Policy advisor: Open access or financial security?
Context:
As a policy advisor, you must decide whether to recommend that your university join the OERu network—a global consortium offering free online courses with low-cost credentials. While joining would expand access to education worldwide, it could also threaten institutional revenue and raise questions about quality control.
Dilemma:
A) Support open education and recommend joining OERu, prioritizing accessibility, while working to address quality concerns through rigorous peer review.
B) Protect traditional models by rejecting OERu.
Story behind the dilemma:
The OERu is an open network and public-private partnership (PPP) including post-secondary institutions, the private sector, non-profits, government and international agencies. This OER ecosystem aims to serve both formal and informal learners by creating more flexible and affordable pathways to meet diverse student needs.
The OERu aims to create a sustainable innovation partnership between accredited educational institutions which will provide free learning to all learners with pathways to gain academic credit from formal education institutions around the world. It is based on the community service and outreach missions of tertiary education providers to develop parallel delivery systems that will augment existing educational provision.