2. Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management (OPHRM) Birkbeck

3. History l “Materials only” postgraduate distance learning programmes in Organizational Behaviour and Occupational Psychology (OBOP) began in 1990. l These were originally developed because (a) central funding was available and (b) a change in the FTE ratings for part time students meant that it was necessary to increase student numbers in the Department of Occupational Psychology

4. History l The idea was to write course materials for the OBOP external programme and then also use them on the internal Birkbeck MSc’s l The materials were used for both face-to-face students and new cohorts of distance learning students l Unlike the external students, the internal ones benefited from computer conferencing and weekend workshops

5. History l For each course studied students received a subject guide and a resource pack l Subject guides acted as text books for the courses, and were designed to be interactive, with regular question and answer sections

6. History l Resource packs contained 12-15 journal articles and book chapters. Students were referred to a resource pack article at an appropriate point in the subject guide

7. History l The OBOP programme attracted 70 to 90 students a year l The last intake for the programme was in October 2002

8. OPHRM Programmes l PG Diploma, MSc’s and short courses offered l Courses last 2 to 5 years l About 70 students recruited in each of the first two intakes l The cost to students of completing the programme (about £7,500) is twice that of OBOP

9. VLE Teaching l Modules: PG Diploma 6, MSc 10 l Students taught in groups of 10-15 l Each group supported by a tutor l Within each module students discuss 5 set questions One student acts as a starter and another as a finisher

10. Making OPHRM Work Successfully The most significant challenges in making OPHRM successful have been: l Getting the commitment of existing academic staff l Appointing high quality External Programme tutors l Managing the programme internally (a department within a department)

11. Getting the Commitment of Existing Academic Staff l Birkbeck is a research-led institution l Pressure to publish for RAE l No FTE’s for external students

12. Solution l Three of four External tutors registering for PhD’s l Fourth collaborating with research of and internal member of the academic staff l Income from external programme used to pay for.7 of a new member of internal academic staff, 2.5 administrators, “slush fund” injections.

13. Appointing High Quality Tutors l Tutors appointed from ex-internal MSc students l Academic performance of these people as students known l They have experience of being on the receiving end of computer conferencing

14. Managing the Programme Internally Increased administrative responsibilities including managing 5 new staff (four tutors and an administrator: a department within a department)