Table 1.
Forms of digitalisation dynamics in the HE industry
| Who | What | Examples | Monetisation model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universities alone | Various digital products and services | Student and staff applications such as iLanaster developed by Lancaster University | No monetisation (internal cost for universities of in-house developers and infrastructure) |
| Universities and open source | Virtual learning environments, various digital products and services | Moodle | No monetisation (internal cost for universities of in-house developers and infrastructure) |
| Universities and companies (universities as users of platforms) | Various applications, platforms, e-resources (e.g. e-books), virtual learning environments, research management systems, various analytics and business intelligence software | Blackboard, Pure, Amazon Alexa for universities, learning analytics platforms, predictive learning platforms | Universities pay subscription fees, licences, or other fees (such as the number of clicks or time spent on platforms) to companies for access to the digital product or service, and for data intelligence |
| Universities and companies (partnerships) | Collaborative delivery of HE courses and modules | OPMs, MOOCs | Students pay fees for access and/or credentials; employers pay fees for recruitment or candidate screening; and other fees |
| Universities and state agencies | Various digital products and services | Jisc’s National Learning Analytics Service | Institutional subscriptions |
| State agencies and companies | Collaborative delivery of digital products and services | UCAS and Unibuddy, Jisc and start-up companies | Various combinations (institutional subscriptions, monthly access and visibility fees, state grants) |
| Companies alone (complementary to universities) | Developing products and services complementary to universities, and selling to students or other actors directly | Tutoring, online help with recruitment and admissions for students | Students pays fees or subscription |
| Companies alone (in competition with universities) | Developing products and services to challenge universities and compete | Alternative training and skills provision (for example coding), various micro-credentials | Various options and combinations—for example, a percentage of salary after getting employment, fees per course or credential, subscriptions |
| Companies together | Compatible and possibly collaborative products and services between platforms; integration via digital infrastructure | Commercial coalitions (for example, see Williamson & Hogan, 2020) | User pays fees for a service; or a subscription for continuous access |
aJisc is a UK not-for-profit membership organisation providing digital solutions for HE
bUCAS is the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service managing the application process for British universities. In 2019, it has partnered with an EdTech start-up company, Unibuddy, to connect student applicants with student ambassadors.
cPartnered with Emerge Education, Jisc developed a programme to support the university and EdTech start-up companies interaction including a ‘healthcheck’ of start-ups, and research and insights
"Note: The list is not exhaustive, but rather presents instantiations of digitalising the HE sector dynamics. There might be new categories that are under development, such as universities developing digital assets and offering them to other universities for subscription fees or similar charges. This is a matter of much needed empirical focus that I spell out in this and next section of the article."