OpenCred

The OpenCred study was carried out by the former Institute of Learning Innovation at the University of Leicester in collaboration with the European Commission's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), from May to November 2014. Its purpose was to inform the IPTS OpenEdu project, which is investigating the challenges and opportunities in the recognition of learning achievements via open learning with the aim of supporting policy development at a European level.

The OpenCred research team (Gabi Witthaus, Mark Childs, Bernard Nkuyubwatsi, Grainne Conole, Andreia Inamorato dos Santos, Yves Punie and Jonatan Castaño Muñoz - two from POERUP) investigated practices, attitudes and rationales for the types of recognition awarded for open learning, the factors that influenced decisions in this regard, and the contexts in which non-formal, open learning was recognised.

Further details can be found at http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/OpenCred/ISUNITWEBSITE-IPTS-JRC-EC.htm/ This notes that:

The study started with a desk research phase, which sought to identify the ways in which the main open education collaborative networks, consortia and platforms in Europe offer recognition for open learning. The concept of recognition was broken down into different levels of formality, with reference to some key recent discussion documents in the literature, and descriptors were given for each level in the resulting hierarchy. Various European open education initiatives were then described in terms of this hierarchy of levels of formality of recognition. The researchers also carried out four in-depth case studies to investigate the experiences of a small number of participants in open education in Europe from different perspectives. Six interviews were held: two with teachers based in higher education education/research institutions, two with MOOC learners, and two with employers/employer bodies that are beginning to recognise non-formal, open learning.

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