Important success factors for European Megaproviders of Online Education
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Transcript of Important success factors for European Megaproviders of Online Education
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends 1
Important Success Factors for European Megaproviders of
Online Education
Morten Flate Paulsen, NKI Distance Education
The slides are available via:http://home.nettskolen.com/~morten/
Introduction to a 90-minutes Workshopat the EDEN 2007 Annual Conference,
June 15, Naples, Italy.
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends
Agenda1. Presentation of the Megatrends project
focusing on important success factors and reasons for failures identified by the projectBy Morten Flate Paulsen (20 minutes)
2. Important success factors at two German megaprovidersBy Paul Rühl and Rolf Granow (20 minutes)
3. Important success factors at a Spanish mega providerBy Pedro Michels (10 minutes)
4. Important success factors at the four Norwegian megaprovidersBy Jan Atle Toska (15 minutes)
5. Panel discussion of important success factors and reasons for failureChaired by Morten Flate Paulsen (25 minutes)
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends 3
Project assumptions• The most evident mega trend in online education today is
the development from small-scale experiments to large-scale operations.
• Successful online education should be sustainable. It is therefore of great concern that much of the online education that has been offered so far has been transient, unsuccessful and far from sustainable. A lot of it has been supported by external funding and ended when the external funding stopped. Enormous amounts of money have more or less been wasted. It is therefore important to study initiatives that lack sustainability and understand some of the reasons for this.
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends 4
Project Partners and Country Reportswww.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends/workpackage3.html
• NKI: Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands
• DEI: Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg
• E-University: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic
• UOC: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Greece• EDEN: Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia• Norgesuniversitetet: Norway• BUTE: Austria, Cyprus
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends 5
The Research Methodology• Starting with success factors presented in
the book: Online education and Learning Management Systems (www.studymentor.com)
• The project set out to identify the European Mega-Providers of e-learning using strict criteria for qualification.
• The project has analyzed 25 megaproviders on the causes of their robustness, sustainability and achievement of critical mass.
• The results of the analyses will be written up and published for the benefit of e-learning institutions and other providers throughout Europe.
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends 6
Criteria for Nominations
The project has identified, surveyed and analyzed 25 European mega providers of e-learning. The criteria for qualification were:
· It concentrates on e- learning situations with more than 5000 course enrolments per year or more than 100 courses on offer on any one time.
· It focuses on distance education and does not include the use of e-learning for on-campus students. At least 51% of a program must be online to qualify.
· It does not include corporate e-learning from a base outside Europe.
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How the Megaproviders were identified
• Country reports• Nomination form at the project’s website• The researchers’ personal and institutional
networks• Newsletters and conferences• EDEN• EADL• EADTU
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List of nominees sorted by country
Bit media (Austria)University of Liège (Belgium)University of Hradec Kralove (Czechia)University of Tartu (Estonia)Virtuelle Hochschule Bayern (Germany)Oncampus (Germany)Hungarian Telecom (Hungary)Dennis Gabor College (Hungary)Scuola IaD (Italy)Riga Technical University (Latvia)Open Universiteit Nederland (Netherlands)NKI (Norway)BI (Norway)NKS (Norway)Sør-trøndelag University College (Norway)
Universitat de Barcelona Virtual (Spain)
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain)
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain)
Universidad de Las Palmas (Spain)
CEPADE (Spain)
Lund University (Sweden)
Learn Direct (UK)
Manchester Metropolitan University (UK)
Staffordshire University (UK)
The Open University (UK)
The University of Leicester (UK)
The University of Ulster (UK)
The complete list with further information is available at: www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends/nominated.html
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Institutions that were not included
• Two private DE institutions not willing to provide data– Leidse onderwijsinstellingen www.loi.nl– Markkinointi www.markinst.fi
• Distinguished members of EADTU not meeting the criteria?– France: Centre National d'Enseignement à Distance (CNED)– Germany: FernUniversität in Hagen– Italy: Network per l'Universita Ovunque (Nettuno / UniNettuno)
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Preliminary Top Ten Nominees by 2005 Course Enrolments www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends/nominated.html
1. Learn Direct 400000 Pub. C2. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya 94000 Pub/Priv D3. Open Universiteit Nederland 44432 Pub. D4. bit media e-Learning solution 32000 ??????
5. Virtuelle Hochschule Bayern 20000 Pub. U6. Manchester Metropolitan University 15000 Pub. U7. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid 14000 Pub. U8. Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 12237 Pub. U9. NKI Distance Education 12217 Priv. D10. Staffordshire University 12000 Pub. U
C=Corporate, D=Distance education, U=University or College
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Learn Direct
• brand name of the University for Industry (UfI) in the UK set up by the government in 1998.
