I have been looking at the LLE (Lifelong Learning Entitlement) over the last few years, with a focus on student mobility (and data) in relation to moving between institutions.

This was an interesting article on WonkHE this week about the potential impact of LLE on the student experience at university.

The interesting challenge is not simply whether universities can modularise curricula – we can, and we do – it’s whether the university surrounding that curriculum can operate on the same basis.

Though the article does have a focus on support systems for students, it misses the digital agenda, even though those systems are heavily dependent on an effective digital infrastructure.

There are considerations here (which the article misses) from access to the library and online resources, to having a university email. An LLE funded student who is undertaking one module will probably not only not need a university email, but they also probably won’t want one either. If that university email is a core part of the student identity, authentication and access, then what happens then?

Now LLE allows for modular study at more than one institution, that could be problematic, if these modules are taken concurrently (or even consecutively).  Over time an LLE student may be moving between a range of institutions, where it becomes a requirement to have an institutional email address for access, this kind of student may then have multiple identities.

Of course modular study is by definition short term (and often part time), alongside different start times, creates new challenges for the digital infrastructure that institutions have to support students.

LLE from a government perspective is a core policy priority. Though the funding aspect may be sorted, as this article demonstrates the impact on the university systems, and the student experience will need more thought. Can a typical university digital infrastructure work within an LLE landscape?