The Online Learning Task Force, convened by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, released a report this month recommending that £100 million be invested over five years to enhance online learning in the UK.

In the report entitled Collaborate to Compete: Seizing the Opportunity of Online Learning for UK Higher Education, the Task Force made six recommendations:

• Recommendation 1: Technology needs to enhance student choice and meet or exceed learners’ expectations 
• Recommendation 2: Investment is needed to facilitate the development and building of consortia to achieve scale and brand in online learning 
• Recommendation 3: More and better market intelligence about international demand and competition is required 
• Recommendation 4: Institutions need to take a strategic approach to realign structures and processes in order to embed online learning 
• Recommendation 5: Training and development should be realigned to enable the academic community to play a leading role in online learning 
• Recommendation 6: Investment is needed for the development and exploitation of open educational resources to enhance efficiency and quality

The report concludes that "online learning – however blended with on- or off-campus interactions, whether delivered in the UK or overseas – provides real opportunity for UK institutions to develop responsive, engaging and interactive provision which, if offered at scale, can deliver quality and cost-effectiveness and meet student demands for flexible learning." Accordingly, it recommends that universities engage in collaboration and public-private partnerships to gain economies of scale.  Additionally, the Online Learning Task Force recommends that an additional £5 million a year be invested into open educational resources.

The report is available on the HEFCE website in PDF and Word formats.