Key points

Primary author

Wayne Mackintosh, OER Foundation in consultation with Ron McGivern, Thompson Rivers University

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Version history

Draft concept prepared for 3rd meeting of OERu partners for discussion and consultation.
Unanimous approval of the guidelines at the 4th meeting of OERu partners.

Summary

Development and approval process for the draft guidelines

Initial draft to be presented at the 3rd meeting of OERu anchor partners - implement revisions
Critical friend review by members of the OERu credit transfer and course articulation working group and interested members of the OERu community - implement revisions.
Develop supporting documentation, for example request for articulation document, pro forma articulation agreement etc.
Critical review by sample of 4 or more registrars (or equivalents) from OERu partners to assess whether the guidelines meet local institutional credit transfer and articulation policies - implement revisions if required.
Prototype two OERu courses for articulation in the network - review and implement revisions to the guidelines if required.
Sign off of the guidelines by 30% of the responsible managers at OERu partners by end of 2015.

"Credit accumulation schemes" suggested name change

Executive summary

The OERu credit transfer system provides an efficient framework to support virtual mobility of OERu learners among partner institutions towards credible credentials. The system is founded on the principles of transparency, trust, fairness and predictability underscored by institutional autonomy. The system is designed to:

Promote transfer credit for equivalent learning which OERu learners can apply to fulfil credential requirements at OERu partner institutions.
Promote equitable treatment of OERu learners at partner institutions
Ensure that transfer credit within the network is based on a rigorous articulation process maintaining academic integrity and quality standards.

Purpose

The purpose of the OERu credit transfer and course articulation guidelines are to:

Provide clear pathways among OERu partners for OERu learner programme completion.
Provide a shared understanding of inter-institutional protocols and processes for virtual mobility of OERu learners across borders.

Definition of concepts

Articulation applicant refers to the OERu partner which submits the request for articulation recognising that with OER courses, the applicant is not necessarily the institution who assembled the original course.
Articulation refers to the processes, activities and transactions that lead to transfer credit within the OERu network.
Awarding institution is the OERu partner who assesses and awards transcript credit for the course.
Conferring institution is the OERu partner which awards the credential.
Course refers to the subcomponent entities which make up a credential and are published in the university or college calendar or prospectus. For example, a 3 credit course towards a 120 credit four year degree in North America or a 15 credit course towards a 360 credit three year degree in New Zealand. Courses normally range from 120 to 200 notional learning hours.
Non-articulated courses are OERu courses which record transcript credit at the sending institution but have not been articulated by the OERu transfer system.
Notional learning hours is an estimate of the total hours of learning by an average learner to complete the specified outcomes of a course or programme. It is not a precise measure but serves to provide learners and institutions with an indication of the amount of study required.
Receiving institution is the OERu partner which recognises transfer credit towards an approved credential at the receiving institution.
Residency requirement refers to the minimum number of course credits which must be completed at the conferring institution.
Sending institution is the OERu partner which records transcript credit for successful completion of a course towards an approved credential at the sending institution.
Summative assessment are formal assessment activities which result in transcript credit at the sending institution.
Transcript credit is the credit recorded on the official records of the sending institution.
Transfer credit is the outcome of the articulation process where transcript credit from the sending institution is recognised towards a credential at the receiving institution
Virtual mobility refers to OERu learners applying transfer credit from one OERu partner towards a credential at another OERu partner within their home country or across provincial and national borders.

The OERu transfer system

The OERu transfer system is the collective name for the autonomous OERu partner institutions who collaborate to enable learner mobility and credit transfer of OERu learners within the network. Members of the OERu transfer system must be contributing members of the OER Foundation.

What the OERu transfer system is

The OERu transfer system is a collection of pre-approved articulation agreements (or alternate formal and recognised articulation processes) among partners to clearly communicate pathways of study towards credible credentials for OERu learners. The transfer system includes the processes, systems and structures to enable transfer credit in the OERu network.

The OERu transfer system covers the transfer credit agreements resulting from the formal articulation of courses and programmes in the OERu network described in these guidelines. The OERu transfer system:

Lists the partners which offer summative assessment services for OERu courses leading to transcript credit at the sending institution;
Lists the credentials for which transcript credit of OERu courses can be applied at the sending institution;
Lists the partners where transfer credit of OERu courses can be applied at the receiving institution;
Lists the credentials for which transfer credit of OERu courses can be applied at the receiving institution;
Communicates pre-requisites and/or local residency requirements for award of the credential at the conferring institution.

