OER Africa – An Introduction (Kenya Methodist University, Meru) January 2010

OER Africa
An Institutional Policy Review for the
Kenya Methodist University

KeMU Institutional Policy Workshop
Main Campus, Mderu
27th January, 2010

Objective
 to identify the extent to which the existing policy
framework supports the development and use of
OER in taking forward the institution’s goals;
 to suggest areas which might need to be reviewed
or added to optimise policy support in guiding
practice.

22/03/12 KeMU Policy and OER Workshop 2

Documentation reviewed (1)
• Foundation Documents: Trust Deed, Charter, Statutes
and, KeMU Values, 1991
• Strategic Plan 2006 – 2015, August 2006
• Open and Distance Learning Mode (ODLM) Department.
Policy and Operational Guidelines, February 4th, 2008
• Human Resources Policy Manual, April 2007
• Academic Handbook. Guidelines, Policies and
Procedures. Revised Edition, June 2009
• Administrative Handbook for Lecturer. First Edition,
December 6th, 2006
• Proposed Draft Common Regulations and Procedures
for Postgraduate Studies, December 2008
• [The Role of] Dean of Faculty/ School/ Institute,
September 2008

Documentation reviewed (2)
• Academic Enterprise (Income-Generating)
Programmes. Policy and Operational Guidelines.
Revised November 21, 2006
• Department of Students’ Welfare and Development,
Instruments of Governance. Students’ Code of Conduct
and Discipline. [3rd Edition], March 2009
• A Guide to Policies, Rules and Regulations of the
Library Services, July 2006
• The Kenya Methodist University Alumni Association
Constitution {KEMUAA}, 10/26/2007
• Chaplaincy Policy, September 2008
• Draft Records Management Policy, April 2009
• Website – www.kemu.ac.ke – visited 10 December 2009.


Overall Policy Framework (1)
Philosophy
 … to foster the intellectual, spiritual and physical development
of the wholesome individual in order to recognize and utilize
the available opportunities for enhancement of human
development with the appropriate recognition and respect
for other creations.
Vision
 "To be a leading world class University in East Africa,
committed to raising a new generation of transformational
leaders, who are well grounded and committed to spiritual and
ethical values".
Mission
 "To contribute to the transformation of our society by
providing high quality education that promotes excellence in
scholarship, research and selfless service to the
community".

Overall Policy Framework (2)
Objectives
 to provide quality training through provision of scholarship,
advancement of knowledge through research and
development of specialized activities in the University;
 to produce effective graduates with the appropriate
practical and specialized skills, attitudes and values
required for personal growth and advancement of
responsible citizens in the global environment;
 to participate in community service through provision of
continuing education, conduction of research, participation
in external services, provision of specialist consultative or
referral services, facilitation of community empowerment,
empowerment
promotion of fairness and natural justice and maintenance
of good neighbourliness with the community.
Source:(website, 10/12/09; KeMU Charter, 5 (2), (3), (4))

Policy Context

KeMU Charter, 2006 – Part 4. OBJECTIVES
 4(1) The University may, subject to approval by the
Commission, enter into affiliations or academic
linkages with any individual, group or institution as
provided for in the Statutes


Is Overall Policy and Strategy
Conducive to Collaborative OER ?
KeMU Charter, 2006 – Part 6. FUNCTIONS
 6(1) (b) participate in discovery, collection, processing and
dissemination of knowledge for the betterment of humankind
and to provide opportunity for development of intellectual
activities, academic freedom and scholarly acumen
 6(1)(c) determine what may be taught, how it may be taught
and who may teach at the University
 6(1) (f) establish linkages, affiliations or collaborative ventures
with individuals, groups or institutions, private or public, in
support of research, teaching or service activities of the
University
 6(1) (g) foster development of good neighbourliness and
promote intellectual and social interaction between the
University, other institutions and members of the public.

Human Resources Policy (April 2007)
Policy Position / Objective Relevance to
Collaboration / OER
Policy on hiring of salaried
or monthly employees  Policy will probably not affect /
be affected by an agenda of
•This policy governs both internal collaboration and / or OER;
transfers as well as external
appointments if the necessary  If KeMU is part of the trend
competences are not available towards resource-based
internally or nobody applies learning, consideration might
internally. be given to providing staff with
support in terms of pedagogy
and / or use of educational
technology.


Human Resources Policy (2)
Collaboration / OER
Policies on annual salary  teaching role could include the
and merit review, development of appropriate
promotions and learning resources – JDs
performance management. accordingly amended
 team approach will be required
to bring together content,
pedagogic and technical
expertise in the design and
development process and this
should also therefore be
captured in a policy statement.


