Avoinamk.fi eLearning — Information Portal for Finnish Open Polytechnic education
Finland , 2005 to 2007
Compendium: Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Background
The portal contains links to the webpages of all open universities of applied sciences and information useful to both students and personnel. The eServices system of the portal provides the following main functions:
- Searching for suitable courses.
- Enrolling for a course.
- Handling the enrolment (accept/reject).
- Registering the grade which is visible to the student.
- Giving feedback about the course.
- Managing the billing information.
- Course basket and study plan for the student.
The motivation of the initiative
All the Finnish polytechnics had their own webpages for marketing their courses and handling the enrolment process. A centralised portal was seen as a definite advantage for students.
Participants
All Finnish polytechnics (28).
Aims and targets
Objectives of the initiative
The main objective was to build a portal for the Finnish open polytechnics. The primary aim was to provide a single point of access for marketing the courses. Another important target was to provide tools for handling the enrolment and participation process from start to finish.
Target group
Methods applied to reach the objective (technological and/or pedagogical)
The functionality of the portal was primarily defined by a team consisting of personnel from several Finnish open polytechnics. This was to guarantee the portal’s applicability to actual needs and suitability for all participating organisations. Much attention was paid to usability issues: graphical layout and ease of operation.
Strategy and actions
Level of implementation
National.
Implementation
The portal was implemented in connection with the Finnish Online Polytechnic portal (www.oncampus.fi). The eServices system was embedded in the portal seamlessly. The portal and the eServices implementation were acquired from different vendors.
Monitoring and evaluation
Funding/Cost effectiveness
Budget
About €150 000 for purchased services + internal project management expenses.
Sustainability/Transferability
Outcomes/impacts
Achievements
Specific results
Since then adoption has been quick: as of writing there are about 350 courses available and 380 registered students in the system at the beginning of the project.
Success factors
Lessons learnt
There are several factors which define whether an information system succeeds or fails. Commitment is the most important one: both the customer and the vendor must be really committed to the project. End users must be involved when the system requirements and specifications are drawn up. Open communication during all phases and between all parties is required as well.
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