University of Derby MOOCs first in the UK to get quality mark

The University of Derby is the first UK university to be awarded the OpenupEd Quality label by review for their Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

OpenupEd is the only quality assurance framework available with benchmarks for MOOCs. The label has been developed by the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU), the European association of leading institutions in online, open and flexible higher education.

MOOCs are short online free courses run by major learning providers to share their knowledge of a particular academic topic or to help students develop a specific skill.

George Ubachs, Managing Director at EADTU, said: “By achieving this label, the University of Derby demonstrated that it offers quality controlled MOOCs in compliance with benchmarks tailored to both e-learning and open education and keeps up to date with the latest developments.

“We are looking forward to collaborating with the University of Derby to leverage the full potential of online learning and MOOCs for quality education for all.”

Julie Stone, Director of University of Derby Online Learning (UDOL), said: “I am delighted that we are the first university in UK to be awarded the OpenupEd Quality label by review of our online MOOC provision and our institutional quality assurance. It demonstrates our commitment to alternative modes of study and to ensuring that all our students receive a high quality learning experience.”

The University has launched four MOOCs in the past year, including:

• Understanding Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD
• Innovating in Operations Management
• Bridging the Dementia Divide
• Digital.ME.

The MOOCs have proven to be successful with more than 22,000 learners enrolled on all four courses in total.

Munib Hadi, Head of the Innovation Hub at the University of Derby, added: “This is a significant achievement. Not only are our MOOCs reviewed according to the quality label, but our internal framework has been accredited as well, which is a testament to the excellent approach taken.”

The University of Derby will be introducing further MOOCs in 2016. Find out more and express your interest for one of our courses.