WBL Programmes Selected as Embedded Units for the Case Study

The aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness of WBL from the perceptions of different stakeholders (learners, programme leaders, tutors, support staff, and administrators of the university, employers, supervisors, and mentors at work place, and representatives of professional bodies). The study focuses on five WBL programmes

across a number of disciplines within the FEE at Northumbria University. These mainly use features of online learning embedded with some blended learning components. The selection of five programmes reflect all levels of HE study (u/g and p/g), different subject areas (records, information and library management through IT to engineering), different types of employer sectors e.g. industrial (engineering), public sector (ILM/librarianship), business (records management/IT) and a range of professional bodies including EngCUK, CILIP, ARA, IRMS. Two of these are designated as WBL programmes by the university: BSc Librarianship, MSc Professional Engineering. The other three programmes are DL programmes with embedded WBL elements (MSc ILM, MSc RM and MSc ICT). This provides variety across DL and online WBL. However it should be noted that it does not cover the full spectrum of WBL which can also encompass extensive face to face delivery elements.

The details of the selected programmes are given below.

4.3.1 MSc Information and Communication Technology

(ICT)

The MSc Information Technology(IT) was introduced initially in year 2000 as an in-house programme for Procter and Gamble (P&G) employees. It was designed for employees who did not have a first degree in a computer-related subject, and was developed from the FT MSc Computing programme. It was delivered by distance delivery with staff from the university visiting the P&G offices to deliver lectures/seminars. Although the programme was approved for DL delivery, materials for this mode were never developed. There was some video-conferencing support to students at one remote location. For a small number of modules, staff issued CDs prepared for a Postgraduate Certificate (PgC) Contemporary Computing.

In 2001, through ESF funding, the university started to train a cohort of ‘women returners’ to Postgraduate Certificate level, using a distance learning form of delivery. A

further ESF grant was obtained to support the DL development to Postgraduate Diploma level. In January 2006, MSc Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was launched in co-operation with RDI (Resource Development International). In mid-2007 this collaboration ended and the university has since been responsible for the programme which has grown to appeal to a range of learners wishing to develop their skills and expertise in the computing and IT discipline. The delivery is 3 years by distance learning and is not linked to a PB (Damm, 2010).

4.3.2 MA/MSc Information and Library Management (ILM)

Selection of the MA/MSc Information and Library Management (ILM) in the research was influenced by the fact that public sector employment as a proportion of all employment in the North East of the UK is as high as 23%. This is the third highest among the 13 regions being considered across the UK with only Northern Ireland and Wales reporting larger percentages of 28.8% and 23.9% respectively (James, 2009). This could account for the strong regional demand for the programme although it does attract students from across the UK and overseas. The programme commenced in the early nineties at Northumbria University in FT and PT delivery modes. It started to deliver in DL mode in 2003 using online delivery of content focused on its work based learners. The programme duration is 2 years by DL.

Northumbria University has a long history with the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) having conducted information sciences courses not

only since the university’s inception in 1990 but even before the university obtained

corporate status. However, the MA/MSc ILM is mainly targeted as an entry qualification for the professional status of librarians. CILIP requirements for applying for chartered status are either to have an accredited Bachelors degree or any Bachelors degree with an accredited Masters degree like MA/MSc ILM. Therefore it is mainly those librarians who need to climb the ladder in their professional career who choose the MA/MSc ILM programme (Casselden, 2010).

4.3.3 MSc Professional Engineering

The MSc Professional Engineering is one of a number of programmes offered by Northumbria (Northumbria, 2010) and other UK universities as part of a Government funded initiative called Engineering Gateways (Council, 2010a). This is led by the UK Engineering Council (EngCUK) and is aimed at providing flexible pathways to becoming a professional engineer. The programme targets engineers in gaining the minimum educational requirements for Chartered Engineer (CEng) registration of EngCUK. CEng registration requires one of the following:

- An accredited Bachelors degree with honours in engineering or technology, plus

either an appropriate Masters degree accredited by a professional engineering institution, or appropriate further learning to Masters level

- An accredited Integrated MEng degree.

