Using the Internet to Gain Personalized Degrees from Learning through Work

This paper presents the outcomes of a systematic review of the experience of the first cohorts using Ufi's online Learning through Work (LtW) facility to negotiate personalized programmes of study leading to full university awards based on projects related to their everyday work. The concept of learning through work and wider experience of online work-based learning are discussed, and the main features of the LtW programme are described. Data are drawn from user surveys and in-depth interviews of participants. A grounded theory methodology is used to allow propositions to emerge from the data about user readiness, institutional responses and wider impact on the learners and their work-place. These propositions are presented for discussion in the wider context of learner-managed learning and the use of the Internet for university-recognized learning through work.