The University Times

Jack Leahy | News Editor

The fulsome text of the recently launched strategic plan for Trinity began its translation into realisation this month when the College Board discussed a high-level proposal for a new online education division.

Confidential documents from the meeting held on November 5th reveal that the College Secretary and Associate Dean of Online Education have proposed the establishment of ‘“Trinity Dublin Online” – a separate legal entity that would assume responsibility for the provision of online-only education. Should the Board approve, the College would apply for charitable taxation status on behalf of the new subsidiary, which would grant exemption from tax on revenue from fees.

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The documents express an optimism that the Revenue Commission would grant the subsidiary charitable status, given that its objectives support that of the College as stated in its strategic plan. The strategic plan for 2014-19 specifically cites the potential of online education to develop the College’s “global reach”.

The College does not currently incur a tax bill for its fee revenue, given that it accredits its “traditional” courses in accordance with national frameworks for the awarding of qualifications. However, it is not clear whether fee revenue from self-accredited courses would be liable for tax. In order to ensure complete exemption, it is proposed to apply for charitable status and establish a relationship whereby students would pay fees directly to the College, and the College in turn would pay the subsidiary company for “services rendered”.

A new company could also exist outside of the College’s designation as a public body, by virtue of which its staffing levels are subject to the public sectors Employment Control Framework (ECF). While those responsible for the College’s compliance with such frameworks remain unsure that public body designation would not extend to a subsidiary company, the prospect of exploiting a loophole is evidently an attractive one.

​Return to Schools

Two options were presented to the Board – a return of either 25 per cent or 40 per cent of fee income to schools. Savage said “a 25% return of fee income to the appropriate School represents a viable model.” In the 25 per cent model, an operating profit would be returned in 2017-18, while an operating profit in the 40 per cent model would be returned in 2019-20.

The 25 per cent option requires about €2 million in investment, while the 40 per cent option would require more than €3 million.

The documents offer a thoroughly developed business case for the project. Based on the recruitment of 1,000 online-only students across 19 programmes, an initial investment of €2.1 million to establish the company is projected to generate an annual profit of more than €1 million per annum in 2019/20. The projection assumes fees of €3,500 for a postgraduate certificate, €5,500 for a postgraduate diploma, and €10,000 for a postgraduate masters. While traditional taught and research programmes distinguish fee liability based on whether the student can be classed as “EU” or “non-EU”, the proposed online course fee represents a flat rate for all students.

The same projections deem “viable” a funding model that would see a school earn a 25 per cent share of revenue for courses designed by its academics. A further 20 per cent of fee revenue would be made available to student support services such as the library and the Student Counselling Service. If proposals are approved in their current form, all online students will enjoy the same student status and service entitlements as the “traditional” student cohort, and as such the contribution to such services reflects a possible increase in demand. Achievement of target recruitment would see services receive €3.5 million over a five year period from 2015/16.

The remaining 55 per cent of fee revenue will be allocated to teaching costs, with a phased investment of €644,000 considered necessary to establish the appropriate visual learning environment. Both the academic and business cases for the online education division cite the benefit of recruiting specialists in online instruction, for which a cost of €4.7 million over five years is proposed. It is proposed that these staff are assisted in programme design by the College’s existing academic divisions, the return for which represents 25 per cent of the fee revenue for the particular course.

The draft agreement between Trinity and the company shall place all academic matters relating to the company under the auspices of the Board of the College (and the University Council). As such, governance of “Trinity Dublin Online” would borrow the model of The Lir Academy, another wholly owned professional secretarial company of the College. The Lir is effectively self-governing where the day-to-day is concerned, but must report to established College structures for new course proposals and matters of compliance.

The cited academic case for the increased provision of online-only teaching aligns with the language of the strategic plan, which prioritises the College’s global profile. The proponents express a will to “enhance Trinity’s global reach through the provision of high-quality, open-access courses” through professional development and postgraduate courses that can be studied at the student’s convenience through an online teaching portal.

The impulse to establish the College in the growing market for flexible online qualifications can be traced to Professor Timothy Savage’s appointment as Associate Dean in 2012/13. His work to date has involved championing at various committees the business and academic cases for investment in such programmes.

Professor Savage, who contributed to a number of academic considerations of the strategic plan, has also helped establish Trinity’s first-ever open-access, online-only course. Irish Lives in War and Revolution was established as a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in September and ran for six weeks, with over 10,000 participating.