Collaboration / OER
Policy statements on  Critical – basic provisions will
business ethics, Policy on stand and could be supported
Public Relations by statements on:
•emphasises the institution’s • copyright and copyright clearance
strong commitment to the highest of source resources, draft resources
standards of ethical and legal and final OER
conduct in all its business
practices.
• the ‘ownership’ of and rights
•requires honesty and integrity
regarding resources created by
from every employee in their KeMU staff and/or students
dealings with fellow employees, (including research outputs) and/or
the institution, the business commissioned persons/ bodies
community and the general public. • branding of KeMU resources shared
• signing off processes for finalisation
of OER to be shared.


Collaboration / OER
Policy against sexual  No particular collaboration /
harassment OER implication
 Reminder of need for gender
sensitivity in learning
resources developed
 Reminder to avoid gender
stereo-typing
 Reminded that language need
only be gender specific if
contextually relevant .



Collaboration / OER
Policy guidelines on  Appear neutral to
allowances, leave, collaboration / OER
retirement and discipline.
 Possibly consider notion of a
sabbatical for research and
development of learning
resources.



Collaboration / OER
Policies and procedures for  Broadly applicable to the
staff training and collaborative use and
development. development of OER.
(September 2008)  Strategic decisions will need
to be made about how to get
the maximum impact from the
specific kinds of training
associated with the
resources that will become
OER.



Collaboration / OER
Staff Welfare Policy  General policy – no particular
(September 2008) implications to the
collaborative use and
development of OER.
 Issue is whether or not
resources perceived to be part
of staff core job descriptions
and provided for accordingly.



Collaboration / OER
Roles of Deans of Faculty/  No apparent implications to
School/ Institute; Role of collaboration / OER.
Academic Coordinator in
 Need to consider process by
the KeMU Centres
which / authority through
(both September 2008) whom to do the following;
Role of Chairman of  identify areas in which
Department; Functions of learning resources need to be
the Dean’s Committee, developed; selection process
(both August 2008). for which to share as OER and
how; and finally to sign off –
giving final authorisation on
the part of KeMU for the
release of the OER.

ICTs & ICT Infrastructure

Collaboration / OER
Policy on Electronic Mail  Standard ICT Policy
•all email is considered business
 Guidelines may be required
mail and therefore the institution
has full access and rights regarding what can be shared
regarding all email; and with whom, in regard to
OER.
•prohibits the emailing of
confidential and copyrighted
information


Policies in Support of Teaching &
Learning - Library Services
Collaboration / OER
A guide to rules, policies  List of resources could include
and regulations of the OER repositories.
library services, July 2006  ‘Resource Sharing’ section
•This Guide to policy and could extend to OER.
procedure regarding the library
services offered by the institution  Consider how to archive own
and how these may be accessed. OER internally and make it
available externally; how to
manage versioning; and how
will facilitate access to OER
 Library should play a leading
role in these processes.

Policies in Support of Teaching &
Learning - Academic Handbook
Collaboration / OER
Academic Handbook:
 Section 6 (Academic
Guidelines, Policies and
Discipline) could highlight
Procedures (June 2009) ease of access to information
•Stipulates academic procedures, in information age and
guidelines and policies to be attendant risk of plagiarism
followed in order to assist faculty (which may not be intentional)
and students to observe and uphold  Section 6 could hence provide
high scholarship, achieve high some guidelines on copyright,
academic standards while Creative Commons and
maintaining efficiency and referencing / refer staff and
understanding of the University students to a policy that
Academic organs and their functions. addresses these issues.
p. (i)
22/03/12 
KeMU Policy and OER Workshop 19

Admin Handbook for Lecturers &
Guidance on Academic Enterprise
Collaboration / OER
Administrative Handbook for
Lecturers (December 2006) &  May be useful to foreground
Academic Enterprise – Policy successful dev’t of high-
and Operational Guidelines quality peer-reviewed
(November 2006) resources as a criteria for
appointment & promotion
•Admin Handbook is a collection of
commonly used administrative  Might usefully consider need
policies and procedures; for support – persons who
combine both IT / technical
•Academic Enterprise (income-
expertise with pedagogical
generating projects) is one of the
expertise – and can usefully
areas covered by the academic policy
support discipline experts.
framework.


Student Code of Conduct & Student
Organisation Constitution
Collaboration / OER
Students’ Code of Conduct  Code provide guidance re
and Discipline (3rd Ed, March 2009); plagiarism or copyright.
KeMU Student Organisation  List of work which students
Constitution (May 2006) might undertake for the
•These two documents govern university could include support
for OER development
student affairs at KeMU
 Provision for an ODL Rep to help
KeMU “ensure materials are issued on
time” and “are relevant to the course
requirements” gives useful
framework for student
engagement in the development
and review of learning
resources.

