James Fleck
Dean and Professor of Innovation Dynamics
Open University Business School
Open University
October/November 2010
Management Education News from AACSB International
Dean’s Corner
A Distinctive Approach to Learning at Open University Business School
James Fleck
Dean and Professor of Innovation Dynamics
Open University Business School
Open University
The Open University, founded in the UK in 1969, has pioneered high-quality distance education in what is probably the major educational innovation of the late 20th century. It has been emulated by some 50 other initiatives around the world, although unfortunately not all of these are of high quality. Open University remains a world leader; with for example, over 20 million downloads of its offerings from Apple’s iTunes U, and more than 5,000 hours of learning materials available for free in an open courseware initiative funded by the Hewlett Foundation. (See www.openlearn.open.ac.uk).
The Open University Business School builds on this base, using technology to bring students and tutors closer together whatever their location in what might more appropriately be termed “nearness learning” rather than distance learning. This model is very different from the conventional face-to-face, individual craftsperson approach, in which an individual faculty member deals by themselves with the entire educational process from start to finish with varying sized groups of students. The model comprises a sophisticated technology-enhanced approach utilising an elaborated division of labour, and requires considerable upfront investment in the development of programmes and the provision of arrangements for delivery and communication with students. A 5 million USD initial investment would not be untypical for a programme like the MBA, for instance.
There are four key elements that make up this approach:
1. Course-team produced pedagogically-informed materials that generate a quality educational experience driven by learning outcomes. At the Open University, membership of a course team is an important source of identity for an individual academic.
2. “High-touch” teaching materials given life and localised by associate lecturers with extensive practical knowledge and experience to support the students on their learning journey. It is important to note that associate lecturers do not teach in a conventional sense, but rather facilitate the learning processes that are specified in the design of the course.
3. Professional logistics and infrastructure for quality delivery at scale—drawing on well-proven wider Open University facilities. Forty years of experience has resulted in tested protocols and outlines for managing the learning processes and ensuring reliable and robust technical support.
4. Immediate and planned opportunity for the application of course ideas in students’ own experience or work, producing practice-based learning mediated by intense student interaction which guarantees high relevance. Moreover, this approach is carefully designed to draw in work colleagues as well, thereby providing benefit to the employer as well as the individual learners.
AACSB Accreditation, with its comprehensive standards and rigorous emphasis on Assurance of Learning in particular, is vital for the Open University Business School, as it endorses this approach as a high-quality operation, comparable to other accredited schools.