Professor Mark Brown:

There has been a comprehensive range of questions and it will be difficult to cover all of them. I will start with an issue we all believe to be important, namely, quality.

New Zealand developed national guidelines for the quality of online delivery, something we do not have under way at this point. I chair the international council for open and distance learning, the peak professional body. I chair a group which is reviewing international quality standards, frameworks and guidelines and it is to be hoped something will come out of this work which will be published within the next two months.

On the question of data and the percentage of students officially studying at a distance or on a part-time basis, it is a murky one to which to give a clear answer. The data are not particularly trustworthy. The network I established in Ireland knows of a number of programmes being delivered in flexible ways which I would classify as distance learning, but I am sure they are not being captured at this time.

To try to break down some of the figures, of those students who are studying part-time in Ireland, in the third level sector at large, the level is around 16%. Of these, 95% are considered to be mature learners. The figures tell us a little about who is being attracted to more flexible forms of study. By contrast, in New Zealand over 50% are part-time learners. The funding model has something do with this, but the issue is complex. The ability of part-time, flexible, mature learners to fund their study is an issue and there are contrasts in the ways in which Ireland and New Zealand have approached the issue.

A question was asked about costs. In our assessment of the MOOC initiatives we are working within the European framework because there is some funding available to assist us. We must also consider opportunity costs. We are operating in a very tight financial environment and have to be very strategic about where we place our efforts. At this point, we are focusing our efforts on collaborative programmes which offer genuine benefits that link with our mission in transforming lives and societies such as biomedical diagnostics and working in Africa.

Ultimately, the question is who benefits, in respect of which I see the cost and the other side. Ireland, as a nation, benefits. There are public and private benefits for higher education and they are conclusive in terms of the research conducted. We have to understand the people who are studying in Trinity College Dublin or through the Open University on a part-time basis, in particular, those undertaking postgraduate programmes, are usually pursuing on-the-job professional development. It has an impact on productivity, whether the work is paid or unpaid, and has the ability to contribute to society. We also know that well educated people contribute more actively to society, have fewer health issues and cost society less. This is an investment and funding is crucial.

I have to return to the point on completions because it is one of the elephants in the room in regard to online learning. Completion rates are not good internationally and the MOOC quotes some of the figures. If we are celebrating a completion rate of 20% or 22%, we are not close to the targets. Completion rates for those in formal programmes are another problem. Through the efforts of the national forum for the enhancement of teaching and learning and in terms of the first round fund for building digital capacity, this year we have a project to the tune of approximately €250,000 to develop a flexible readiness toolbox to help to address the retention problem.

My opening comments were not anti-MOOC, but the data for completion rates in the MOOC are unclear. Clicking on a website is one thing but taking the next step is different. I shared figures from the University of London, which is involved in Coursera. There are four courses offered through the MOOC and of 212,000 students, 35 have continued. It may be an effective marketing strategy per student, but it is not be what we would do. There are better ways to use our funding.

On the question of what do we do, ultimately for me, that is the most important question which has been asked today and the value of this forum. There is a need for a more equitable fee model to enable all students to have the opportunity to benefit from higher education. We need also to address the issue, based on my experience down under, of what is termed infrastructure that in many cases is not "up to it". The challenge in this room was mentioned by way of example. In the university sector the only place in which I have real confidence is Dublin City University, DCU. We need infrastructure to meet our ambitions. It is extremely challenging to do what we are tying to do without that infrastructure.

To be really proactive, as I said, we will need to play a key role on the national stage in the area of online digital learning. Ireland, similar to new Zealand, actually plays a role as a very good global citizen in contributing to the deep-seated issues the world faces in that it is able to offer a unique Irish perspective to places that desperately need higher education services. We should not go about playing that role by dumping a western curriculum on the developing world; rather, similar to what is being done in Saudi Arabia, we should put in place a fund to support that international development relationship work around online learning.

I will end by reiterating my opening point. There would be a benefit for us in having some common guidelines and language to help us to understand what quality looks like in this space.