Records Management Policy
Collaboration / OER
• draft policy stemming from the
belief that ‘The University is wholly  Current focus is student
dependent on its records for the records.
efficient and effective discharge of  Policy might usefully consider:
its academic responsibilities ... [and
• Guidelines for management and
so] ... This policy document
provides and outlines the archiving of the institution’s OER.
framework for the management of • Systems to ensure that learning
the University records with a view resources are quality assured and
of ensuring that the university copyright cleared prior to release as
creates and retains only those OER and that the correct version of
records that are necessary.
necessary the resource is released.


Common Regulations and
Procedures for Postgraduate Studies
Collaboration / OER
• Draft document (Dec 2008) sets
out the expectations and  Section 8 (g) which deals with
requirements for postgraduate IPR issues could be expanded
study. to a more general policy on
plagiarism, copyright and
Creative Commons issues
 KeMU could consider:
• if to make post Graduate research
reports, dissertations and theses
widely available as OER.
• If so, would need to assert
institutional copyright (perhaps non-
exclusive)

Policy Implications – OER, ODL &
eLearning
The mission of the ODLM department is to design,
produce and distribute (DPD) the most suitable
course materials for ODL mode teaching and
learning at the most convenient time and place.

(ODLM Department, Policy & Operational Guidelines, June 25, ‘07 & Feb 4, ‘08)


ODL Systems
Policy
Policy Area Relevance to collaboration and/or OER
Issues/Objectives
Type of DE system • Campus based, organisation • Sharing of research, guidelines, process documents
(ODLM 2008, Sect A) based, individual based and quality criteria can help KeMU ODLM make
• Self-paced or programme informed decisions about which DE model(s) will be
based most appropriate to its needs in future.
• Open access • Policy should clearly articulate the criteria for making
• Single, dual-mode, judgements about appropriate teaching and learning
partnership service provider strategies to suit particular purposes and target
audiences.
Choosing the appropriate • Print, audio/visual, web- • Open licences for materials will facilitate cost-effective
technology for based or a mix production and distribution of materials
distribution and materials • Access implications of • Access to course materials from other institutions
and for interaction with choice committed to OER can be an effective, rapid strategy
students • Training implications of to secure materials for courses where no materials
(ODLM 2008, Sect A (4)) choice exist / might allow use of media that would not have
• Cost – including been affordable if KeMU needed to develop
maintenance and everything itself.
sustainability • Resource dev’ t guidelines should explicitly require
that no completely new development should happen
without first checking that suitable resources do not
already exist as OER and where new development is
sanctioned that maximum use is made of existing OER
as resources e.g. graphics from Flickr.

Business Planning & Costing
Policy Issues/Objectives Relevance to collaboration and/or OER
• Philosophy and objectives • Clear policy indications are needed that materials development is
• Capital and recurrent costs considered important by KeMU and that there is commitment to
• planning investing in it
• implementation • Policy positions are essential to ensure high quality of materials and
• maintenance and updating effective collaboration and this is indicated by allocation of
• fixed and variable appropriate resources including staff time
• Self-financing or subsidised?
• It may be necessary to include specific references to collaborative
• Courses portfolio (e.g. length
of study) activities to ensure that funds are set aside to cover the time of
academic staff from KeMU participating in such collaborative
• Course development and
production process (e.g. activities
team, individual contract) • Sharing of course materials may reduce requirements to pay sub-
• Course delivery contracting fees for materials development, as it may open access
• Enrolment to already developed course materials in key areas of need
• Tutorial system • Participation in materials development/OER collaborations could
• Materials dispatch
generate consultancy funds, providing an alternative income stream
• Assessment
to the university and its staff and financial returns on capital
• Record keeping investment in line with current KeMU policy
• Marketing
• Funding

HR Policy for ODLM
• Most academic staff will be discipline experts rather than materials
• Staff complement developers – OER Africa and its partners can help ODLM with the
further development of skills related to materials development
• Staff development
• Staff awareness processes should include awareness about
• Staff workload changing intellectual property parameters introduced by growth of
ICT, and accompanying introduction to open licences like the
Creative Commons
• Consideration might be given to the notion that staff participating
in collaborative activities and materials development exercises that
are over and above their normal workload can receive
remuneration for their time spent (e.g. by Extended Agreement/
private Work – however, in the long term if DE provision
accelerates – job descriptions will need to be adapted so that time
is allocated to programme development, course design and
materials production as a core activity)
• Policy should commit the institution to a team work approach to
resource development in order to harness effectively content,
pedagogic and technical expertise – it is rare that all the necessary
competences reside in a single person.

