Presentation at the Innovation in Higher Education Conference, Athens, 20th October, 2022.

1. Mark Brown & Orna Farrell
Thursday 20th October 2022
Athens, Greece
The Next Normal of Online Education:
Developing a Fit-for-Purpose Institutional Model

3. 1. Early history
2. Responding to the digital era
3. Charting a new post-COVID chapter
The Next Normal of Online Education:
Developing a Fit-for-Purpose Institutional Model

4. https://www.icde.org/publications-and-resources

5. 1. Early history

7. • Established in 1982
• 4,000 students by 1998
• 900 student taking introductory modules
• Employed around 300 tutors around
Ireland
• Partnership with UK OU until 1992
• Collaborative model with courses
accredited by:
- NUI Galway
- NUI Cork
- NUI Maynooth
- Trinity College Dublin
- University of Limerick
- Dublin City University

8. Under the Chair of the Chief
Executive of State TV

9. £200K
from
Apple Inc
£90K
from
Guinness

13. 2. Responding to the digital era
Mark

14. Officially launched 28th November, 2013 by Ruairi Quinn, Minister for
Education and Skills, and Lord David Putnam, Ireland’s Digital
Ambassador.

20. Off-campus
85%
2019

22. 3. Charting a new post-COVID chapter

23. Closed

26. 85% online

28. Conclusion
A Game Changer?

29. • Govt funded
• Centralised support
• Traditional pack & post delivery
• Establishment of National Centre
for Distance Education - 1982
Collaborative
Model
Quasi-Competitive
Model
Competitive-Collaborative
Model
• Laissez faire market
• Limited Govt funding
• Institutional mission creep
• Immature edtech infrastructure
• Bolt-on to traditional business
• Mission tension
• Signs of going mainstream
• Maturing edtech infrastructure
• Mergers, micro-credentials and
strategic partnerships
National Focus
European Influence
(Learning Society Drivers)
(Knowledge Economy Drivers)
Past
Present
Evolution of Distance Education in Ireland
(Brown & Farrell, 2022)

30. • How is your institution responding to the post-COVID demand
for online learning?
• What business model(s) does your institution adopt for online
learning?
• Is the business and online learning delivery model in your
institution still fit-for-purpose?
• How well aligned are the drivers and business model to your
institutional mission and strategy?
• How comprehensive are your support services and the
institutional ecosystem for online learners?
Reflective Questions

31. Go raibh maith
agaibh!
Thank you