ODEL Development in Rwanda – Proposal and Framework

1 The Proposal
We propose that:

1. A target is set to double engagement in higher education in Rwanda by ODEL methods.

2. The expansion includes suitably qualified young people and adults.
3. A task group is set up immediately to refine the operational plans
4. A new central organisation Open Learning Rwanda OLR is given the responsibility for longer term
operational delivery of non academic parts of the ODEL activity
5. Open Learning Rwanda works in cooperation with HLIs to facilitate the growth of ODEL in the
Rwanda educational system.
6. Delivery of ODEL programmes uses a supported blended learning model.
7. The ODEL activity is designed to be sustainable on the basis of income from student fees.
8. Open Learning Rwanda establishes a network of ODEL study centres that link to National ICT
systems, act as mini campuses and can be developed into innovation hubs.
9. The overall enterprise works to stringent quality standards with growth governed by maintenance of
standards.

The proposals are elaborated below and in the draft framework discussed in the consultative workshop (9th
March 2010).

1.1 The Task Group

The Task Group will

1. consult further on the direction of travel defined by the proposal and the propositions in the
framework
2. prepare and present specific and more detailed proposals for the implementation of ODEL in
Rwanda based on the outline model provided below.
3. liaise with Government, other stakeholders, development partners and donors to expedite delivery.

The Task Group will include Rwandan national and expatriate staff with expertise in ODEL, representatives
of internal stakeholders and ODEL experts from an established and internationally recognised ODEL
provider.

The aim will be for the Task Group to complete the planning phase (above) by the end of June 2010.

When the plans are agreed and the funding secured, the Task Group will be reconstituted as Open Learning
Rwanda to begin the process of implementation. It will aim for presentation of substantial pilot programmes
in late 2011.

In order for the Task Group to deliver the necessary outputs it should report to senior levels of Government.
The precise reporting line requires further discussion.

1.2 ODEL development and delivery model – an outline.

This model describes one way of implementing the propositions discussed with stakeholders. It is presented
as a broad outline and will require substantial refinement and testing against operational constraints.

Initial ODEL development in Rwanda will be based on the delivery of programmes by existing HLIs with a
shared infrastructure. Significant elements of the model are1;
1
The model described here focuses on a limited number of characteristics. A more comprehensive proposal will be
developed by the Task Group.
 1. A strictly limited number of high volume programmes in areas of national economic importance.
2. Qualified students enrolled by individual HLIs and programmes operated by those individual HLIs
for their own award.
3. Limited, regular and mandatory attendance at study centres.
4. Study centres distributed across Rwanda located to ensure accessibility, e.g. one per region.
5. Learning resources prepared by the HLIs running the relevant programme.
6. Cooperation in the development of learning resources and sharing across programmes, particularly at
introductory level and in skills development, e.g. English language, ICT, maths, and communication
skills.
7. Personal academic support via study centred located teaching staff employed by the HLIs.
8. Some flexibility for full-time or part-time study.
9. Study centres and other common infrastructure facilitated, created and managed by a central body,
i.e. Open Learning Rwanda.
10. Growth managed to ensure quality of student experience.
11. ICT expectations that do not limit access but make imaginative use of mobile phones and other
devices.

1.3 Open Learning Rwanda OLR

OLR will be a not-for-profit organisation that secures services and develops infrastructure on behalf of its
network of HLI stakeholders. In the longer term its income will be derived from a charge against student fees
and through the provision of educational services. OLR will operate the Study Centres and employ support
staff. OLR, through its study centres and in cooperation with HLIs, will seek to increase revenue through
profit making entrepreneurial ventures, e.g. commercial training courses etc

Open Learning Rwanda will operate within quality guidelines and procedures agreed by the Higher
Education Council.

The shared infrastructure operated by OLR will include;

• A national network of study centres with support staff

• Administrative systems that provide the data needed by individual HLIs
• Provision of management information
• Staff training programmes
• A media production and publishing unit
• Promotion of shared solutions in the hardware and software required for effective elearning.
• Acquisition of a virtual library of journals, reference texts, and learning resources.
• ODEL consultancy and coordination, particularly with respect to elearning

1.4 The Study Centre

The Study Centre should function as the student’s academic home, as a mini-campus. Students will register
at the Study Centre, study and meet their friends there and receive their materials there. Each Study Centre
will contain;

• Teaching spaces for lectures, group work, etc.

• Substantial computer equipped rooms that provide access to elearning materials, the internet, and
locations for validated assessment. Wireless access to the internet.
• A learning resource distribution centre.
• Access to a virtual library
• Staff office space
• Public areas
• A canteen

Study centres may attract commercial ventures; printing, media, sales, etc.
Academic staff from contributing HLIs will have individual study centres as their normal place of work. In
effect, they will be ODEL specialists with ODEL appropriate patterns of work. Consistency of student
expectation and effective management will be assisted by the adoption of a common contract. Maintenance
of quality and retention of staff will require the adoption of award mechanisms that promote the status of the
job of regional academic. Similar arguments apply to all grades of staff employed in Study Centres,
particularly those employed in ICT.

