15th Nov 2002 Alan Woodley

What Have The Researchers Ever Done For Us?

A Review of Institutional Research in IET at the UKOU

Ancient Institutional Research

IET Mark1

C ourse developm ent

A ssessm en t S u rvey R eseach D ep t Text M ed ia Tu it ion & C ou n se llin g

Institutiona l resea rch

D irector

Underpinning Model “R & D”

Main work is curriculum development

Research and evaluation feeds into this

We are the experts

And then came the computer…………

The RAE

The DES Review

IET Mark 2

Student R esea rch C entre T ea ching & C onsulta ncy C IT E

D irector a nd Ma na gem ent C om m ittee

Underpinning Model “Flexibility” & “Partnership”

Recognition of New Technology

Changing development role

Consolidation of student research

Attempted “Matrix” model

“Home base” and “Programmes”

New paradigms

Please shoot the other guy!

IET Mark 3 - Current

Student Research Centre C IT E C O U R SES

D irector + B igger Ma na gem ent C om m ittee

Underpinning Model: “Survival”

Teach courses

More staff development

Be more responsive

Become more efficient (“Industrialising”)

Detailed workplans

Project-focus

Get more external grants

The Super Highway to salvation?

More accessible knowledge

More user-friendly knowledge

Faster knowledge

Better knowledge

More accessible knowledge

Not enough people to send it out

Too much for one person to know

Create the Knowledge Network

.. enables OU staff to explore, share and build knowledge and experience of teaching

and learning.

Public access to KN

http://www.open.ac.uk/kn/ or http://kn.open.ac.uk/public/

More user-friendly knowledge

Web-based stats

Interactive stats

Powerpoint attachments

Faster knowledge

E surveys

PRESTO

ACES

Better knowledge

In depth e-interviews

E focus groups

E coding

E editing

Other ways of industrialising research

Scanning

The CURV project

Market research

The internal research market

Overhead and Service

Internal competition

- Knowledge Media Institute

-Learning and Teaching Solutions

-CAL group

-Telematics group

-Student Services

Etc, etc

The Student Research Centre

S tu d en t S ta tis t ic s Team S u rvey O ffice IC D L O th ers

H ead

SRC- Others

Working with Faculties

Working on regular IR projects

Working on internally funded research projects eg PRESTO

Working on externally funded projects eg CHEERS

The Research Mix in SRC

That done for the OU generally (Overhead)

That done for Funding Units (Service Flow)

That done for outside agencies

That done for personal research

“What have we learned about the research audience?”

They have short and selective memories

They want simple answers to complex problems

They want more

They want it done cheaper

They start to do it themselves

Coming shortly…

Seminar II

The Meaning of LifeThe Meaning of Life