Report on the assessment and accreditation of learners using open education resources (OER)

Report on the assessment and accreditation of learners using open education resources (OER)

This report shares the findings and lessons learned from an investigation into the economics of disaggregated models for assessing and accrediting informal learners, with particular attention to the OER University (OERu) consortium. It also relies on data from a small-scale survey conducted by two of the authors on perceptions, practices and policies relating to openness in assessment and accreditation in post-secondary institutions (Murphy & Witthaus, 2012). These investigations include the perceptions of stakeholders in post-secondary education towards the OERu concept, combined with a look at economic models for universities to consider in implementing OER assessment and accreditation policies.

The OERu is a global consortium of post-secondary institutions collaborating around the assessment and accreditation of learners studying online and using OER. Taylor (2007) described the aim of the OERu as providing free education to learners worldwide using OER as learning materials, with pathways provided to enable them to gain credible qualifications from government recognised or accredited educational institutions. The OERu concept is based on the notion of community service and outreach, and institutions that are members of the OERu network are committed to developing a 'parallel learning universe' to augment and add value to traditional delivery systems in post-secondary education. The ultimate vision of the OERu is to provide free learning opportunities on a massive scale for learners who lack the financial means to access traditional higher education.

The OERu currently consists of a collaborative partnership among 26 partner institutions. The network includes nationally accredited universities, colleges and polytechnics and publicly-funded organizations (Mackintosh, Taylor & McGreal, 2011). The current geographic spread of institutions includes Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, England, Ireland, Spain, South Africa, India and the South Pacific. The initiative is coordinated by the OER Foundation, which is an independent, not-for-profit organization that works internationally to support the mainstream adoption of OER in the formal education sector (Mackintosh 2012).

This report was prepared under the UNESCO/COL Chair in OER programme, with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada, the Commonwealth of Learning and the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute (TEKRI) of Athabasca University.