Since the transition from a planned economy to a market-based democracy in the early 1990s, Mongolian higher education has experienced a marked expansion. Between 1992 and 2007, the number of tertiary education institutions has increased more than four-fold and enrollment more than six-fold, with the gross enrollment ratio growing from 14 to 47 percent of high school graduates. However, many Mongolians believe the quality of education still remains poor, although the costs of higher education are increasing gradually. Introducing and adapting Open Educational Resources (OER) for the Mongolian higher education sector could help reverse these trends.
There is a growing interest across Mongolia for the use of Creative Commons’ (CC) licensed educational resources by faculty, institutions and government as because CC licensed materials could provide the legal and technical infrastructure essential to the long-term success of OER. Confidence in moving in this direction and the development of public policy is dependent on the availability of localized versions of the Creative Commons licenses in Mongolian. Currently, Mongolia is not among more than 70 CC jurisdictions worldwide with an affiliate, although the licences have been in use since 2011.
The International Development Research Center (IDRC), Canada through the DREAM IT project supported the initial roadmap development for a CC Mongolia affiliate. A Creative Commons Mongolia affiliate is expected to boost human capital development and lifelong learning initiatives across Mongolia by working with education providers in both the formal and informal sectors to promote knowledge and skill acquisition through the use and open licensing of learning resources.
The specific objectives of Creative Commons Mongolia affiliate are:
●Support government, institutions, and organizations in the open licensing of data sets, copyright works, research reports, statistics, photographic images, educational resources, and other digital resources
●Support collaborations and partnerships to maximize government investments in education, including the sustainable development and distribution of educational materials and the sharing of digital resources by the public, parents and students across Mongolia
●Complement laws pertaining to copyright and fair use by enabling creators to assert rights and communicate permissions for use, reuse and distribution
●Enable innovative new business models in the public and private sectors using open data
●Support the revision of policy regulating the production and use of open educational resources for general education and other public services
●Contribute to raising awareness and adoption of open licensing frameworks for authors, educators, creators, businesses
●Promote creative and innovative activities which deliver social and economic benefits for Mongolia and Mongolians
The Creative Commons Mongolia affiliate has an initial starting base in the higher education sector. Currently, the four largest Mongolian universities, the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, the National University of Mongolia, the Health Sciences University and the Mongolian State University of Education, are participating in this initiative to take the lead and will invite participation from other public and private universities. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Creative Commons and representatives of Mongolian universities is expected to be signed in September 2012.
