[Open-education] FutureLearn becoming less open?

Tue Feb 28 16:45:20 UTC 2017

Hello colleagues

Below is the text of an email I received today as a FutureLearn student. 
I ought to point out that at the moment both "unlimited access to course 
content even after the course ends" and "access to tests" are free of 
charge (although certificates and statements of participation are not). 
So the forthcoming change represents a significant reduction in what is 
offered for free. FutureLearn is clearly moving the freemium model up 
several notches, and in doing so is becoming significantly less 'open'. 
(Of course many may argue, with some justification, that FutureLearn has 
never really been an example of open educational resources - but I take 
the view that openness is a matter of degree.)

My prediction is that over time FutureLearn will be squeezed even 
tighter, offering less material for free and increasing the price of the 
paid content. Which reinforces my belief that there is a need for those 
of us who champion open educational practice to propose economic models 
of learning provision that can work.

Best wishes to all, and sorry for any inconvenience caused by cross-posting

Terry Loane
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

/Hi Terry,//
//
//It looks like you're enrolled on one or more FutureLearn courses that 
start on or after 6 March 2017. We want you to know that you will have 
the option to upgrade these courses.//
//
//What is upgrading?//
//You can upgrade any course to get a full range of benefits. It costs 
between £24 and £69 and for that you’ll get: //
//
//    Unlimited access to course content even after the course ends, for 
as long as the course exists on FutureLearn//
//    Access to tests //
//    A Certificate of Achievement or Statement of Participation when 
you complete the course.//
//
//Can I still take the course for free?//
//Yes! Don’t worry, you can still take any course for free. You will be 
able to access all the content, except for tests, for the duration of 
the course plus 14 days - regardless of the day you join. //
////
//What if I join a course after it starts?//
//You will always get access to the course for its duration plus 14 days 
- regardless of when you start. So if your course lasts four weeks, but 
you join in the third week, you’ll get four weeks plus 14 days from the 
day you join. //
////
//Why are we introducing upgrading? //
//We want to give people all over the world access to great learning. 
That’s what drives us, and why FutureLearn was created. But producing 
courses and maintaining the FutureLearn platform costs our partners and 
us a lot. To keep providing great learning to people all over the world, 
we need to become financially sustainable - offering upgrading is one of 
the ways we can do that. //
////
//Want to know more? Have a look at our FAQs or read our blog post.//
////
//Happy Learning,//
//
//The FutureLearn Team/

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