What the OERu transfer system is not

The OERu transfer system does not:

replace or substitute institutional credit transfer and articulation policies;
replace existing articulation agreements between partners;
provide a comprehensive set of guidelines that deal with all aspects of formal recognition. For example, it does not address guidelines for Recognition of Prior Learning or advanced placement;
cover procedures for non-articulated courses;
deal with learner-initiated articulation requests.

Guiding principles of the OERu transfer system

The OERu transfer system is guided by the following principles:

Institutional autonomy

OERu partners retain decision-making autonomy regarding all aspects of credit transfer, summative assessment practices and local pricing for assessment services.

Quality assurance and institutional accreditation

Conferring institutions operate within the requirements for local accreditation and will not engage in activities which could jeopardise their stature or accreditation status in relation to OERu activities.

Transcripted credit

The OERu transfer system is predicated on transcript credit as a baseline quality assurance mechanism. Receiving institutions are not required to recognise credit for learning unless this is recorded on the official transcript from the sending OERu partner. This requirement does not exclude partner institutions from applying RPL approaches for non-articulated courses which fall outside the scope of the OERu transfer system.

Institutional policy takes precedence

OERu partners operate within the parameters of existing institutional policies but seek to promote common linkages, practices and articulation among partners to promote mobility of credentials for OERu learners within the network. This means that the OERu transfer system operates within local institutional residency requirements and/or any prerequisites for transfer credit.

Learner centeredness

OERu learners should not have to repeat course content for which their demonstrated mastery has already been formally assessed. OERu learners should not be unreasonably denied transfer credit due to administrative anomalies or technicalities. Equally, OERu learners should not be credited with learning they have not acquired and validated through formal assessment in accordance with local policy for the purposes of transfer credit.

Parity of esteem

The OER university concept must ensure equivalence and parity of esteem for qualifications gained through the study of OERu courses with conventional credentials at the conferring institution. Parity of esteem also means that receiving institutions treat credit transfer courses as they would like their own courses to be treated.

Fit for purpose

The OERu envisions a world where all learners have affordable access to higher education opportunity. The complexities of virtual mobility dictate that the OERu focuses on courses and programmes of study which have the greatest likelihood to maximise credit transfer in the network. For example, differences in national requirements for post-secondary study in fields regulated by professional bodies are not well suited for OERu credentials. As a philanthropic collaboration, partners are only required to contribute towards the assembly of two courses. This is a low risk exposure for individual institutions, but the network effect results in the whole being more than the sum of its parts.

Reciprocity

If the receiving institution deems a course equivalent to its own course, then the sending institution is encouraged to recognise the transcript credit as transfer credit for summative assessment services in the other direction. If articulation has been established in one-direction, it follows that transfer credit in the other direction should be reciprocated unless there are substantive reasons why this can't be implemented, for example, if there are differences in the level for which transfer credit is accepted or in cases where the receiving institution applies transfer credit to a course with lower notional hours of study than the sending institution. In cases where there are significant differences in the notional learning hours of individual courses, receiving institutions could consider block transfer articulation.

Code of conduct of OERu partners

Signatories of the OERu transfer system commit to the following code of conduct:

Acceptance of the OERu credit transfer and course articulation guidelines is signed off by the Chief Executive Officer of the OERu partner or their designated executive
OERu courses assembled by partners meet the minimum quality standards agreed by the network.
Staff or contractors used to provide summative assessment services for OERu learners for transcript credit at the sending institution have appropriate qualifications or expertise in the subject matter and assessment in accordance with local institutional policy.
The sending institution implements acceptable procedures to verify learner identity to ensure that the learner requesting transcript credit actually did the assessments.

Categories of OERu course credit

OERu courses are classified into three categories for designating credit transfer options and design of the OERu programme of study:

Category 1 credit: OERu courses which carry credit towards credentials agreed by the network which are offered at a number of partner institutions, for example, the Bachelor of General Studies agreed as the inaugural credential of the network.
Category 2 credit: OERu courses which carry credit towards credentials other than agreed OERu credentials offered at the local partner institution.
Category 3 credit: OER courses which carry credit towards a full programme of study at one (or more) OERu partners, for example, the Graduate Diploma in Tertiary Education at Otago Polytechnic or the Postgraduate Diploma in Disaster Risk Studies at North-West University. The full complement of Category 3 credit courses leading to the programme of study are available for offer as OERu courses from the conferring institution.