Program Dev’t Policy for ODLM
• Facilitated by use and adaptation of OER
• Buy, make or adapt • Facilitated by systematic analysis of current copyright status of
• Media choice and/or mix existing materials, and efforts to ensure that all materials can be
• Instructional design freely updated and revised without securing additional permissions.
• Developmental testing
• Existing OER available on the Internet and materials available from
others can support review processes and cost-effective updating of
• Production courses
• Delivery • Establishment of licensing frameworks relevant to digitized
• Updating materials (e.g. Creative commons) will be essential to protect rights
• Storage of KeMU – so KeMU will still need to decide how to share resources
for which it claims the copyright
• Essential to define terms of use of all materials within a digital
repository, which will be facilitated by systematic materials audit
and establishment of systems to manage KeMU’s knowledge base
• Shared course materials and OER can be used to increase number of
available materials in digital repository without significant
additional cost
• Collaboration with others will facilitate such access, as will ongoing
integration of KeMU into emerging global OER networks..

Monitoring, Evaluation & QA Policy
for ODL

• Who is the evaluation for? • Completing a systematic audit of materials and their
(e.g. politicians, managers, licences will create a clear legal framework to guide staff
educational staff) and students.

• The level of monitoring
• Maintaining proper licences that facilitate use and
adaptation of materials further supports this.
(e.g. system level,
course/programme level, • The sharing of research, guidelines, process documents and
individual tutor or individual quality criteria can help KeMU make informed decisions
learner)
about suitable models for managing a quality assurance
system in an ODL context.
• Capability to act on
findings of evaluation,
monitoring and quality
assurance

• Quality assurance systems

ODLM Policy Considerations
 Policy pertaining to copyright of KeMU ODL
learning resources could be expanded in regard to
OER
• e.g. procedures to check & clear copyright within materials

 ODLM Draft Contracts include provision for
versioning / editions and guidelines such as use of
Harvard referencing system
• These guidelines could usefully be adopted across the
entire institution


ODLM Policy Conclusions
 KeMU already has strategic intent and implementation
strategy that supports collaboration and the systematic
deployment of OER
 Some gaps in the current policy framework – particularly
regarding an effective policy for locating materials
development within a much larger curriculum design process
 Should be addressed if the institution is keen to exploit the
potential of collaborative efforts in materials development and
the potential of OER.
 Without modification of the policy environment to address
these gaps, it will be difficult to harness this potential in a
systematic and sustainable way.


Key Considerations for KeMU
 KeMU’s existing policy framework is largely supportive of
increased collaboration, sharing of course materials, and
harnessing of OER – although it is also clear that current
policy was developed prior to considerations of the possibility
of working with OER.
 A key policy statement that could be beneficial would pertain
to the Intellectual Property Rights and Copyright of staff,
students and the institution - with regard to learning resources
developed in the normal course of learning and teaching and
how these might be shared.
 Policy must make clear and unequivocal statements on IPR
and Copyright relating to learning resources developed in the
course of work – currently the ODLM guidelines refer
specifically to development that has been outsourced.


Plenary discussion (1)
Questions and clarifications:
2. If an academic staff member develops a learning resource
during KeMU time using KeMU resources and not in relation
to an ODLM contract, does copyright in the resulting product
vest with KeMU? Does the academic have any rights in
respect of this material?
outside KeMU time using KeMU resources and not in relation
to an ODLM contract, does copyright in the resulting product
vest with KeMU or the academic?


Plenary discussion (2)
Questions and clarifications:
outside KeMU time using his/her own resources and not in
relation to an ODLM contract, does copyright in the resulting
product vest with KeMU or the academic?
3. If another member of staff or a student contributes to the
development of the learning resource – e.g. by providing
learning design advice, developing graphic material etc.,
does he/she have any rights in respect of this material?
4. Where are / should the answers to these questions stated?


Break-Out Sessions
1. Should KeMU commit itself to sharing resources with
others? If so, on what basis?
 Under what license conditions?
 All at once or gradually?
2. What kinds of policies need to be put in place regarding
materials development and Intellectual Property Rights
that are not currently in place?
3. How should policy at KeMU regarding salaries,
incentives, etc. change to reflect staff inputs into
materials development (and collaborative processes in
this area)?
4. What steps need to be followed to create the
appropriate policy environment for KeMUin relation to
the above issues?

Thank you
Catherine Ngugi Neil Butcher
Project Director OER Strategist
catherine.ngugi@gmail.com neilshel@icon.co.za

OER Africa – An Introduction (Kenya Methodist University, Meru) January 2010

Recomendados

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

La actualidad más candente

La actualidad más candente (6)

Destacado

Destacado (9)

Similar a OER Africa – An Introduction (Kenya Methodist University, Meru) January 2010

Similar a OER Africa – An Introduction (Kenya Methodist University, Meru) January 2010 (20)

Más de PiLNAfrica

Más de PiLNAfrica (20)

Último

Último (20)

OER Africa – An Introduction (Kenya Methodist University, Meru) January 2010

Notas del editor