2 A framework of propositions
The following Propositions, which are grouped within discussion themes, are intended to provide an initial
framework for ODEL development. They should be read alongside the Proposal that provides greater detail
in critical area. Taken together the documents describe a direction of travel. We hope that they will provide a
focus for consultation on the development of ODEL in Rwanda.

2.1 Target student population

• ODEL programmes will recruit from qualified upper secondary leavers, qualified adults and those
without the required formal qualifications who have passed a foundation level programme. The
balance between these groups should be agreed at national level.
• ODEL modules will provide opportunity for continuing professional development.
• Qualifications for entry to ODEL programmes should be consistent with entry to conventional
programmes.
• ODEL programmes will be accessible across the country. They will promote widening participation
in all respects.
• Any student entering the programme must have demonstrated the appropriate level of proficiency in
English.

2.2 Programmes to be offered.

• ODEL programmes should reflect national economic development priorities, e.g. teacher training,
ICT, business, finance and administration, health, applied science and engineering, tourism and
hospitality, agriculture, etc.
• The choice of ODEL programmes will build on existing experience and expertise.
• The ODEL programmes will be multidisciplinary and make use of shared modules wherever
possible.
• All ODEL programmes will include substantial generic and specific skills development and, where
appropriate, work based learning. Some programmes will be explicitly vocational.
• All programmes will teach skills in English, maths, ICT and communication.
• ODEL programmes may be offered at certificate, diploma and degree levels.

2.3 Growth trajectory

• The number of ODEL programmes offered initially should be limited to the range 5-10 so as to
increase efficiencies of scale, limit start-up costs and facilitate high quality.
• The minimum normal intake of an ODEL programme will be 500 each year, i.e. 2000 in a degree
programme.
• The rate of growth will be designed to maintain and progressively enhance the quality of the ODEL
provision.
• Additional programmes will be added to the portfolio as the market and the qualified ODEL
workforce increases.
• Central coordination and shared infrastructure arrangements will facilitate increased growth.

2.4 Organisational arrangements – HLIs, MINEDUC, etc

 • ODEL development will take place within a framework provided by national guidelines.
• The national guidelines should promote cooperation and partnership between HLIs in infrastructure,
systems and pedagogy.
• Initial development of ODEL will be overseen and managed by a Task and Planning Group.
• Subsequent development will involve a partnership between a central coordinating body and HLIs.
• A network of study centres will be created. Students will be allocated to an agreed study centre and
will attend there for their timetable ‘campus’ experiences and may choose to attend at other time
subject to resource constraints. The study centres will be available to all universities delivering
ODEL programmes. Excess capacity may be used to generate revenue, e.g. by running private sector
training programmes, running events etc.
• A national level partnership should be established with a major existing ODEL institution that can
provide broad based advice on all aspects of development.

2.5 Technology assumptions

• All study centres will have broadband internet access that is provided free to students and staff, and
which allows integration of administrative systems. Each study centre will have a computer
laboratory with a ratio of 1 computer for every 4 students expected to be physically present at the
centre.
• Day to day communications (e.g. reminders, news etc) with students will be through mobile phones
with email providing a less immediate but significant channel (for assignment feedback etc).
• Print will be a substantial component of the learning resources for all programmes, except where the
curriculum demands that alternatives are used.
• Any audio and video resources will be provided via study centres and flash disks. Radio broadcasts
will be used as both an efficient means of distribution and as a tool for enhancing the status of the
ODEL programmes.
• Longer term consideration will be given to the use of multi site video conferencing but it will not
form a central part of early programmes.
• Students will be clearly informed when a programme requires them to have day to day access to a
computer as a significant part of their learning experience. Initially, programmes will not incorporate
such a requirement unless there is a clear pedagogic need, e.g. an ICT programme.
• Initially there will be no assumption of synchronous communication.
• Mobile phones will from a significant part of the student support systems.

