First time MOOC provider: reflections from a research-intensive university in the UK

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have attracted global attention in the Higher Education sector over the past two years, with 2012 named the Year of the MOOC. Apart from front-running universities in the US, most Higher Education Institutions have only recently begun to fully digest the potential implications of MOOCs on their existing provision, staff and students. This paper provides insight from the University of Leeds in the UK, a Russell Group research-intensive university, about our experiences of developing and delivering MOOCs for the FutureLearn platform, from a position of limited experience with fully online course delivery. The paper will focus on the University’s strategic approach, key governance and quality assurance issues, MOOC selection criteria, creation and sourcing of digital content for the online courses and organization of learner support materials. It is hoped that this paper will encourage and support other higher education institutions considering developing freely available online courses