The Unbundled University: Researching Emerging Models in an Unequal Landscape

Digital Learning in the UK: Sociological Reflections on an Unequal Marketplace

“…The preference of large, globalOPM 1 https://www.class-central.com/report/moocs-for-credit/#omscs. companies for higher-ranking institutions is also evidenced by emerging findings from research carried out in the South African context (Swinnerton et al 2018).…”

Open Praxis vol. 11 issue 2

“…For Swinnerton et al (2018), however, the unbundling of HE has "followed the neo-liberal economic logic which has shaped priorities and relationships across all areas of public policy since the 1980s; the influence of internationalisation and a variety of concurrent business models has been particularly visible in HE -especially in the UK as in other English-speaking countries" (p. 3 32 Colombian biologist cleared of criminal charges for posting another scientist's thesis online https://www.nature.com/ news/colombian-biologist-cleared-of-criminal-charges-for-posting-another-scientist-s-thesis-online-1.22057 While Connor (2014) argues that "unbundling the teaching component of faculty work to assign tasks such as facilitation, assessment and academic advice to specialised staff improves both the quality and the cost effectiveness of teaching" (p. 3), for Holmwood (2013) on the other hand, "the playing field is not so much levelled as tilted in favour of for-profits", who "can enter relieved of university functions other than those of teaching at the lowest cost".…”

“…The current tendency towards a policy vacuum in terms of credentialing of open learning risks this space being filled by hype of for-profit ventures that are normalising transformations in HE, which affect the most disadvantaged groups, as well as promoting precariousness in academic jobs. If we look at these arguments, we can see that MOOCs are seen as a business opportunity instead of a means to provide universal access to knowledge, and that currently MOOCs are acting to widen social inequalities by catering largely for the already educated (Bass & Eynon, 2017;Czerniewicz, 2018;UNESCO, 2018).…”

“…Secondly, we review a recent suite of copyright reforms, as changes in intellectual property (IP) legal frameworks can drastically change and limit public access to knowledge and information (Nobre, 2017). Finally, we discuss the challenges of unbundling and open-accreditation systems, as the roles of these emerging practices need to be considered if they are to be harnessed in the service of universal access to not only knowledge, but, recognised credentials (Swinnerton et al, 2018).…”

Unbundling and higher education curriculum: a Cultural-Historical Activity Theory view of process

“…An example of unbundled educational provision could be a degree programme offered as individual standalone modules available for credit via an online platform, to be studied at the learners' pace, in any order, on a pay-per-module model, with academic content, tutoring and support being offered by the awarding university, other universities and a private company. (Swinnerton et al 2018) In essence, thenand in curriculum termsunbundling refers closely to the notion of disaggregation, in the face of digitisation in the higher education context (specifically, the presence of educational technology and online or blended modes of curriculum provision) and intersecting with market forces that manifest in the form of private and alternative providers offering different forms of educational support and provision. The focus of this paper is on the higher education curriculum in light of the growing processes of unbundling in higher education internationally.…”