Forms of summative assessment and design considerations

The assessment-only model of the OERu provides flexibility for partner institutions to reuse OERu courses in conjunction with different forms of assessment best suited to local infrastructure. The main forms of assessment used by OERu partners and corresponding design considerations are summarised as follows:

Form of assessment	Description	Design considerations
Proctored challenge examination	Face-to-face challenge examinations are used extensively for assessment and provide the opportunity to disaggregate teaching services from learner assessment and credentialing services to certify mastery against the specified learning outcomes of a course. OERu learners can sit the same exam as full fee students at the OERu partner. Most open distance learning providers have existing infrastructure and arrangements for distributed examination centres.	Frequency of assessment dates are limited Low marginal cost for institutions which administer distributed challenge examination centres Opportunities for OERu network to collaborate on worldwide system of examination centres
Assignments	Written assignments are used almost universally for summative assessment purposes and can include, for example, project work, essays, research papers, items designed to validate knowledge and competencies and personal learning reflections.	Flexibility to utilise a number of individual assignments or single course based e-portfolio. Requires thoughtful design because assessment items are published openly and student responses can be shared. Validation of student identity must be considered to ensure that the learner seeking credit actually completed the assessments. This can be addressed, for instance, by a proctored identity validations and short telephone or oral interview with the student reflecting on their written assignment submissions.
Automated testing	This credit-by-examination model utilises item banks meticulously designed to ensure validity and reliability of the assessment.	Scales well for large number of learners Can utilise arrangements with third party testing centres Initial cost for developing valid and reliable assessments is high, however collaboration among OERu partners can reduce cost significantly.
RPL	RPL portfolios can be used by learners to demonstrate learning acquire through OERu courses.	Difficult to scale for large numbers of learners Unit cost of assessment is higher than other methods. Ideal for learners who wish to integrate learning outside the formal sector with learning acquired through OERu and other open courses.

Activities of OERu sending institutions

Sending institutions:

Develop or assemble OERu courses from existing OER and open access materials for formal credit towards approved credentials at the sending institution.
Determine form of assessment and develop valid and reliable summative assessments for their OERu courses
Determine pricing for assessment-only services
Provide and administer summative assessment services for OERu learners
Record transcript credit for successful students
Issue transcripts for credit transfer requests and determine fees for this service
Request articulation of their OERu course contributions within the OERu network
Provide subject matter expertise to assist the OERu articulation committees
Administer bilateral course-to-course articulation agreements between partners
Participate in OERu collaborations to design new courses for multi-lateral articulation
Where appropriate and feasible, participate in collaborative offering of OERu courses to local full-fee students in parallel with OERu learners

Activities of OERu receiving institutions

Receiving institutions:

Confer credentials in accordance with local policy
Administer requests for transfer credit from OERu learners based on transcript credit from the respective partner and determine fees for this service
Treat transfer credit courses as they would like their own courses to be treated
Provide subject matter expertise to assist the OERu articulation committees
Administer bilateral course-to-course articulation agreements between partners
Participate in OERu collaborations to design new courses for multi-lateral articulation
May request articulation for an OERu course developed by another partner
May develop and offer assessment-only services for an OERu course developed by another partner
Where appropriate, initiate activities for local approval of OERu courses towards local credentials
Where appropriate and feasible, participate in collaborative offering of OERu courses to local full-fee students in parallel with OERu learners

The OERu articulation process

The articulation process is the mechanism whereby an OERu course is recognised for credit transfer at the receiving institution. The process can be initiated by a sending or receiving institution because the OERu design documentation and course materials are openly licensed and published transparently. The OERu transfer system is designed primarily for pre-approval of transfer credit which is published on the OERu website, rather than ad-hoc learner initiated requests. The articulation process involves the following steps:

The request for articulation is prepared by the requester and includes the OERu course description, design blueprint, course outline and mapping to the OERu Transnational Qualifications Framework. If the course has been completed, links to the course materials and assessments are provided.
A call for prospective receiving institutions is made to the OERu network to determine whether a bi-lateral course-to-course, multilateral or block transfer articulation is required.
Subject discipline articulation subcommittee is constituted to determine equivalency of the source course and target course for transfer credit. At a minimum this requires an authorised course evaluator from each receiving institution and subject matter expert from the sending institution to assist with any queries. Additional members may be added to the the articulation subcommittee as required.
Bi-lateral or multilateral articulation agreements are signed by the respective partners using the OERu proforma articulation agreements <to be developed>.
OERu standing committee for credit transfer is advised of the outcome, and the corresponding articulation agreement(s) is published by the OER Foundation and the OERu website is updated to reflect the transfer credit options.

