Page - 9 - in Radical Solutions and Open Science - An Open Approach to Boost Higher Education

1 Open and FreeAccess toEducation for All 9 BuildingonAgarwal(2016)whoclassifiesthesefunctionsas:clocks,contentand credentials, sohighereducationcanbe thoughtofascomprisinghowit isdelivered (‘clocks’), what is delivered (‘content’) and how achievement is made recognisable tothirdparties(‘credentials’).Withaslightreformulationforclarityandconciseness, the basic conceptual model used in this research was based on the following three central processes: • Content—consisting of subject knowledge, support and guidance and learning analytics, which together make up the entiretyof all didactical process. • Delivery—consistingof thequalitiesofplace,paceand timingofdeliveryof the content, and format soas to include online, blended and face to face. • Recognition—consistingofbothassessmentandcredentialisation,whicharefor- mal processes leading to recognition of learning achievements. Assessment is a phase of evaluation at certain times in a learning process, while credentials are awarded on completion of formal learning units. In both cases, these evalua- tiveprocessesentail a formalendorsement of learningand lead to recognitionof achievement of the learner by thirdparties. Withthesebasiccomponents, theimpactoftechnologytoopenuptheprocesscan then be examined. Two dimensions were used for each of the three core processes, which both speak of new types of openness and flexibility made possible through digitalisation. • Organisational flexibility: The quality of flexibility is a question of ‘what’ and ‘how’ and relies on digital technology to reduce the need for physical presence; from static to dynamic and changing due to specific circumstances. So, each of thethreecentralprocesses(content,delivery,recognitionandtheirsub-processes) can also be described by the extent to which they are delivered in a flexible manner, harnessing digital technology, that is, through online and technology- enhanced learning environments. This opens up access by reducing the barriers to participation in a strictly face–to-face, time constrained model, as seen with traditional and online open universities. • Procedural openness: The quality of openness is a ‘who’ question and relies on how the principle of openness is integrated (in various ways) into the core pro- cesses(content,delivery, recognitionandtheirsub-processes); fromclosedgroup to more open network. More open processes mean less limitations on who has access toandwhodeliversorcontrolscontent,delivery,assessmentandrecogni- tion.Thisopensupaccess indifferentways, forexample,byallowingfreeaccess tocontent(aswithOER),ormoreopenformsofassessmentsuchasdigitalbadges. This conceptual model is represented in Fig. 1.3. It comprises the three central processes of higher education provision at its corners and has the two qualities of flexibility and openness. Usinga5-pointLikertscaleforhowuniversitiesperceivethemselvesoneachthese dimensions, allowsavisual representation, as showninFig.1.4.Aglobal surveyof 150institutionsacross36countrieswasthenconductedtogathertheirrepresentations