The University of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (UHI) could represent a new paradigm in higher education delivery for developing countries where community isolation, program availability, and academic infrastructure remain problematic. World Bank staff recently visited the UHI and conducted a subsequent videoconference between UHI and the staff at World Bank country offices in Egypt, Zambia, and Venezuela to explore what lessons might be learned from this institution.

The Highlands and Islands region of Scotland is one of the least densely populated and economically peripheral areas of Europe, suffering from further projected depopulation and fiscal deterioration. Created in 1993 to promote regional economic and social development, UHI has taken a pioneering approach to institutional organization, management, infrastructure, and student learning that draws heavily from the benefits of technology. UHI serves communities in modest locales, combining academic instruction and course facilitation to meet the educational needs of local industry and local communities - yet it does so in quite an innovative way.

Now six years old, what is the UHI? It is a functioning partnership of thirteen tertiary institutions, eight associated Learning Outreach Centers, along with an array of businesses, service organizations, local governments, and regional development agencies. This amalgam of disparate entities cover a vast and otherwise disjointed geographic area. UHI currently enrolls over 22,500 students (8,900 FTEs) of which 4,546 students (3,264 FTEs or 37%) are involved in higher education courses. The curriculum is structured into seven multi-disciplinary academic clusters that address human resource needs in the region: Art & Design; Business & Management; Computing & Information; Construction & Technology; Culture & Heritage; Health, Education & Care; and Science & Environment. The credit-based modular framework of the University’s degree programs allows complete flexibility for part-time or full-time study. With the recent advances in information and communications technology, UHI relies heavily on computers, videoconferencing and internetworking to provide access to the combined academic and administrative resources of its multiple locations and learning centers. By pooling all resources, UHI is able to build a critical mass of academic means by electronically linking regional personnel, infrastructure and materials to the benefit of the entire enterprise.

In spite of UHI's heavy dependence on technological tools, officials from this university insist that their model is not a form of distance education – rather, it is a "carefully networked series of local opportunities dedicated to personal advancement and human development". Indeed - although many offerings from distant sites are made through multimedia, UHI students are never fully remote and meet regularly with local educational providers in their immediate learning locale. The end result at UHI is networked academic opportunities enhanced by locally constructed instructional relationships, preventing community members from being pulled out of their native region to seek access to advancement and lifelong learning elsewhere. Such an elaborate and thorough combination of supports does not come cheap.

Many observers see UHI as a prototype for the 21st century, and possibly a model for developing countries. What makes the University of the Highlands and Islands a potential exemplar for other countries?

First, its mission is local and lifelong. UHI possesses a strong mandate to promote regional economic and social development. This region, which comprises one-fifth of the United Kingdom and includes 93 inhabited islands, shares many characteristics with developing countries. Its population is spatially dispersed and predominantly rural. Its economy is narrowly based and heavily dependent on small businesses and medium-sized enterprises. The labor force is relatively less educated, and contains above-average numbers of self-employed, part-time workers, and unemployed. The demand for access to higher education is very strong. In addition, the education system confronts challenges of multi-culturalism and bi-lingualism in the design and delivery of services. These features lead the University to emphasize mass access to higher education, qualitative skills development, and lifelong learning.

Second, UHI organization and management are distinctive. The University is not a new institution; it is a decentralized federation of thirteen existing colleges and research institutions distributed across the region. Eight electronically linked community outreach centers (soon to be fifteen) extend the physical presence of this educational network to smaller communities and under-served areas. Business incubation services will shortly be established on several campuses. Each college possesses its own presiding Principal/Director and governance council, and its management is largely autonomous. Academic planning, curriculum development, and quality assurance are the responsibility of a Network Academic Council drawn from member institutions. Overall coordination and development administration are provided by a University Management Group. A 15-member Board of Directors oversees the UHI system. Five of its members are elected directly by a UHI Foundation comprising 86 local businesses and service organizations, which links the University closely to the private sector and community interests. An executive office of 14 professional staff supports these groups and serves as an intermediary between the UHI system and outside funding sources, quality assurance bodies, and political actors. Stakeholder consultation is therefore an inherent part of the institution's operating procedure.

Third, the UHI approach to teaching and learning is dedicated to long-term skill adaptation. It recognizes that in a rapidly changing world, knowledge can quickly become outdated, and that the real value of higher education lies in the capabilities which students acquire. Coursework consequently emphasizes the building of individual competencies rather than the transfer of knowledge. Examples of these capabilities include problem-solving, teamwork, communication skills, time management, and high levels of computer literacy. Students are expected to actively manage their educational development, and the majority are also required to undertake a 3 to 6 month work placement prior to graduation. Courses of study are thematically oriented and strongly multi-disciplinary, such as courses on rural development, health care management, and tourism. Learning occurs through a mix of classroom participation, work groups, informal tutorials, distance education, and self-paced computerized instruction. The academic program is highly flexible, offering considerable ease of student entry and exit. Students accumulate credits for each course module completed. This occurs at the student’s own speed. When 120 credits (i.e., eight modules) are earned, an academic ‘year’/level is concluded. Each completed ‘year’ of post-secondary education is rewarded with a recognized certification, i.e., a Certificate in Higher Education for year 1, a Diploma in Higher Education for year 2, and a Degree for year 3. Credits may also be awarded for other education and work experiences. Continuing professional development and re-training programs are also provided. Each student is viewed as a lifelong client who will have a continuing relationship with the University.