Requesting articulation for existing OERu course

Any partner may request articulation for an OERu course (completed or nominated for development). The request may be to facilitate transfer credit towards a local credential or intention to offer summative assessment services for an OERu course developed by another partner. Submissions should be prepared according to the guidelines in the OERu Handbook for Requesting Articulation <to be developed>.

Designing OERu courses for transfer

The OERu international network provides a unique opportunity for partners from different regions of the world to collaborate on the design and assembly of OERu courses for multilateral articulation agreements. Please consult the OERu Handbook for Requesting Articulation <to be developed> for more information.

OERu articulation committees

The OERu transfer system uses two committee structures:

OERu Standing Committee for credit transfer which provides leadership and guidance for the OERu transfer system and functions as arbitrator on any matters referred to the Standing Committee by the subject-discipline sub-committees. <To be developed - operational guidelines, constitution of the standing committee etc>
Subject discipline articulation sub-committees are constituted to determine equivalency between OERu courses in response to requests for articulation. They are dissolved when transfer credit has been evaluated. Please consult the OERu Handbook for Subject Discipline Articulation Sub-Committees <to be developed>.

Equivalence

The purpose of the subject discipline articulation sub-committee is to determine the degree of similarity between OERu courses being considered for transfer credit. Equivalence is defined as "equal in value, amount, function, [or] meaning^[1]". Courses submitted for articulation are not likely to be identical, but are assessed for the degree of similarity to which courses match content or outcomes. A degree of similarity of 75 to 80% is considered sufficient for learners to have the necessary knowledge, skills and background to be successful in more advanced courses. The equivalency evaluation focuses on learning outcomes rather than the pedagogical models deployed to achieve these outcomes.

The articulation discussions are collegial in nature and based on a consensus model among subject-matter experts taking into account that minor adaptations could achieve a successful outcome for both the sending and receiving institution in accordance with local policy requirements for adaptations to courses.

OERu micro Open Online Courses

The OERu encourages the development or assembly of micro Open Online Courses (mOOCs). A micro course is a subcomponent of a full credit-bearing OERu course at the sending institution, and complies with the following criteria:

Approximately 40 to 50 notional hours of learning, for example 1 credit of a 3 credit course in North America. Typically, 3 micro courses would equate to a full course in North America, whereas 4 micro courses would equate to a full course in New Zealand or Australia.
When nominating mOOCs for OERu courses, the sending institution is required to nominate the full set of micro courses required for formal course credit.
Each micro course incorporates summative assessment components. When the collective assessment components are put together, they fulfil the summative assessment requirements for the full-course equivalent.

The OERu mOOC format provides a number of advantages for the network:

Enables OERu partners to stagger course development over a period of time
Facilitates virtual mobility across borders where there are significant differences in the notional learning hours of full course equivalents
Enables "micro-credentials" for OERu learners who are not interested in standard course credit
Facilitates collaborative development and reuse of OERu courses.

Block transfer

Block transfer refers to a cluster of OERu courses which are recognised as having a wholeness that can be related meaningfully to a degree programme or other credentials; for instance, a first year of study or substantive completion (e.g. 50%), of a first year of study towards a Bachelor of General Studies. Please consult the OERu Handbook for Subject Discipline Articulation Sub-Committees <to be developed> for further information.

Course changes and re-articulation

The general principle is that courses should only be re-articulated in the case of substantive changes. Non-substantive changes may require revision in how the articulation agreements are recorded in the OERu transfer register. Please consult the OERu Handbook for Subject Discipline Articulation Sub-Committees <to be developed> for further information.

OERu transfer register

The OERu network maintains:

A public record of all signed articulation agreements
An interactive website for OERu learners which communicates
- OERu courses
- Suggested pathways of study
- Institutions offering assessment services for listed courses
- Institutions where transfer credit can be guaranteed and
- Corresponding credentials available in the OERu network for transfer credit.

Acknowledgements

The OERu transfer system is inspired by the robust model developed by the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT). Many components of the OERu transfer system are modelled on the exemplary set of resources published by BCCAT.

References

↑ Oxford Dictionaries Online, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/equivalent

[1] Oxford Dictionaries Online, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/equivalent

[1]

OERu guidelines for credit transfer and credit accumulation schemes

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