A look at responding to equity challenges in higher education, targeted especially at institutions working with e- and distance learning. The presentation frames the equity challenge as an innovation challenge, and asks universities how they can use technology to improve the situation.

1. Responding to Equity
Challenges in Higher
Education
Some innovations in a lifelong learning perspective
EDEN Annual Conference 2012
Anthony F. Camilleri Porto, Portugal – June 2012
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2. Our aspiration
„We share the societal aspiration that the
student body entering, participating in and
completing higher education at all levels
should reflect the diversity of our
populations―
London Ministerial Communique
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3. the aspiration visualised?
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4. Vision of a
Better future
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5. The facts
The EQUNET 2011 report found that access
across the EHEA is inequitable.
Countries so wide divergences on: Lower socioeconomic backgrounds
- gender balance are:
- net entry rates - less likely to attend Higher
- entry via alternative routes Education
- participation based on occupational - likely to choose different courses of
/ educational background study
- income gap of students - more likely to work during studies
- Ratios of foreign students - far less likely to have a mobility
experience
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6. How realistic?
„we commit to securing the highest possible.
level of public funding for higher education „
Bucharest Ministerial Declaration
Do you think ‚equity‘ funding
is crisis proof?
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7. Solutions on Offer by Ministries
• Provide adequate support to
underrepresented groups
• Promote flexible learning pathways / RPL
• Involve students as active participants in
their own learning
• Higher Education should be an open
process
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8. Current approaches are
incrementalist
80
70 point of equity
60
50
2125
First stage secondary
40
Tertiary
30 Linear (First stage secondary)
Linear (Tertiary)
20
10
0
55-64 45-54 35-44 25-34
1970-1980 2000-2010 Projection of percentage of students entering higher
education based on father‘s education
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9. Failure of
Current
Approach
Vision of a
Better future
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10. The Consequences
of an Equity Gap
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11. PARIS 2005
Barcelona 2012
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London 2011

12. Financial consequences
• Net private loss: $150,000
• Net public loss: $100,000
per student not
attending HE
A solution to anaemic growth?
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13. Labour consequences
The ‚knowledge-society‘
is understaffed
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14. Incentive to
change
Failure of
Current
Approach
Vision of a
Better future
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15. Innovating the
Social Dimension
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16. innovation - the OU model
Remove Entry Requirements
result:
• Currently 260000+ students
• 70% are able to work during studies, 5% are
disabled
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access

17. innovation – open textbooks
Create licence-free textbooks
• Average spent by US student on textbooks
per year $981
• Approx cost to produce textbook: $120000
- $150000 (estimates flat-world knowledge)
• SB 1052 / 1053 (California) will create
open source textbooks, free or $20
hardcopy
• Estimated savings (overall): up to $ 1
billion
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18. innovation – OERu
Credentialise Open Learning
• 15 anchor
universities, supported by
UNESCO and CoL
• First pilots are underway right
now
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19. innovation - MOOCs
automate reproducable teaching
• Piloted by Stanford ‚Intro to AI‘ – 100000+
students
• MITx – limited certification for MOOC including
virtual lab-work
• EDx – MIT + Harvard $60 million investment
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20. Educationis changing....
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21. unbundling: a vision flexibility
Credit: OERTest
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www.oer-europe.net

22. social entrepreneurship:
education
• 55000 social enterprises in the UK –
generating 27 billion GBP per year (2005)
• 15% of the market is in education
• approx. equivalent to total yearly spend on
HE of Austria
'a social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are
principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than
being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners' (UK
DTI, 2002).
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23. A formula for:
Incentive to
change
Failure of Tools are
Current available
Approach
Vision of a
Better future
DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION
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24. What else can we do?
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25. Open Education means
Increased access
Increased participation
Increased completion
at lower cost
and Higher Quality
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26. must
HEIs can
take the lead
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27. How?
Admit Failure Reward Ideas
wherever they come from
the status quo isn‘t working
science / stakeholders
Innovate
Iterate
Release Now find out what works through experience
stop waiting for data
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28. Washing one's hands of the
conflict between the
powerful and the powerless
means to side with the
powerful, not to be neutral.
Paulo Freire
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29. Thank-You for Your Attention
Responding to Equity Challenges in Higher
Education
Anthony F. Camilleri
anthony@camilleri.com
Presentation available from:
http://www.slideshare.net/anthonycamilleri
Feedback is welcome!
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