Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the presentation and I particularly welcome Professor Brian Mac Craith who is a colleague and friend of mine. We joined DCU together. He rose up the ranks far faster than I to become a very fine president. I am delighted to see him and a new colleague, Professor Mark Brown, here today.

It is not necessary to answer this specifically, but I would like to ask the witnesses how much the universities are in debt and what is the value of their buildings. The reason I ask this is I would like to find out if the debt in any way influences the rush into online learning development. "Rush" is probably the wrong word. However, in America, the debt for students is now at €1 trillion. It has become a kind of sub-prime mortgage brokerage. We know in Ireland that AIB closed down many postgraduate fees options and doubled the interest rate on fees when students had finished. This also happened with Bank of Ireland. The Government, in some way, has withdrawn from aspects of postgraduate education also and left it to the universities and students to fend for themselves. There has been a kind of feeding frenzy across the US and somewhat here in Ireland too in respect of outbuilding rivals. We all outbuild each other physically and in doing so we do not have enough money to educate the students. Does that have an affect?

What are the dangers of outsourcing. Is it happening? What are the dangers and what studies have been done which inform how these dangers might be undermined? What are the lessons learned there?

What subjects and disciplines lock more into online learning than others? Generally speaking, what disciplines of education answer online learning better than others? Is it a race? Is it a race to be acknowledged? Is the Open University in competition with MOOCs? Is there a tension? Are they in competition with each other?

Are MOOCs new to the game? Will the Open University be obliged to teach those involved in offering them or are the latter looking for it to learn from them? Do these courses suit graduates or postgraduates? Has any research been carried out in this regard? Does online learning suit postgraduates better? Who benefits most from online learning? Reference was made to MOOCs being free of charge and providing courses of study to a massive group. What is the standard of assessment which applies in respect of these courses? How do the universities maintain qualitative standards of assessment?

Professor Brown stated that he played a key role in the establishment of the Massey University Worldwide brand. I did some research into Massey University yesterday and discovered that it is involved in a significant partnership with the World Bank. When I think of the World Bank, I recall the numerous countries which were obliged to sign over their water rights to it in order to pay for their loans. Others might do so but I do not readily accept the involvement of the World Bank. That is just an observation, however.

I have asked a number of disparate questions but they all relate to major concerns regarding the rush to online learning and whether this is being prompted by financial considerations.