2.6 Teaching & Learning model

• All programmes will include a significant ‘campus’ element, typically 20% of the student’s study
time. This element will facilitate laboratory work, hands-on experiences, and group discussions and
will support the student socially and emotionally. These elements should be regular and frequent.
• The dominant pedagogy will be support resource-based learning with students working with
interactive texts and other media.
• Learning resources will be assembled from; existing materials available worldwide (Open
Educational Resources or licensed), developed in-house, or versioned form existing materials.
• Programmes will encourage students to become independent learners. As they progress through a
programme they will be increasingly expected to identify and access information and resources for
themselves.
• The learning materials and experiences provided should be sufficient to allow students to pass
relevant assessments.
• Each module will include an end of module assessment with validated student identity, one or more
continuous assessment items and opportunities for formative feedback form tutors/
• The programme timetable should allow students to study full time or part time by opting for a
reduced number of modules. There should be a minimum required rate of progress for all students.
• Programmes will be constructed from equal size modules (20 credits) with lower level modules
contributing to multiple programmes.
 • Need for proposition on academic year for ODEL students.
• Separate preparatory foundation modules will be available to students who need additional
preparation if they are to be successful

2.7 Student support model

• Students will be provided with information, advice and guidance at the point of entry to ODEL
programmes in order to ensure that they understand the ODEL method, that they choose the right
programme and are guided to foundation level preparatory modules if appropriate.
• Students will have subject specialist tutor support available during ‘campus’ periods and, via mobile
phone and email, between campus periods.
• Students will be provided with Information Advice and Guidance IAG throughout their studies to
meet emerging needs. This will be provided by trained non academic staff.
• Help with study skills will be made available to students on the basis of need.

2.8 Administrative systems

• ICT systems will be developed that allow administration of all university and study centre activities
and provide management information for quality control and enhancement. Such systems will
converge to facilitate collaboration and transfer of credit.
• Students will normally register for programmes of study and for individual modules. This will
facilitate part-time study, retake of modules etc.

2.9 Staff arrangements

• Subject expert academic staff will be required to design programmes, develop and acquire resources
and tutor students. Individuals may carry out one or more of these activities. They will be expected
to adopt a student centred approach.
• The academic student to staff (including tutors) ratio, adjusted to full time equivalents in both cases,
will be at least 40:1, i.e. double the ratio of conventional provision.
• Trained non-academic staff will be used to provide non academic support and to administer the
programmes. This will lead to a shift in the ratio of academic to non academic staff and a reduction
in the staff costs.
• All new teaching staff will complete a compulsory and accredited induction programme before
working with students.
• HLI reward mechanisms will be reviewed to encourage staff to work successfully within and to be
retained by ODEL programmes. It is expected that this will require enhanced payment.
• A National ‘Academy’ will be established to recognise and develop excellence in ODEL and to both
nurture research and transfer good practice.
• All ODEL academic and tutorial staff will be required to achieve formal ODEL teaching
qualifications.
• A cadre of Instructional and media design staff will be assembled that will assist academic staff in
electronic resource development

2.10 Funding

• The ODEL programmes will be self financing on the basis of student fees. The student fee will
reflect the potential efficiency of ODEL programmes with a target of the fee being less than 50% of
the fee for conventional students.
• ODEL programmes will be incorporated within the Government loan scheme. The loan element may
cover all or part of the fee.
• Negotiation will be required to establish the financial arrangements associated with shared activities
and infrastructure.
• Donor and private sector support will be required if the ODEL system is to be established at the pace
required by the intended increase in upper secondary leavers.
 • Direct subvention may be used to influence enrolment for programmes of particular national
importance.

2.11 Accreditation, validation and quality assurance arrangements

• National guidelines will include arrangements for approving HLIs for ODEL delivery. Approval will
ensure comparability of student experience and outcomes.
• ODEL programmes should be of a standard that is consistent with international good practice. This
will require input from ODEL experts in other countries, particularly within the initial development
phase.
• Each participating HLI will have a programme approval process that is suitable for ODEL
programmes and does not delay unwittingly programme development.
• Coordinated mechanisms of transferring credit between institutions will be introduced when the
ODEL programmes are established.

2.12 Reputation and perception of quality

• A coordinated national publicity campaign will be used to emphasise the quality of the ODEL
programmes. Arguments will include; flexibility for the student, quality of the resources, access to
attractive study centres, reduced cost.
• Attention should be paid to both induction and graduation so that the success of ODEL students is
celebrated publically.

2.13 Additional propositions

• ODEL developments in the tertiary sector should be linked to development of skills in independent
learning in the primary and secondary sectors.
• East African Regional links and synergies will be sought but, in order to avoid delays in
implementation, planning will proceed on the basis of a system confined to Rwanda.
• A framework of intellectual property rights will be established that facilitates sharing, e.g. by the use
of Creative Commons Licences.

3 A Possible Growth Model

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8

Programmes 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 8
Study Centres 3 5 8 10 10 10 10 10

Level 1 900 2000 4000 6000 10500 12000 12000 12000

Level 2 900 2000 4000 6000 10500 12000 12000
Level 3 900 2000 4000 6000 10500 12000
Level 4 900 2000 4000 6000 10500

Total enrolled students 900 2900 6900 12900 22500 32500 40500 46500
Total Study Centre based
Academic Staff 9 29 69 129 225 325 405 465

SS/GH 10th March 2010