This study focused on the potential contribution of xMOOCs, OER units and different stakeholders to opening up higher education. The main research questions were: “Which MOOCs can potentially be adapted for use in opening up Rwandan higher education?” (1) “Which OER units can potentially be adapted for use in opening up Rwandan higher education?” (2) and “What is the potential contribution of different stakeholders in Rwandan higher education to opening up this level of education?” (3). The study had a transformative mixed method design and consisted of two major components: The Research component and the Parallel development component. Research was conducted on ten xMOOCs, ten OER units, 105 learners, 85 academics, one institutional leader and four policy documents. Results showed that two xMOOCs and one OER unit can be adapted for direct use in opening up higher education in Rwanda if open educational services and enabling policies are available. Learners were willing to engage in different self-determined open learning practices and academics were willing to contribute to opening up education in different ways. No evidence of institutional leaders/policy makers‘ intention to recognise academics‘ engagement in open educational practices and support assessment of accomplishment from open learning for credit could be identified. The main contributions of the study to knowledge include a framework for collaborative investment in opening up education; an in-depth understanding of non-rivalrous resources that may be used in opening up education; a deeper understanding of the concept of heutagogy and proof of its transformative outcomes and a comprehensive evaluation of xMOOCs and OER units and how they may contribute to opening up education. Conclusions may be beneficial to transformative researchers, learners, academics and institutions interested in opening up education.

In the years since the genocide, the Government of Rwanda has contributed significant financial resources to the re-establishment and development of its public higher education sector. This investment has largely been justified in terms of the contribution of university graduates to the country’s vision of becoming a service-based knowledge economy, capable of reducing its reliance on foreign aid and technical assistance. Implicit in this vision for the future is an assumption that a university education will help students to improve in their ability to think critically about problems and to use evidence when making decisions. This study empirically investigated this assumption by administering a version of the Collegiate Learning Assessment – a performance-task-based test of critical thinking, adapted for use in Rwanda – to a random sample of 220 students enrolled at three of Rwanda’s most prestigious public institutions. Assessment results were supplemented with in-depth case studies at two of the institutions involved in the study. Results of the study suggest that Rwandan students are not significantly improving in their critical thinking ability during their time at university. Critical thinking ability in Rwanda seems to be largely influenced by the academic experiences provided within university Faculties, as the use of innovative classroom practices appears to have a positive impact on the cultivation of critical thinking skills. However, results indicate that such practices cannot be assumed, as faculty motivation and understanding of pedagogical innovations can significantly affect their effective implementation. The international community has largely focused its higher education reform efforts on improvements in institutional efficiency, but the results of this study indicate that student learning outcomes cannot be ignored. Without similar support for initiatives that seek to improve pedagogy, regional revitalisation efforts are unlikely to have a substantial effect on development objectives.