The non-accredited professional and personal development market - including CPD, Exec Ed, PPD, and other forms of lifelong learning - is worth millions to the University and underpins strategic goals.  

The University requires a platform to deliver short courses, such as continuing professional development (CPD) and executive education, without the administrative burden required to setup learner accounts and match financial payments provided through current options. The primary business purpose of Learn is delivery of courses to registered students, therefore there has not been a requirement for integrated payment functionality or processes to create university visitor accounts required to access Learn. A lot of manual effort is required to individually create visitor accounts and process payments making some courses unsustainable. Colleagues in schools are employing expensive and complex ‘work arounds’ when they should be able to access a platform which meets these needs. 

The University already offers stand-alone courses and micro-credentials and there are plans to increase the number and type of online continuing professional development (CPD) courses delivered to learners external to the University. This is driven in part by DDI targets held by Bayes, Usher, EFI and GAAFS. MVM and the Business School already offer a range of online stand-alone non-credited courses, but current administrative overheads limit the numbers of learners or courses that can be accommodated. In MVM the administrative burden involved means that in-demand courses will not be offered until improvements are in place.  

This growing portfolio will benefit from a dedicated Short Courses platform to complement the existing University digital education ecosystem. The new platform will provide a one-stop shop for Edinburgh’s provision which can be administered, monitored, badged, marketed to partners, alumni and the community of lifelong learners at home and abroad.