General introduction to eXchanging Course Related Information

1. 27 March 2009, Leeds, UK
XCRI: eXchanging Course Related Information
CAP: Course Advertising Profile
Scott Wilson, scott.bradley.wilson@gmail.com
Assistant Director, CETIS
Alan Paull, alan@alanpaull.co.uk
Information Management Consultant, APS Ltd

2.  The ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of XCRI
 Current position across UK education
organisations
 National and European drivers
 The business case
Our current work: Focus on Benefits Realisation
Self-assessment Readiness Framework
XCRI Knowledge Base

5. … about eXchanging Course Related Information
… a way of describing information about learning opportunities
… the UK standard for describing course marketing information

6. structure names definitions
providers advertise courses A presentation is a
particular instance of the
courses are presented for enrolment any course offered at a particular
number of times through presentations time and place and is the
entity to which learners
presentations instantiate courses apply. Alternative names for
this type of structure include
course offering and course
instance.
specification

7. Catalog
@generated
Provider
identifier*, title*, subject*, description*, relation*, url, image, address
Course
identifier*, title*, subject*, description*, relation*, url, image, qualification*, credit*
Presentation
identifier*, title*, subject*, description*, relation*, url, image, start, end, duration, study
Mode, attendanceMode, attendancePattern, languageOfInstruction, languageOfAssess
ment, placesAvailable, cost, enquireTo, applyFrom, applyUntil, applyTo, entryProfile*, e
ntryRequirements*, venue*
* = multiples permitted

8. Collect once ... ... use many times
Learning Provider‟s Information in Course information
system XCRI-CAP format system(s)

9. UCAS LLN NLD UCAS LLN NLD
Provider Aggregators
re-keys & Poll &
pushes for each Harvest from
aggregator XML Providers
Learning Learning
Provider Provider
Provider
publishes
XCRI prospectus
as well as web
Web Web prospectus
Prospectus Prospectus

10. 2005 JISC fund XCRI “Reference Model” project. Team review international
standards, e-prospectus websites (161+) & site visits; R1.0 XCRI schema.
2006 XCRI tools prototyped: XCRI>PDF brochures & ReST Xpath search. Existing
deployment reviewed & optimised XCRI CAP 1.0 released.
JISC fund XCRI CAP 1.0 trials, demo aggregator & xcri.org support
2007 DfES and Becta briefed. XCRI adopted as „preferred approach‟ by LSC. Bolton,
OU, Oxford, MMU & Staffs CAP feeds read by demo aggregator.
CEN WS-LT & vendor meetings for European MLO harmonization begin.
2008 JISC funds CAP 1.1 pilots. XCRI champion elected to DIUS/DCSF ISB. GMSA,
Edge Hill, W Cheshire, Kent XCRI feeds. CEN WS-LT Agreement on MLO =>
European Norm; E Mid, Huddersfield, Teesside, Worcester start XCRI projects.
2009 DCSF‟s Action Plan for 14-19 Prospectus recommends adoption in 14-19
sector by 2010. ISB approves XCRI-CAP 1.1 as national eProspectus
standard. E Mids 14-19 Pilot; non-JISC-funded work continues.
2010 Recommendations to DCSF. Dev‟t of XCRI-CAP 1.2. Mini-projects: Bolton,
Cardiff (UWIC), Hull, Huddersfield, Newcastle, Nottingham. MLO European
Norm expected to be ratified. XCRI Benefits Realisation project (August 2010).

11. Careers Jobs
Department for Children,
Schools and Families Qualifications
Standards
Information Standards Board Interoperability
Learners JISC
XCRI-enabled
services
Learning provider community
primitive data entry
Informed choice

12. Reid Kerr C Adam Smith C
Bolton Uni Newcastle Uni
Higher York LLN
MMU WYLLN (Huddersfield)
Hull Uni
Edge Hill Uni
E Mids, incl Leap Ahead LLN,
Liverpool CCLiP SSC LLN, Uni of Nottingham
GMSA Open University
West Cheshire C MOVE LLN (Herts)
Staffordshire Uni
HW LLN (Uni of Worcester) Middlesex Uni
UCAS
Cardiff, UWIC Uni of Kent
Bristol, UWE Oxford Uni
Plymouth Uni

13.  Learning Providers
 internal efficiency gains through process improvements
 cost savings on data input
 strategic capability through better understanding of its offerings
 quality assurance, standardisation, and consolidation of
duplicate offerings
 Course Collecting Organisations
 availability of more providers
 better quality – more frequent update, better coverage, greater
accuracy, better integrated ‘supply chain’
 new value-added services

14. 27 March 2009, Leeds, UK
XCRI: eXchanging Course Related Information
CAP: Course Advertising Profile
Alan Paull, alan@alanpaull.co.uk
Information Management Consultant, APS Ltd

17. University of Gloucestershire – 2010-05-04