Company Information 

e-College.ac Ltd is an educational consultancy company specialising in on-line learning. The company has particular strengths and experience in the development and delivery of on-line distance learning for SMEs and lifelong learners. It is also involved in the process of developing blended learning delivery for campus-based students.

The company operates as a partner with individual institutions or groups of institutions to develop and implement e-learning initiatives. These range from specific on-line curriculum developments for on line delivery, to blue skies research into the application of emerging technologies.

All initiatives are project-based and resourced through external project funding. A key service provided by e-College.ac is the drafting of project proposals and the securing of funding for such initiatives.

The company works on behalf of the lead institution and partners in any funded project. The external funding for any new project is managed by the lead institution and the project team will be employed by the institution or partner institutions. The company will be a partner operating under contract to the lead institution.

Each project involves a small project team of e-learning specialists, graphics/multi-media specialists and academics. Typically, the team is distributed between the partner institutions and meet regularly online by video conference to coordinate activities.

e-College.ac Ltd is managed by Professor Tony Toole who has worked with a number of HE and FE institutions in the UK and Europe and is an active contributor to the e-learning research community. Prof Toole has project managed several large-scale collaborative e-learning projects over the last 10 years and has published widely on the subject.

e-College.ac Ltd is based in South Wales, registered with Companies House, Cardiff, and is an independent limited company available to work with all institutions and organisations.

Track Record

Prof Tony Toole was Head of Electronics at Swansea Metropolitan University and Dean of Faculty of Art & Technology at Coleg Sir Gâr before being appointed as Director of On-line Services at Coleg Sir Gâr in 2000. He left to form e-College.ac Ltd in 2007.

He led the development of the VirtualCollege online learning environment at Coleg Sir Gâr in 1998 and since that time has managed the delivery of a growing range of validated on-line distance learning courses.

Over the same period he worked with the University of Glamorgan in their major e-College Wales development and has managed a number of JISC funded projects for the University. He was awarded a visiting professorship in 2002.

Between 2001 and 2008 Tony led the European funded Wales e-Training Network, a collaboration between all the HE and FE institutions in Wales creating training solutions for SMEs.

Underpinning all of this work were research and development projects at Glamorgan, Sir Gâr and Swansea Metropolitan University. Over £2m was secured for this work from UK and European sources.

Tony has been involved in National and European e-learning strategy and policy developments as an e-learning expert and consultant. He was editor of the EU Regional Guide to Good Practice in e-Learning.

He works extensively with JISC and is currently a member of the JISC Learning and Teaching Committee, a Board Member of JISC-CETIS and a member of the JISC Learning and Teaching Practice Experts Group. He is also a Critical Friend to four UK Universities engaged in the current JISC Curriculum Development Programme.