Introduction to the JISC's Course Data programme meeting, summarising XCRI's original objectives from 2005, MMU's use of the XCRI approach to capture a new undergraduate curriculum and some thoughts on where the approach might take us next

2. • Strong sense of “there must be a better way”…
– National agenda of „informed choice‟ about learning opportunities
but
– feeling that education lags behind other sectors in making its
„products‟ easy to discover and compare.
– Standards exist for exchanging information about people, groups,
membership and learning objects but
– no standard way to exchange information about courses.
– Institutions developing ways to populate their prospectus from
definitive data but
– resorting to primitive data entry to populate aggregator sites,
regional portals, area prospectuses…
– Genuine interest from the community in an open standard for
exchanging course information that facilitates joined-up thinking

3. XCRI@MMU | Yeah, but no, but yeah…
• Step-change improvement: re-write entire UG curriculum!

4. XCRI Context | Complex, interdependent
League table rankings
Marketing &
Recruitment Reputation
Processes
Learning, Teaching, Assessment
Student Intake Student Retention
& Personal Development
(Aspirations, Attitude Success &
Processes, Facilities
& Abilities) Satisfaction
& Resources
Resource allocation
All Year Numbers

5. XCRI | Approach
• Maintained dialogue with European partners in a search
for best practice
• Recognised importance of course-related business
processes
• Evolved a data exchange specification based on best
practice and large-scale trials
• Engaged with EU partners to harmonize developments
around a common information model for advertising
learning opportunities (CEN MLO)
• Building capacity & interest within UK