• largest provider of e-Learning in Europe with 500.000 students per year. One of the largest e-learning networks in the world.
• Businesses, voluntary organisations, colleges and community centres run centres on behalf of Ufi. There are centres in shopping malls, schools, colleges, football clubs and prisons.
• In 2003, Learn Direct took on responsibility for co-ordinating the network of 6,000 UK online centres located across the country in libraries, internet cafes, community centres and village halls.
• Around 90% of the population in England live within 40 minutes’ walk of a Learn Direct or UK online centre.
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Categories of Megaproviders
• Distance Education Institutions (7)
• Corporate Training Providers (5)
• Universities and Colleges - including Consortia (13)
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends 13
Distance Education Institutions
• Open Universiteit Nederland (OUNL)• The Open University of the United Kingdom• NKI Distance Education (Norway)• Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain)• UNED - Universidad Nacional de Educaión a
Distancia• NKS (Norway)• Dennis Gabor College (Hungary)
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends 14
Corporate Training Providers
• CrossKnowledge
• Learn Direct
• ÉLOGOS
• EDHEC Business School Lille-Nice
• Hungarian Telecom
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends 15
Universities and Colleges Including Consortia• Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria• Universidad Politécnica de Madrid-GATE• The University of Leicester• The University of Ulster• Manchester Metropolitan University• Staffordshire University• Sør-Trøndelag University College• University of Tartu• BI Norwegian School of Management, Distance Education Centre• Scuola IaD, University of Rome Tor Vergata• Bavarian Virtual University (BVU)• OnCampus• The Virtual Campus of the University of Liège
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Hypothesis: Robust and sustainable online education is based on 25:
• Historical factors
• Technical factors
• Course factors
• Management and strategy factors
• Economic factors
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends/Factors.pdf
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Findings from Ratings
• Three independent researchers rated each of the 25 factors on a scale from
• 5 = very much true to 1 = very little true
• Conclusions:– The analyzes confirm that the factors are important
– All factors are not important for all institutions
– The variations in ratings are relatively small
All Categories
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Long history in online /distance/f lexible education
2. High competence in online education
3. Evolutionary development
4. Continuing research
5. High competence in ICT
6. Based on standard technologies7. Well integrated ICT systems
8. Ef fective administrative systems
9 Wide range of subjects and levels
10. Wise choice of topics
11. Flexible student start-up and progression
12. Focus on asynchronous communication
13. Support f rom top management
14. Enthusiastic employees
15. Strategies that support online education
16. Focus on quality
17. Ef fective administrative routines
18. Predictable and manageable teacher w orkload
19. Collaboration w ith other institutions20. High credibility w ith the government
21. Some sort of industrialization
22. Cost-ef fectiveness
23. Stable and predictable sources of income f rom operation
24. Pressure on the necessity to change
25. Contracts w ith part-time tutors & course developers
Universities and Colleges Distance Education Institutions Corporate Training Providers
5 = very much true to 1 = very little true
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends
Historical Factors
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4 4,5 5
1. Long history in online/distance/flexible education
2. High competence in onlineeducation
3. Evolutionary development
4. Continuing research
Universities and Colleges Distance Education Institutions Corporate Training Providers
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends
Technical Factors
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
5. High competence in ICT
6. Based on standard technologies
7. Well integrated ICT systems
8. Ef fective administrative systems
Universities and Colleges Distance Education Institutions Corporate Training Providers
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends
Course Factors
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
9 Wide range of subjects and levels
10. Wise choice of topics
11. Flexible student start-up andprogression
12. Focus on asynchronouscommunication
Universities and Colleges Distance Education Institutions Corporate Training Providers
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends
Factors related to management, strategy and attitudes
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
13. Support f rom top management
14. Enthusiastic employees
15. Strategies that support onlineeducation
16. Focus on quality
17. Ef fective administrative routines
18. Predictable and manageableteacher w orkload
19. Collaboration w ith otherinstitutions
20. High credibility w ith thegovernment
21. Some sort of industrialization
Universities and Colleges Distance Education Institutions Corporate Training Providers
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends
Economical Factors
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4 4,5 5
22. Cost-ef fectiveness
23. Stable and predictable sources ofincome f rom operation
24. Pressure on the necessity tochange
25. Contracts w ith part-time tutors &course developers
Universities and Colleges Distance Education Institutions Corporate Training Providers
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Matrix Model for Text Analyses Distance
Education Inst.Universities and Colleges
Corporate Training Providers
Historical factors
Technical factors
Course factors
Management factors
Economical factors
Additional factors
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Additional Important Success Factors (1)
• Almost 60% of the institutions mention other factors than the 25 originally hypothesized factors.
