The potential for reconfiguring existing protocols for accreditation of OER learning
Providing assessment at a distance and corresponding mechanisms for assessing prior learning are not new phenomena. This experience provides a solid foundation for refining and adapting these approaches for the OER for assessment and credit for students project.
Research and experience from technology-mediated learning in higher education, most notably that derived from the provision of open distance learning, will enable institutions to design appropriate and scalable solutions for formative and summative assessment at a distance for OER learners.
While the disaggregation of teaching services from credentialing services may not be common practice at most universities, this has been done successfully in the past. One hundred and fifty years ago, London University commenced with its external degree programme "on the radical principle that it didn't care how you acquired the knowledge provided you could pass the exam" (Daniel 2011a). So for example, London University proctored its first international examinations at a distance in 1865. The London University external degree programme has produced five Nobel laureates (Daniel 2011a).
Prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) potentially provides opportunities for the transfer of approaches, methodologies and policy protocols (assessment and credentialising policies, etc.) for the OER for assessment and credit for students project. PLAR is a recognised process used by many post-secondary institutions to evaluate learning outside the classroom for non-traditional learners (those who study independently usually not for credit) to gain academic credit (Bowman, Clayton, Bateman, Knight, Thomson, Hargreaves, Blom, and Enders 2003; CLFDB 1999; Zucker, Johnson, Flint and CAEL 1998).
There are, however, unresolved challenges. PLAR methodologies are presently very labour intensive and unlikely to scale well for large numbers of learners. Approaches and models for national assessment and accreditation vary considerably around the world (COL & SAQA 2008: 7).
In a digitally connected world, the harmonisation of qualification articulation across legal boundaries could contribute to significant savings and reductions in duplication of effort. Consequently, there is growing interest in the area of standardisation and articulation of qualification frameworks among international agencies (COL & SAQA 2008: 7). The pioneering work led under the auspices of the Commonwealth of Learning to develop a Transnational Qualifications Framework for the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth provides useful insights into resolving these issues (COL & SAQA 2008).
