Planning the curriculum in Higher Education for Lifelong Learning

Moscow State University for Economic, Statistics and InformaticsMarch 2012

Professor Alan TaitPro Vice-Chancellor (Curriculum and Qualifications)The Open UniversityUnited kingdom

Lifelong Learning

• Rate of change in knowledge

• Skills in workplaces

• Social justice

• Management as field of study

Higher Education Response to Lifelong Learning in UK

• Creation of Departments of Continuing Education

• Access programmes

• Foundation of The Open University 1969

Curriculum in Higher Education

• Does Curriculum in Higher Education need to be planned?

• If so, how?

Open University Mission

•The Open University is open to people, places, methods and ideas. •It promotes educational opportunity and social justice by providing high quality university education to all who wish to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential. •Through academic research, pedagogic innovation and collaborative partnership it seeks to be a world leader in the design, content and delivery of supported open and distance learning. 

Outcome of OU mission

• 250k students

• Age range segments

• Range of Undergraduate, Masters and Doctoral students

• Educational qualifications on entry for Undergraduates

• Numbers of graduates

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

Stud

ents

Qualifications

Highest Qualification at Registration

Academic year 2008/09

Academic year 2009/10

Academic year 2010/11

15,618 15,557

13,541

12,500

13,000

13,500

14,000

14,500

15,000

15,500

16,000

2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

Stud

ents

Master's Students

174,565

185,047 185,168

168,000

170,000

172,000

174,000

176,000

178,000

180,000

182,000

184,000

186,000

2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

Stud

ents

Undergraduate Students

Stagegate Process for Curriculum Planning

• Business planning process in Faculties

Drivers in Curriculum Planning• Market

• Academic community

• Government

• Employers and the workplace

• Big themes

• Skills for Lifelong Learning

• Success is optimal alignment of these 6 drivers

Institutional Level Intervention Aligned to Mission

• Example of FD in Retail initiated by PVC• Large workforce• Low educational qualifications• Low salaries• Large employers in supermarkets• New FD invested in by Uni not initially

faculty• Now 100 students

Planning Curriculum in a University: the institutional role

Thank you!

Спасибо!

Alan Tait