Creating the University of the Highlands and Islands

Professor Robert Cormack SUPPORTING REMOTE LEARNERS BRITISH COUNCIL SEMINAR PERTH COLLEGE, 28 FEBRUARY 2003 Creating the University of the Highlands and Islands

"30 years from now the big university campuses will be relics... universities won't survive... totally uncontrollable expenditures, without any visible improvement in either the content or quality of education, means that the system is rapidly becoming untenable... higher education is in a deep crisis... already we are beginning to see delivered more lectures and classes off campus via satellite or two- way video at a fraction of the cost... the college won't survive as a residential institution... today's buildings are hopelessly unsuited and totally unneeded." (Peter Drucker, Forbes, 3 October 1997) The Future of universities

The UHI Mission Creating the University of the Highlands and Islands To create for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland a collegiate university which will reach the highest standards and play a pivotal role in our educational, economic, social and cultural development.

Academic Partners Creating the University of the Highlands and Islands

UHI Millennium Institute Creating the University of the Highlands and Islands  Distances  Diverse communities  Remote from what?  Tyranny of geography  Not a virtual university  Information, knowledge and student learning

Learning Centres: Management and Technical Aspects Creating the University of the Highlands and Islands  Clarity of ownership and responsibilities  Accessibility  Good social environment  Robust connectivity  Controlled environment where applications are configured by UHI  Remote support requires control of the LC environment  Explicit quality standards, e.g. student response times

Learning Centres: Student Requirements Creating the University of the Highlands and Islands  Accessibility and better connectivity than at home  Fully functional MLE with an increasingly familiar VLE  Video-conferencing  Interactive learning materials  Integrated technical, academic and pastoral support  Comprehensive induction programme  Central technical support through a telephone help desk

Learning Centres: Staffing Issues Creating the University of the Highlands and Islands  Multi-skilling to cover academic, technical and pastoral support  Provision of staff development resources with an emphasis on the facilitation of online learning and interactivity  Membership of module development team  Full training in use of MLE/VLE

Creating the University of the Highlands and Islands “When we established the Council on Educational Technology at MIT... we expected that it would be something based on a revenue-producing model... Open- CourseWare is not exactly what I had expected... Open- CourseWare looks counter-intuitive in a market driven world... It expresses our belief in the way education can be advanced -- by constantly widening access to information and by inspiring others to participate." (President Charles Vest, MIT) Global Content