Open House - September 2000
VC's Column
Into the New World
This year’s Brussels degree ceremony was memorable. That week first Britain and then Belgium came to a standstill as people protested fuel prices. I pay tribute to the staff of North Region and the Awards and Ceremonies Office for ensuring that it was business as usual. Special thanks are due to Liam Morris and Frank Cameron from Estates, who spent many hours on blocked motorways in order to get the OU truck to Brussels on time with the furniture, gowns and regalia. This year the graduates were more diverse than ever. They came from all over Europe and beyond. Many had a first language other than English.
The challenge of serving an increasingly varied student body is a vital stimulus for the OU in today’s interconnected world. When we teach students overseas we not only help them; we also prepare ourselves for the changing expectations of students in the UK. This is particularly true of our activities in America through the USOU. Starting from scratch, in a country where the OU is unknown to ordinary people, has been a salutary and humbling experience. The lessons we should learn, which were wittily enumerated by USOU Chancellor Richard Jarvis to Walton Hall staff, will stand us in good stead for serving our evolving clientele in Britain. These are some of his conclusions.
First, a university is built on programmes but enrolment is built on courses and services. Second, reliability and value are the key to success at scale. Third, we must espouse the values of public education while adopting the approach of private enterprise in our operations. Fourth, sustainable partnerships with other institutions must be win-win arrangements from the outset – and maintaining any partnership requires serious investment of effort. Fifth, open access and student success means eliminating cultural barriers. Adapting the content is only a first step – the exams and assessment regime can be an even greater cultural obstacle. Sixth, it is vital to schedule courses appropriately. Dr Jarvis finds that the standard US academic calendar, with starts in September and January, is ‘genetically imprinted’ in American students. Judging by some of the mail that I receive this may also be truer in Britain than we like to think. It is perhaps just as well that our presentation patterns in the UK are diversifying away from the OU’s idiosyncratic academic year. Seventh, when students are online their expectations of service are based on their best experience of e-commerce. If an OU website goes down in the middle of our night, when it is evening in America, some USOU students simply quit the course in disgust. Eighth, the world of the web evolves constantly. Yesterday’s advance is tomorrow’s assumption of normality. Finally, ‘the global currency of e-education is transfer credit’. Are we ready for a world where the average student brings credit from five institutions into their degree? More generally, will the OU rise to the challenge of global higher education? USOU is our chance to show that we can.