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The MLE Landscape Study: current trends and activity
Margaret Wallis Social Informatics Research Unit,
University of Brighton,
Background to the study
Commissioned by JISC and UCISA - August 2002 to June 2003
Social Informatics Research Unit, University of Brighton
Education for Change The Research Partnership
Objective of the study
To identify and analyse the current picture in UK FE and HE institutions with regard to issues of the integration of business processes, services and systems in support of learning and teaching
www.jisc.ac.uk/project_mle_activity.html
Research Methodology Extensive literature and web review Consultation with key informants National survey of all FE and HE
institutions 699 institutions - 540 FE and 194 HE Response rate 358 institutions - 51% Eight case studies selected to represent
FE and HE categories and levels of integration
Defining an MLE
Initial focus to provide a definition The term MLE rarely understood Functions and level of integration
the key
Research findings
Significant levels of MLE activity across all institutions - 70%
47% have yet to finalise an MLE development strategy
VLE use - 83% Institutional portal - 44%
Strategic models for MLE development
Predominantly centrally managed - 40%
Institution-wide initiative with devolved responsibilities - 27%
Move away from local/departmental initiatives
Drivers of MLE development Enhancing the quality of teaching and
learning Improving access to learning for
students off-campus Widening participation/inclusiveness Student expectations Access to/attracting overseas students Competitive advantage
Consultation on MLE development
Consulting with staff Consulting with students Consulting with external
organisations
Operational model for MLE development
77% of HE institutions are developing and/or integrating systems using in-house capability.
MLE Functions
17 functions including: Academic teaching/guidance Access to course descriptions Integration of on-line library
resources with VLE Payment of fees
MLE Current and future integration
Extent of integration
Course enrolment
Course enrolment is through
paper forms only
Enrolment for some
courses can be done on-
line
On-line enrolment
available for the majority of courses
Students primarily enrol for courses on-
line
Now
3-5 year
s
Now
3-5 year
s Now
3-5 year
s Now 3-5 years
Signing-on to access electronic learning resources and environments
No electronic learning
resources
Students have to use
multiple user names specific to
each resource to
access electronic learning
resources and
environments
Students access
electronic learning
resources and
environments using
many user names;
some cover multiple
resources
Students access all electronic
learning resources and environments
directly using a single user name
and password
Now
3-5 year
s Now
3-5 year
s Now
3-5 year
s Now 3-5 years
Systems integration
19% of universities have minimal systems integration
24% have partial integration 57% have relatively high levels of
integration HE Colleges 11%; 61% and 28% respectively
Findings (1)
Course enrolment Cautious approach
Module selection 44% online selection
Academic teaching/guidance – Pre-91 24% online guidance Post 91 51% online guidance
Integration of online library resources into VLE Pre-91 - 38%; Post-91 - 64%
Access needs for students with disabilities Limited on-line support – 56% Support for wide range of needs Pre-91 – 13%; Post-91 – 31%
Findings (2)
Advantages, disadvantages and impact of MLEs
Advantages Open and wider access to learning; Greater administrative efficiency Integration of data across the
institution
Disadvantages of MLEs “There are no disadvantages, but there
are obstacles and risks. The development of the MLE impacts on current working practices of both academic and administrative staff. There are significant training needs for staff and students. [There is a] risk to quality of student experience if not used well.”
Comments from a post-1991 university.
Disadvantages
Cost and time involved Resistance to culture change Scale of need for staff training and
development Stable infrastructure and dependence
on software systems vendors Importance of system and data
security
Impact on learning and teaching
Too soon to assess the impact of MLEs
The relationship between the MLE and VLE largely unexplored
Systems not yet well embedded or accepted
Student expectations raised
Constraints and barriers to development
Lack of time Lack of money Lack of academic staff knowledge Lack of academic staff
development Lack of support staff
Conclusions
MLEs are “a good thing” Not yet fully embedded institutionally Student experience is being
enhanced Pedagogical issues have been a
secondary concern Scale of the task is daunting Uneven quality of materials
Future activity
Further case studies Development of a benchmarking
tool to build on the integration matrix
Development of a case study data base
Further survey