The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) recently supported stakeholders at Maasai Mara University (MMU), Kenya, towards its open and distance learning (ODL) policy enhancement. Policy statements on focal areas such as information and communications technology (ICT) in education and open education resources (OER) were validated in a workshop in January 2024. Thirty-six stakeholders from different units of the university attended. Two policy statements on focal areas, such as ICT in education and OER, were presented for validation. An initial baseline assessment for insight into the status of blended learning practices and policy alignment at the university was also carried out.

Professor Bernard Kodak, Dean, School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and Creative Industries, MMU, thanked COL for the support and emphasised that through the workshop stakeholders would be equipped with the relevant skills for developing an effective ODL policy which would provide an enabling environment for implementation of ODL.

Participants deliberated on a range of policy focus areas – leadership, financing, admission, assessment, instructional design and course material development – including the use of OER. Other focus areas include learner support, ICT infrastructure, inclusive education and evaluation mechanisms for sustainable ODL. Statements covering these focus areas were validated by stakeholders for submission for management approval by the end of the workshop.