Edgeless Universities

British universities could lose their leading international standing unless they become much more radical in their use of new technology, a 2009 JISC commissioned report states. The Edgeless University report, researched by Demos on behalf of JISC, suggests a slowness to adopt new models of learning will damage UK Universities world standings.

The research suggests that reductions in government funding has put universities under intense pressure as threats to funding coincide with increased student demand. The report states that online and social media could help universities in two ways, by reaching larger numbers of students and improving the quality of research and teaching.

Malcolm Read OBE, Executive Secretary for JISC, said: ‘The UK is a leading force in the delivery of higher education and its universities and colleges have been punching well above their weight for some time.

To maintain this position suggests we have to stay ahead of developments in online learning and social media and embrace Web 2.0 technologies.

The report calls for universities to make academic research freely available online. Author of the report, Peter Bradwell, said: ‘The internet and social networks mean that universities are now just one part of the world of learning and research.’

Read the report http://www.jisc.ac.uk/edge09

Read  the CLEX report and the TDA's ICT in ITT report (it's a pdf file).