This Masters Degree programme wholly takes place in the workplace in distance mode with the content made available on the e-Learning portal of the university. The content is designed to be directly relevant to what students are working on and aims to further their education and work towards PB recognition and chartered status. Students can use their learning in the workplace to maximise their productivity and can apply it to work based problems providing technology transfer solutions. The 3 year programme was launched in September 2008 and the first batch of 12 WBL students passed out in 2012. Mentors are assigned to each learner at the workplace in a formal way but the ratio of learner: mentor will depend entirely on the employer. The mentor will get involved with the university on the industrial activities and if and when the need arises on the academic activities of the learner as well (Perera, 2010).

4.3.4 MSc Records Management (RM)

The MSc Records Management was selected because it was the first Masters Distance Learning (DL) programme to be offered by Northumbria University in 1996. It was developed to address the education and training needs of a then emerging discipline

and profession whose ‘cousin’ is the long-established archives profession ((King et al.,

1996); (Hare et al., 1996)). As the first DL programme to be developed in the faculty it adopted an open learning pedagogic model (Race, 1993) which was successfully piloted with records practitioners (McLeod, 1995) and subsequently underpinned the development of later DL programmes, including the MA/MSc ILM.

Being a DL programme it attracts students from all over the UK and overseas. The first cohort included students based in Iceland and Brussels and since then students from the UK (including the local region), Eire, Iceland, Europe, the USA, the Caribbean and Africa have studied the programme. Initially the MSc was delivered over three academic years using paper based materials and annual compulsory study schools. Technology available to support students was very limited and relied largely on email communications. Electronic (library) resources were limited and records management focused literature even more so. During its lifetime the programme has developed significantly, incorporating student feedback (eg moving from a campus-based academic delivery model to a 2-year calendar delivery) and embracing technology developments, including the eLP, e-resources, Skype etc (McLeod, 2000) and (McLeod) (in press).

Accreditation of professional programmes is part of Northumbria University’s ethos. Since the Records Management Society (now the Institute of RMS) does not have

such a mechanism it was involved in the programme’s validation. After five years of delivery, in line with the Society’s rules, the MSc became the first DL programme in

records management to be accredited by the Society of Archivists (now the Archives and Records Association (ARA)). It was re-accredited in 2007 with the Society commending “ the incredibly high standard of teaching materials which show a clear distillation of in depth, rigorous and high quality research and a good knowledge of projects and products

available as well as current trends in the profession”, “the quality of the reading lists,

which show knowledge of the current markets, practice and research” and “the flexible

approach to distance learning, and the desire to constantly improve the student experience”

(Archivists, 2007). The programme attracts records managers from all sectors and at different stages in their careers. Many have secured promotions in their own and/or other organisations. Many work for leading national / international organisations (eg the BBC, European Central Bank, the Open Society Archives, the UN, pharmaceutical, financial and

other ‘blue chip’ companies).

4.3.5 BSc (Hons) Librarianship

The BSc (Hons) Librarianship degree is the only u/g degree offered by the FEE which has been granted full WBL status by the university. The programme is ideal for those working in a library or information service environment at a junior level who are capable of progressing but do not have the right qualifications to be promoted. Applicants need to have either CILIP certification (ACLIP), or equivalent work and training, plus a minimum of 2 years work experience in a Library or information handling environment and should be able to demonstrate a record of CPD in these areas. This DL programme is designed to fit around their current work commitments and reflects the recent changes in the profession and the new 'Body of Professional Knowledge' introduced by CILIP. Each intake typically comprises 25-30 students and the programme takes a minimum of 3 years to complete in DL mode (Hanlon, 2011).

Figure 4.1 below shows the research framework in terms of case study with five embedded units and how the support services are connected around them.

Figure 4.1 Research Framework of the Current Northumbria University Study