This slidedeck accompanies a talk for the SURF IMS Emerging Standards for the Educational Cloud Summit in Utrecht, February 2011

1. Mapping Curricula: the UK experience
IMS GLC
Utrecht, February 2011
Professor Mark Stubbs
Head of Learning & Research Technologies
Manchester Metropolitan University
m.stubbs@mmu.ac.uk | http://twitter.com/thestubbs
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 1

2. UK Context
• Undergraduate applications managed by a Shared Service:
UCAS (0.5M+ applicants to 300+ institutions p.a.) which
– aggregates learning opportunities to provide central search, information,
advice & guidance; facilitates one-stop-shop application to multiple HEIs
(based on learner preferences and HEI offers); tracks status of
applications; establishes contract between learner and HEI when offer
criteria fulfilled by results; facilitates data transfer for successful applicants
into HEIs
2

3. UK Context | more Informed Choice
‘Many prospective students do not get adequate advice or information
to help them choose a course of study’
Browne, Oct 2010
‘In our 2008 report, we suggested that universities
should publish a standard set of information setting
out what students can expect from their academic
programme – we are pleased to see that the
coalition government will be taking this forward’
National Student Forum, Annual Report 2010
‘The consultation proposes that providers of higher education
should review their approach to publishing information for
prospective students. It suggests that a standardised set of key
facts for each course should be published on institutions’ web-sites. closes Mar 7
This information would be called the Key Information Set (KIS)’
HEFCE, Dec 2010

4. Informed Choice | not a new agenda
• In 2005, UCAS supported a JISC project to address
– 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 info that facilitates joined-up thinking
• called eXchanging Course-Related Information

5. XCRI | project
• Opened dialogue with European partners in a search for
best practice
• Surveyed prospectus websites & underpinning 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)
• Continues to build capacity & interest within UK

6. MLO | UK significance
• A European Norm on metadata for advertising
learning opportunities will be established in 2011
– MLO prEN 15982
• Member states should drop any competing
standards and pursue compliance
• Good news for XCRI!
– XCRI 1.2 earmarked as UK implementation of MLO
– XCRI 1.2 can deliver Key Information Sets LO Provider
– Significant XCRI capacity building in place
LO Spec
BUT
– sector has process & systems hurdles… LO Instance
6

7. XCRI | relationship shift
UCAS LLN NLD UCAS LLN NLD
Provider Aggregators
Re-keys & Poll &
Pushes for each Harvest from
Aggregator XML
Providers
Learning Learning
Provider Provider
Provider
publishes
XCRI prospectus
as well as web
Web Web prospectus
Prospectus Prospectus Managing
Course-related
Information

8. Course Info | state of the art
• Interim findings from the JISC‟s £8M 4 Year
Curriculum Design & Delivery Programme…
‘Many problems with the management of course-related
information can be put down to the fact that this is still a
document-based rather than a data-based system (and
paper-based at most institutions). This gives rise to
duplication of effort and of information, lack of version
control, poor re-use of relevant information for different
purposes, and a tendency for information to be designed
for approval rather than any other purpose.’
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 8

9. Course Info | systemic problems
Practice is too QAA commend our
We struggle to
varied to robust processes
interpret vague
systematise QA docs
Central systems don’t
Student Records
support local variety QA We keep it vague to
avoid tortuous QA
We re-type so we build our own
everything
into UCAS
We can’t get
Marketing concrete details on Course Teams do marketing
Why
courses for website, never have up-to-
so maintain our own date info about our
courses 9

10. Ingredients for change
• Introduction of market mechanisms
– Fees: “What will we get for our money?”
– Information: web-accessible Key Information Sets
• Comprehensive Spending Review questioning value of
re-keying jobs
– Compelling argument for XCRI-CAP 1.2 data upload
• Recognition that curriculum needs managing
– Systems vendors stepping up to the challenge
• Two Case Studies
– A UK University preparing to do better
– A UK Regional Aggegrator

