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Adapting the VCL project to the institutional needs of the partners
| Problem | Institutions can differ with regard to the structure of their academic year, administrative requirements on awarding course credits, or the form and the extent of courses. A VCL project, carried out with partners, has to take these differences into account. |
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| Framework | Several partner institutions, especially from different countries, with differences with regard to academic culture and administrative issues; participants from several study programmes with different structure |
| Solution | If several institutions cooperate, it is important to make the context explicit as soon as possible, so that the VCL project can be adapted to meet the expectations of all partners. The context can be considered on three levels: (1) Institution level Aspects such as (a) course schedule, (b) credit assignment, and © technical aspects are derived from the institutional level. The course schedule depends on the structure of the academic year, especially usual course period, as a VCL project cannot well run during examination periods or holidays. The administrative issues connected to credit assignment for courses influence how a VCL project can be positioned in a study programme. The technical infrastructure of the institutions will influence the communication available throughout a VCL project. (2) Study-programme level The study programme can bring further administrative demands on the (b) credit assignment as well as (d) the form or the extent of the project assignments and student outcomes. Study programmes can place their own, specific demands on courses in order to assign credits to them. These are often connected to the course assignment and outcome that the students have to deliver (e.g. a prototype may be demanded of Computer-Science students or a written exam by students of Economics). (3) Course level The questions of (b) credit assignment and (d) student outcomes are also further influenced by detailed issues on the course level. This is especially the case if the VCL project is closely connected to an existing course (e.g. a participation in a VCL project is accepted instead of the usual lab assignment). In this case, there can be also further demands regarding the schedule (e.g. the project must be finished before the second part of the connected course starts) or (e) the content of the project tasks (e.g. students need to be able to use particular content that they have learned earlier on). Hence there are five areas that have to be taken into account when arranging interinstituional VCL projects: (a)Time cycle The date of the project begin, the length and timing of video conferences, and the timing of the course assessment has to agree with the institutional academic year, structure of the study programmes, and any connected courses. The course should – if possible – take place outside of any study examination periods or longer breaks. Shorter breaks and bank holidays have to be known in advance and taken into account in the course planning. The timing of synchronous activities (video conferences) need to take place in such times, as suit the participating partner institutions (in international project, time-zones can be a considerable hurdle). The partners should agree on the final date of delivering results of the course assessment. (b) Credit assignment While some project participants can possess a strong intrinsic motivation for high performance, it is usually helpful to provide extrinsic motivation as well. The participants should thus be able to credit the course as a part of their study programme. One possibility is to provide certificates for all participants in the end of the course. Even if the students cannot get credit for the course during their studies, they can still use the certificate in their CV. A VCL project can further be offered as a part or instead of an existing course. This approach simplifies the administrative processes that might otherwise be necessary to offer the course as a regular part of a study programme. On the other hand, this approach can place very specific demands on the timing, form, and content of the course. If a VCL is to be offered as a regular part of a study programme, it often takes up to 12 month to satisfy the administrative processes. So institutions place high demands on accepting a new course, such as quality examination, evaluation of past courses, teachers etc. Schools and faculties as well as study programmes can have their own specific requirements and routines. For this reason, it is very important to discuss the issues of credits assignment very early on in the project planning. © Technology The technical infrastructure of the partner institution influences especially the video conference setting. The infrastructure available to students, e.g. through computer labs, is also of importance as it is the foundation for the selection of suitable tools. The private technical infrastructure of the participants can vary greatly and the available institutional means serve as a minimal standard (e.g. if an institution provides its students with a computer lab with Internet access, it can be assumed that the participants from this institutions will be able to participate daily, regardless of their private technical means). (d) Task Especially if a VCL project is offered as a part or instead on an existing course, or if it is fitted into an existing module, there can be very precise requirements regarding the form of assessment and student outcomes. An extra written examination or a practical assignment can be necessary to satisfy their requirements. Because the assessment form is closely connected to the case study, it is necessary to discuss any requirements early on. (e) Task content Depending on the study programme, partners will be interested in particular aspects of the case-study topic. If students from several different study programmes participate, adjustments to the role management and the group assignment will be necessary. If a VCL project is connected to an existing course, very specific requirements regarding particular topics or areas may arise. |
| References | Alignment and time cycle of the VCL Rating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Setting the Task Case Study Topic of the case study Management of Roles Expertise as a criterion |
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