• This implies that additional factors are not without importance for the larger picture.
• For some of the institutions, the additional factors are also listed among the five most important factors.
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Additional Important Success Factors (2)
• Most of the additional factors are mentioned by only one institution.
• Thus, they are not clustered around one or a few key factors. Rather, the general picture is that a multitude of different factors seems to be operating.
• This lends support to the interpretation that there are different ways to become a megaprovider and/or that different external factors impose different developmental routes.
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Additional Important Success Factors (3)
• Good marketing is mentioned by two institutions. So is also having a well known brand name, which also is important when doing marketing. Thus, the marketing aspect may indeed be an important factor.
• In addition, having had enthusiasts that worked to promote online teaching in an early phase is mentioned by three institutions, suggesting that also this factor should be added to a list of factors that may be important for becoming a megaprovider.
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e-learning initiatives that did not reach their targeted goals
• The project also studies important e-learning initiatives that did not reach targeted goals.
• It is concerned about e-learning initiatives which collapsed and faded away when the initial project funding was withdrawn, and initiatives that were launched with much political hype but failed and were closed, often with the loss of much taxpayers’ money.
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Online Education Obituaries
• The initial resource for this work was Online Education Obituaries, www.studymentor.com/studymentor/Obituaries.pdf
1. Many governmental initiatives have not been available2. Consortia are often not sustainable3. Many commercial and investor driven initiatives have failed4. Boardroom initiatives often fail5. Several high profile international ventures have been discontinued
because of unhealthy economy.
• An updated list of resources and links to further information:www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends/workpackage6.html
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends 30
Preliminary, alphabetical list of analyzed discontinued initiatives
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends/workpackage6.html
• Alliance for Lifelong Learning USA&UK 2000-2006 $12M• Bedriftsuniversitetet Norway 2002-2003• California Virtual University USA 1997-1999 $6M• IT Fornebu Norway 9M Euro 1998-2001• NKN Norway 7-14M Euro 2000-2002• SWI Hungary 1999-2005• UK E-University UK £50M 2000-2004• United States Open University USA $27M 1998-2002
• A lot of mostly public funding wasted• Dot com babies• New enterprises with limited history and experience in e-learning• Several consortia, partly competing with its member institutions• Some dependant on external course providers
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends
Additional candidates
• Winix (Norway)• Danish Virtual University (Denmark)
• ????
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The Alliance for Lifelong Learning • The Alliance for Lifelong Learning was founded in 2000 by:
– Stanford University from California, USA,– Oxford University from Oxford, England,– Yale University of New Haven, Connecticut, USA– Princeton University of New Jersey, USA.
• It commenced with a 12 M $ budget• It ceased activities in late 2005 and was officially closed in
March 2006.• The official reason was that the cost of offering top-quality
enrichment courses at affordable prices was not sustainable over time.
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California Virtual University (1)• California Virtual University (CVU) was a
high profile venture with a dismal history. It was launched in April 1997 as a joint project of:– the University of California,– California State University,– California Community Colleges– the Association of Independent California
Colleges and Universities.
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California Virtual University (2)
In April 1999, Stephen Downes wrote an analysis claiming that the CVU dream lay in ruins. In his analysis, he stated:"While on the one hand this is just another story of an unprofitable enterprise biting the dust, on the other hand it is a story of wider impact because CVU was seen in some quarters as a model for the future. The failure will affect online learning in general, and the reasons for the collapse attributed to weaknesses in the medium as a whole".
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Help us improve the list of discontinued initiatives
We would like to get the list as complete and correct as possible. Therefore we request help to identify additional institutions that should be listed.
We also appreciate feedback if you have information of interest regarding the listed initiatives.
Please contribute to the project blog or contact:Morten Flate Paulsen, [email protected]
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends 36
More Information about theses Case Studieswww.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends/workpackage4.html
Institution # enrollments in 2005 # courses in 2005
Virtuelle Hochschule Bayern 20000 150
Oncampus 9386 119
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya 94000 950
NKI 12217 470
BI 8500 54
NKS 2200 104
Sør-trøndelag University College 2500 148
www.nettskolen.com/in_english/megatrends
Panel Session
• Discussion of the important success factors and reasons for failure for European providers of online education.