22%

5%

Academic Full Time

Academic Part Time

Part time Tutors &Markers

Professional

Management &Executive

Support & Temporary

Casual

As of March 31, 2016 there were 1,163 employees.

All full time academics expected to be active researchers!

Staff Complement By Location

36%

7%

2% 3% 1%

52%

AU Athabasca

AU Edmonton

AU Calgary

AU North Edmonton

Partners

Heritage ResourceManagement

Working from Home

Revenue by Sources

30,113 44,125 46,940 43,182 44,994 46,424

43,563

61,871 63,207 64,757 64,989 65,952

-

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

$ thousands

Other

Sales

Fees

Gov't

Part 2 Course Development

Undergraduate Course Development Process

ProgramPlan

Evaluation

RevisionCoursePlan

CourseProduction

Delivery

FacultyPlan

Open Courseware

Principles:

Learning

Quality

Timeliness

Flexibility

Accountability

Appropriate use

of technology

Design

Policy

Course Team

• Core Team

– Subject Matter expert(s) – professors

– Learning Designer

• Added near end

– Media staff

– Editor

– Peer reviewers

Course Development

• Preparation & Design

– 1. Assess all relevant information

including Open Access Sourcs

a. Review course evaluations

b. Solicit input from instructors, tutors

and learners

c. Review other university offerings.

Review course outcomes in relation to

the overall program. Discuss course

styles and ideas.

Course Development

2. Create course map

• a. Measurable learning outcomes

– i. Collecting measurable learning outcomes and

assigning them to course units

• b. Determine evaluation and assessment tools for the

outcomes

• c. Learning Activities for each unit

• d. Content Topics Determine content needed for each

outcome and unit.

• e. Learning Materials

• f. Team feedback and approval.

Course Development

3. Develop Unit 1

a. Team lead develops first unit based on the

course map and standard requirements provided

by the learning designer.

4. 20% presentation to interested faculty and

instructors

Production• 5. Continue Unit Development

– a. Incorporate feedback from team and interested faculty

and develop several more units.

• 6. Team Review

– a. Team reviews units and the course map before

approving continued development.

• 7. Develop Remaining Units

• 8. Editor Review

• 9. Evaluation and Assessment Development

a. Evaluation and Assessment development including all

assignments and test instructions.

• 10. 80% presentation

Online production

• 11. Create Moodle Shell

• a. Create unit web pages

• b. Create media

– i. Video and audio

• c. Create graphics

ii. Graphics, photos, animations

• d. Copyright clearances

• e. Create test items

Types of Course Development

1. Major development

• change course title, course aims, course

description, learning outcomes / learning

objectives / competencies

• redesign course structure and assessment

• substantially change the Study Guide (text,

images, figures, tables, multimedia,

interactivity, etc.) and Course Orientation

• transfer course from one media format to

another (e.g., print to online, desktop to

mobile, etc.)

Types of Course Development

2. Minor development

• change questions in assessment: quizzes,

assignments, Lab or projects

• insert new required readings in some units

• for new edition of textbook or eText: change

references to a new edition of the same

textbook or eText in study guide.

Types of Course Development

3. Maintenance

• correct typos, grammar, broken links.

• rewording, clarification, or elaboration

• add or delete items in Supplementary Materials

• replace exam without affecting marking scheme (Note:

Exam unit must be involved)

• open a paced course in a new semester but does not

require any changes to the content or layout

Final Testing

• User testing

• Final proofing

• Syllabus update

Part 3.

Innovations At Athabasca

• Prior Learning

Assessment and

Recognition

(PLAR)

• see Conrad, D. (2008).

Situating Prior learning

assessment and

recognition (Plar) in an

online learning

environment. The theory

and practice of online

learning, 75.

Free online Course on

PLAR for Educators

Innovations At Athabasca

• AU Press –

AUPRESS.CA

• Canada’s First

Open Access Press

• Books in Paper for

$$ or downloaded

for free.

Continuous Enrollment

• Students enroll whenever they want

• Have 6 months to complete course

• Arrange to write test at a learning centre

when they chose

• More freedom and flexibility for students

• Attracts students enrolled in

conventional universities

• Higher drop our rate

• No summer holidays for teachers/tutors

Doctoral Programs -not PHD

Designed for those who

will likely not be

researchers or university

professors.

Designed to help

practitioners make a

major, research-orientated

contribution to a

profession.

From Tutor support (old model)

to Call Centre

Slide from D. Annand

Slide from D. Annand

Advantages of Call Centre Model

Tutors paid by work done- not for waiting for student

Interaction results cost savings to the University.

Home lab kits for Science

Courses

IRRODL

• Most widely Cited and widely read Distance Education

Journal in the World

• Only Open Access and SSCI Journal in Distance Education

• Readers, reviewers and contributors needed

• Irrodl.org

Social Network to Create

Community

Challenges facing Athabasca

• Decreasing government funding

• Staff effective use of new technologies

and new pedagogies

• Increased pressure to research.

• New competition from traditional

universities (1 in 4 students takes at

least one fully online course)

Terry Anderson terrya@athabascau.ca

Blog: virtualcanuck.ca

Your comments &

questions

most welcomed!

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