Fourth, a substantial investment in information and communication technologies is and will continue to be the fiber which holds this network together and allows it to function. In March of 1999, UHI conducted over 800 hours of video conferencing. This is the preferred medium for meetings of the Network Academic Council and the University Management Group. It is also used for specialized classes, workshops, and tutorials. Supported by an extensive training program, academic staff are expected to become highly proficient in the use of computers and multimedia technologies for both teaching and academic administration.

Much of the structure and content of the UHI enterprise is predicated on a new learning paradigm for higher education. Learning is viewed as an active--not passive--process in which concepts are acquired, incorporated into schemas, and tested in action. The unidirectional relationship between teacher and student is replaced by interactivity with a multitude of instructional, applied, and "virtual" learning environments. Learning is no longer restricted to one physical location, but is available in many places simultaneously. Instruction moves beyond oral presentation into a range of multimedia learning systems. The pace of learning is controlled by the student rather than the teacher, whose role is to facilitate the student’s learning. As a result, the individual rather than the classroom audience becomes the focus of the learning process. This also allows a re-definition of who is a tertiary student. No longer are students drawn from a particular age cohort or socio-economic background. UHI students can be anyone who has completed secondary school, and who can demonstrate the capacity and desire to benefit from its programs.

Two innovations within the UHI system illustrate how this new paradigm operates in practice. Learning Resource Centers combine a traditional college library with a large computer laboratory and meeting spaces of various sizes and functions. All are equally open to students and community members. The college library functions essentially as a public library. The lab of 30 or so computers offers self-paced learning leading to technical certifications and module credits, Internet and e-mail connectivity, or simply the opportunity to compose a résumé or print a report. Meeting rooms can be booked by either students or community residents for group projects, short courses, club gatherings, tutorials, or specific discussions. In this way, UHI eliminates barriers between town and gown, study and work, financial means and access, age and learning.

A second innovation is the Learning Outreach Center. This is simply a large room containing distance learning references and a dozen or so computers staffed by a facilitator which operates under the supervision of one of the UHI constituent colleges. Located in remote areas such as the western islands or highland communities, they enable local residents to pursue distance learning, computer-based instruction, and general access to information. Video conferencing and e-mail links allow campus-based tutors to guide and support local learners. The rooms can also be used by community groups for meetings or other activities. Established in publicly accessible places, the Outreach Centers are open ten to twelve hours a day, including part of the weekend.

UHI appears to be an interesting prototype for tertiary education in industrialized countries of the 21^st century. It certainly represents a radical break from higher education tradition within the British Commonwealth and clearly challenges the prevailing worldwide university model. Notably, it incorporates contemporary good practice from around the world, anticipating many of the recommendations contained in recent higher education assessments by high-level commissions in OECD countries. If its distinguishing features don't foreshadow the future of higher education, they certainly represent a bold transitional step in that direction.

During a recent videoconference with UHI management, World Bank representatives from the Country Office in Egypt found the UHI example potentially useful for local application. Ninety-five percent of the Egyptian population lives in remote areas, and much of the country's mining industry is located at a distance from any higher education institutions. While the UHI model appeared remarkably useful in this context, the World Bank staff from Egypt saw several limitations of its application. The staff remarked that, in particular, the UHI model is best for instruction in subject areas that are largely text-based. Courses that would be locally useful in Egypt, such as mineral science and engineering, are lab-based and generally more costly than the typical courses available in remote regional learning centers. The infrastructure requirements and related expenses in launching such an endeavor are also a cause for concern in Egypt and other developing countries. The technology required to connect all regional learning centers is not only difficult to organize in a resource-poor context, but it is also proportionally more expensive in a developing country relative to an industrialized country’s average GDP per capita. World Bank representatives from Zambia expressed additional concern over recurrent costs of updating and replacing hardware and software over time. The UHI team spoke about generous grants from the European Union, as well as from the government of the United Kingdom and local authorities in Scotland that help to finance these long-term costs. While there are possibilities for economies of scale over a large network of small community-based learning centers, it is an unanswered question whether such savings could be realistically expected in the context of developing countries.

While developing countries might enhance their tertiary education systems by adopting selected features of UHI, the model's expensive and complex mode of delivery may be an obstacle to replication in low-income countries. Still, when set against the alternative of constructing residential campus facilities, and electronically linked network of existing institutions may pose a feasible alternative, particularly in areas of lower population density.

For more information on the University of the Highlands and Islands Project, contact:

The comments made herein do not reflect the views of the World Bank Board of Executive Directors or of the governments they represent.