11. Case Study | MMU
• Largest campus-based undergraduate university in England
• Comprehensive range of courses serving national and
regional needs (Most popular for UCAS applications)
• 37,000+ students | 1,000+ courses | 7 sites
• www.mmu.ac.uk
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 11

12. Case Study | preparing to do better
MMU‟s comprehensive “EQAL” change programme
• New Curriculum Framework
• New Admin Systems + Business Processes
• Seamless Access
• Streamlined Quality Processes
Outcomes
• Every UG course & module will be re-written
– Entirely new first year goes live September 2011
– Data-based, not document-based course information

13. Case Study | fine-grain course information

14. Case Study | foundations for better info
Aggregators
Curriculum + BI / Data
data.mmu.ac.uk?
Database Warehouse
Web Services Prospectus
[Meerkat at Adelaide Zoo by Adam Jenkins, 2010]

15. Regional Ecosystem | East Midlands
• University of Nottingham‟s
Centre for International e-
Portfolio Development
supported by the JISC
developed XCRI to power 2
Lifelong Learning Networks
Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire
Leicestershire, Lincolnshire
Northamptonshire, Rutland

16. East Midlands 14-19/LLN architecture
Vendors
Import/export to
neighbouring
XCRI Export
5 Area
local prospectus 9+ Further
Prospectuses
linking services
for x-border Education
LMI / data
searching Colleges
Prospectus
vendors (S-cool/
IMPORTS 3+ Higher
UCAS)
Education
Re-use XCRI to
connect with
other data
Your Future East Imports being developed by national sources, e.g. LMI
Midlands course aggregators (SALAMI project)
XCRI feed export
providing search UCAS
services for
external Skills Funding
websites Agency Kirstie Coolin
Possibility of
Consuming University of Nottingham
reusing aggregated November 2010
services XCRI exports

17. Quick quiz
• 1 across: Forthcoming UK standard for course information
• 1 down: Prospectus requirement for UK universities
K
1
X C R I
1
S

18. Further reading
• XCRI
– Knowledge: http://xcri.co.uk
– Development forums: http://xcri.org
– East Midlands
• http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio/xcri/index.shtml
• JISC
– Curriculum Design & Delivery Programme: Design Studio
http://jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com/w/page/12458422/Welc
ome-to-the-Design-Studio
– Cumulus: Curriculum Management in the Cloud
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/flexiblese
rvicedelivery/cumulus.aspx
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 18

19. MLO | harmonized information model
Norwegian practice CDM
Swedish practice EMIL
minimal+
French practice CDM-FR harmonization
LO Provider
UK practice XCRI LO Spec
LO Instance
German practice PAS1068
19

20. EU | standards development
CEN WS-LT CEN TC-353
European Members create Delegates coordinate
Student Systems CEN Workshop Agreements approval of standards
Vendor Group (CWA) as European Norms (EN)
[http://www.rs3g.org/] [http://tinyurl.com/njlmas] [http://tinyurl.com/ovyys6]
Metadata for Learning Metadata for Learning
Opportunities Opportunities
[Approved: CWA 15903] [Submitted for approval: prEN 15982]
New CWAs
Course spec implementers:
MLO ECTS IP/CC
UK, Norway, France, Credit
Sweden, Germany…
European Learner Mobility
Information Model
[Submitted for approval: prEN 15981]
CEN-funded project of paid (and unpaid) experts

21. KIS UK consultation | proposed timeline
Dec 2010 to Mar 2011 •Consultation open.
Nov 2010 to Mar 2011 •Work underway to pilot the KIS.
18 Feb and 3 Mar 2011 •Consultation seminars.
7 Mar 2011 •Consultation closes.
•Analysis of consultation responses and discussion at Boards of
Mar to May 2011
sponsor bodies.
April to July 2011 •User testing of the KIS with prospective students begins.
•Outcomes of consultation published, with guidance on
July 2011
development of information sets.
•Institutions develop key information sets, revise other information
July 2011 to July 2012
and start to publish this.
•Final deadline for publication on institutional web-sites of revised
August 2012
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 information and the key information sets.
MLE Workshop, Aytoun Library Seminar Room 21
2009-05-13 14:00