The Virtual Campus of the Spanish Group 9 of Universities (G9) Joaquín Sevilla Director of the Shared Virtual Campus of the G9 group of Universities The LEFIS Virtual Campus Design Albarracín, May 18th 2007

Index What is G9 Strategic orientation and projects The Shared Virtual Campus –Origin and evolution –The academic cycle –Outline of costs –Benefits obtained from the program –Future plans Conclusions. Possible similarities in LEFIS The LEFIS Virtual Campus Design Albarracín, May 18th 2007

What is G9 Non-profit association of public Universities of nine of the seventeen Spanish Autonomous Regions Belonging criterion is being the only public university in the autonomous region Agreement signed in 1997 The largest partnership of Universities in Spain Promote collaboration among all the Universities in the group in the areas of teaching and research as well as in management

What is G9 G9 in white Universties: 1996: Oviedo, Cantabria, País Vasco, la Rioja, Pública de Navarra y Zaragoza 1997: Islas Baleares 2001: Extremadura 2002: Castilla la Mancha

G9 Web page, Intranet for students, professors and administrators Link to Universities institutional web News, on e-learning in general and G9 specific Information and services

What is G9. Organization President: A Rector, changing every 6 months in turns (like UE does) Rectors Meeting: The 9 rectors (plus general secretary); they meet every 3 months at least Sectorial committees (International, e-learning & TIC, general administrators- “gerentes”, etc.): Composed by Vicerectors, meet when considered necessary. A Rector is the president of each committee G9 personnel: –Full time: General Secretary –Part time: SVC Director, Master TIC Director, 2 administratives

Strategic orientation and projects Recently the Rectors Meeting stated a number of strategic lines in the areas: –Studies, teaching and European convergence (7) –International projection (5) –Management and human resources (5) –Research (4) –Cultural and social projection (4) –Internal organization improvement (3) Out of the 28 lines, 5 are related to the SHARED VIRTUAL CAMPUS, the bigger and older project of G9

Index What is G9 Strategic orientation and projects The Shared Virtual Campus –Origin and evolution –The academic cycle –Outline of costs –Benefits obtained from the program –Future plans Conclusions. Possible similarities in LEFIS The LEFIS Virtual Campus Design Albarracín, May 18th 2007

SVC. General Idea Program based on elective subjects (students have to complete some credits out of his/her main studies) SVC subjects are completely on line The subjects are offered from one university and have students in all of them (10 in each one) Order of magnitude figures: –8 year history –70 subjects –4000 students The academic offer is structured in 3 lines leading to a “minor diploma” upon completion of a number of credits in certain blocks

SVC evolution Experimental Actually this is the number of defferent subjects registered by the students. For the present year, detailed figures are: 2939 different students registered in 1,33 subjects each (in average) leading to 3929 For next year, 86 subjects have been approved

SVC General Idea In the past course the percentage of students not finishing their subjects was 34% Out of the ones that finished (attended the exam when needed) 95,5 passed. These data does not present significant variations between universities neither correlations All the subjects are taught in the second semester for operative reasons (different academic calendars in the 9 universities)

The academic cycle

There is an official document (SVC regulation) containing the main administrative procedures and dead lines of the academic cycle The “SVC regulation” is approved by the Rectors Meeting. A more detailed procedure hay been written along the present academic course. Is in this inter-universitary administrative procedures that an 8 year test bench is priceless

Index What is G9 Strategic orientation and projects The Shared Virtual Campus –Origin and evolution –The academic cycle –Outline of costs –Benefits obtained from the program –Future plans Conclusions. Possible similarities in LEFIS The LEFIS Virtual Campus Design Albarracín, May 18th 2007

Cost outline

What would be negligible in a local virtual campus (not “shared”)? Probably single universities would not maintain such a big program on elective subjects, therefore all the rest would probably be diminished too.

Benefits obtained from the program Much varied offer to the students (much more subjects for much smaller groups – 10-) Engine for the local Virtual Campus in each University Laboratory of e-learning technology Laboratory of e-learning methodology Laboratory of inter- university administration Permanent lab on innovative education (joined titles, adaptation to European Higher Education Area, etc.)

Future plans: Situation The way in which Spanish regulation is accommodating University to the Bologna process seems to end with the concept of elective subjects. This would result, obviously, in the end of the SVC Procedures of inter university administration are mature and tested Interest in joining resources towards high quality programs seem clear (at Rectors level) although presents problems when perceived as competition with departmental programs

Future plans The main idea is to exploit the resources generated y this 8 years of intensive investment. This can be done in different ways: –Creating post graduate degrees from the present subjects –Creating inter university degrees (in a top down basis) –Creating vocational training activities (by transformation of particular groups of subjects of he SVC) –Increasing the use of the existing e-contents in an “open course ware” basis. All these activities are the strategic focus of further activity in the SVC

Future plans One of the previous lines has already started by launching the “Master TIC”: – 60 ECTS program (extended over two years in a part time scheme) –New technologies (and methodologies for apropriate use of them) applied to learning –Now about to finish the first year of the first edition

Index What is G9 Strategic orientation and projects The Shared Virtual Campus –Origin and evolution –The academic cycle –Outline of costs –Benefits obtained from the program –Future plans Conclusions. Possible similarities in LEFIS The LEFIS Virtual Campus Design Albarracín, May 18th 2007

Conclusions I SVC is a solid and well established program The experience gained in the administrative procedures is very valuable Although costs have not been studied in detail, it can be concluded that: –E-learning (at least in this starting stages) is more costly than traditional –Inter university experience is more expensive than stand alone virtual campus –The test capacity gained pays for the costs clearly (at least for the moment)

Conclusions II The future regulation of university studies poses a serious menace on the SCV future Next steps in the development of G9 tend to increase the value of the resources generaed over this 8 years of history. The experience of this initiative can be useful when trying to set un new Virtual Campus as it is the case here at LEFIS. ¡¡We will be glad to collaborate!!

The Virtual Campus of the Spanish Group 9 of Universities (G9) Joaquín Sevilla Director of the Shared Virtual Campus of the G9 group of Universities The LEFIS Virtual Campus Design Albarracín, May 18th 2007