Page 8 - General Cases 1

However, in an era where learners pay for their education

and the potential introduction of fast-track degrees (7, 8)
there is crucially, an increasing need by them to know

upfront why they should invest their money and scarce

time, especially if the course is part-time or distance

learning, on modules that may not satisfy their expectations
and demands on quality and an expectation of

passing.(9,10) Consequently, if module duration has

shortened then traditional case studies will not provide the

envisaged learning vehicle.

In March 2018 Prime
Minister, Theresa May

announced a review of

tuition fees aims to

encourage more
flexible and cheaper

ways to study. Part-time student numbers fell by more than

40% after fees increased in 2012 (11). The review followed
concerns about the high cost of university, with average

graduate debts of more than £50,000. However, also in

March 2018, the University of London announced its first

fully fledged online, undergraduate BSc course aimed at
"people who are working and need a more flexible

approach" produced in a partnership with one of the world's

biggest online university companies, the California-based
Coursera who claim of the model that "It's so compelling

that other universities will have to follow," (11).