Proposal for a New International Master program Karen Anderson

Broad aims Mid Sweden University and University College London began to discuss a joint Master program in January 2007 European partnership Using Erasmus within the Lifelong Learning Programme Totally online delivery

Program aims and content: Master of Information Infrastructure (?) Provide a new pool of graduates to provide recordkeeping expertise that must underpin e-services Interest a new group of students in our discipline Bring together our expertise in –Records management –Archival management –Systems planning and evaluation –Information architecture –Enterprise architecture –Compliance requirements for legislation and standards

Why do it? Opens new cooperation between our programmes –Individually we are small programs –Too small to offer options to our students Extends our discipline – a new pool of courses Attracts a new group of students We can draw on our special strengths and expertise WITHOUT –Competing with our existing Master degrees –Overtaxing the limited resources of each partner We learn from each other

What we need At least one more partner: –Willing to actively participate in planning –Willing to develop and deliver online courses in English –Able to sign EU Erasmus agreements Programme proposal must be completed in October 2008 to commence Autumn 2009 Progressively introduce courses

Possible model Autumn 2009Partner A 10 ECTS Partner B 10 ECTS Partner C 10 ECTS Spring 2010Partner A 10 ECTS Partner B 10 ECTS Partner C 10 ECTS Autumn 2010Partner A 10 ECTS Partner B 10 ECTS Partner C 10 ECTS Spring 2011 Thesis 30 ECTS Supervised by one partner chosen by student

Advantages of the model Spreads the teaching load; Shares the student income; Ensures students don’t concentrate on the cheapest option; Maintains contact by all partners with students in each study period; Helps to ensure that students consider all partners as: –potential Master thesis supervisors –potential PhD supervisors

Problems and needs Sweden cannot issue a joint degree: –must be a double/triple degree Short initial planning proposal time for 2009 introduction Ability to work together electronically Agreement on meeting dates Agreement on programme –Aims –Title –Structure –Content –Practicum / Internship Agreement on delivery platform, eg Web CT

EU funding for planning & development Curriculum development meetings (deadline Feb) TS:Teaching staff mobility (must be at least 1 night overnight stay) ST: Staff training – must be 5 days’ stay: 800 Euros Transnational developments to teach in each others’ courses

EU funding for students OM: Organisation of mobility – 2-3 days’ discussion about student meetings Student mobility – 3 months’ minimum: SEK5000 (900 Euros?) per month to the student –For a course –For an internship Intensive workshops: students meet for 2 weeks –From different universities –May be from different disciplines

First steps Mid Sweden University and University College London are jointly developing an online course at Master level: Standards for Digital Recordkeeping to be taught at –Miun in Autumn 2008 –UCL in Spring 2009 Programme to be cooperatively planned by partners