The OIPP made significant progress in 2010-11. Funding was secured for the project to move forward and an RFP was recently released (April 29, 2011). Courses have been selected for inclusion in the program and the design process is underway and will continue throughout the summer. A single provider will be announced in June with the goal of having 10-12 courses up and running by January, 2012.
On a related note, a centralized LMS was a hotly discussed topic at ETLG meetings this year. While it was agreed that there are clear efficiencies to be gained, it was also acknowledged to be a hugely complex, to be unlikely to result in 100% adoption. No clear consensus emerged across the ETLG with clusters of campuses (Moodle / Sakai) willing to engage in further cooperation. The RFP to identify a single solution provider for the OIPP has been carefully developed with cross-campus collaboration in mind, could serve as a proving ground, and represents a potential path forward toward delineating the contours of a multi-campus learning environment.