QUALITY ASSURANCE IN DISTANCE LEARNING - A Study in Higher Education

2011 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Distance Learning

Quality Assurance in Open and Distance Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 22-35
Author(s):  
Amir Manzoor
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Open And Distance Learning ◽  
Learning Institutions

Today, open and distance-learning universities are regarded as a groundbreaking option to expand access to higher education. Economies of scale supported by a large number of enrolments have fueled the growth of open and distance learning institutions (ODLIs) across the globe. At the same time, many have raised serious concerns about the quality of education provided by ODLIs. This chapter presents a comparative case analysis of quality assurance (QA) programs in distance education at two large open and distance learning universities in Pakistan. The study explored QA policies and their implementation in the context of management practices and structures and internal and external environmental factors.

scholarly journals Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Distance Education Programs in Vietnam: Rationale and Future Directions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Huu Cuong ◽  
Le My Phong
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
The World ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Open And Distance Learning

Distance and online education are popular training modes in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and open education. Accreditation is one of the approaches that many countries across the world have implemented to assure the quality of higher education, including distance learning programs. This study investigates the rationale and future directions for quality assurance and accreditation of distance education programs in Vietnam. First, the paper presents concepts of distance education, and quality assurance and accreditation of distance education. Second, the research reviews experiences of implementing quality assurance and accreditation for distance education from several countries in the world. Next, the paper analyses the rationale for conducting accreditation of distance education programs in our country. Finally, the study proposes three groups of recommendations for the national quality assurance organization, accreditation agencies and higher education institutions to be able to implement the quality assurance and accreditation of distance education in Vietnam successfully. Keywords Quality assurance; Accreditation; Distance education; Online learning; Higher education References [1] UNESCO, Distance education in Asia and the Pacific: country papers, Volume III (Singapore - Vietnam), 2009. www.unesco.org/education/pdf/53-23c.pdf.[2] UNESCO, Open and distance learning: trends, policy and strategy considerations, 2002. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001284/128463e.pdf.[3] Owusu-Boampong, A. & Holmberg, C., Distance education in European higher education – the potential, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, International Council for Open and Distance Education and Study Portals B.V, 2015.[4] Australian University, Distance learning Australia, 2018. http://www.australianuniversities.com.au/distance-learning/.[5] Darojat, O., Nilson, M. & Kaufman, D., Quality assurance in Asian open and distance learning: policies and implementation, Journal of Learning for Development, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2015) 1. [6] Jung, I. & Latchem, C., Quality assurance and accreditation in distance education and e-learning: models, policies and research, Routledge, London, 2012.[7] Wang, Qi., Quality assurance - best practices for assessing online programs, International Journal on Elearning, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2006) 265. [8] Friedman, J., 10 facts about accreditation in online degree programs, U.S.News & World Report, February 9, 2017. https://www.usnews.com.[9] U.S. Department of Education., Accrediting agencies recognized for distance education and correspondence education, 2018. https://www2.ed.gov. [10] The Australasian Council on Open, Distance and e-learning (ACODE), Benchmarks for technology enhanced learning, ACODE, Canberra, 2014.[11] Bollaert, L., NVAO’s accreditation of online education in a nutshell, 2015. https://www.nvao.net.[12] Henderikx, P. & Ubachs, G., Quality assurance and accreditation of online and distance higher education, 2017. https://www.unic.ac.cy.[13] Stella A. & Gnanam, A., Quality assurance in distance education: The challenges to be addressed, Higher Education, Vol. 47, No. 2 (2004) 143.[14] Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA), Code of practices for open and distance learning, MQA, Kuala Lumpur, 2013.[15] COL, DEMP & UNESCO, Quality assurance toolkit for distance higher education institutions and programmes, COL, Vancouver, 2009.[16] Vietnamnet, Mở đào tạo từ xa sẽ không cần cấp phép, 2017. http://vietnamnet.vn. [17] Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), Quality assurance of online learning: discussion paper, TEQSA, Melbourne, 2017. [18] Nhân dân Điện tử, Phát triển đào tạo từ xa đúng hướng, 2017. http://www.nhandan.com.vn.[19] Nguyễn Hữu Cương, Một số kết quả đạt được của kiểm định chất lượng giáo dục đại học Việt Nam và hướng triển khai trong tương lai, Tạp chí Quản lý giáo dục, Tập 9 Số 8 (2017) 7.[20] Cục QLCL - Bộ GD-ĐT, Danh sách các CSGD đại học; các trường cao đẳng, trung cấp sư phạm, đã hoàn thành báo cáo tự đánh giá, được kiểm định, 2018 (dữ liệu cập nhật đến ngày 31/8/2018).[21] Cục QLCL - Bộ GD-ĐT, Danh sách các chương trình đào tạo được đánh giá/công nhận, 2018 (dữ liệu cập nhật đến ngày 31/8/2018).

scholarly journals The THE OPERATIONAL ASPECTS OF OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING AND ITS QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM IN UNIVERSITAS TERBUKA

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aminudin Zuhairi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Iso 9001 ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Assurance System ◽  
Online Tutorials ◽  
Open And Distance Learning ◽  
Iso 27001 ◽  
Operational Aspects

Universitas Terbuka (UT) telah befungsi sejak 1984 untuk memperluas kesempatan belajar bagi seluruh warga negara Indonesia dari berbagai lapisan guna menempuh pendidikan tinggi berkualitas. Makalah ini menyajikan aspek operasional pendidikan terbuka dan jarak jauh beserta sistem penjaminan kualitas UT. Deskripsi dan analisis tentang UT disampaikan dalam hal sistem pembelajaran, asesmen pembelajaran, dan sistem pendukung layanan operasional. Beragam layanan pendukung pembelajaran diberikan sesuai kebutuhan mahasiswa meliputi pembelajaran jarak jauh dengan tutorial online, pembelajaran jarak jauh blended dengan tutorial tatap muka dan online, pembelajaran jarak jauh dengan semua matakuliah didukung tutorial tatap muka, dan pembelajaran fully online. Sistem penjaminan kualitas UT meliputi pengembangan budaya kerja berkualitas sebagai tanggung jawab bersama, fokus pada pencegahan, dan pengembangan mekanisme asesmen kualitas secara internal dan eksternal. UT telah mengadopsi Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) Quality Assurance Framework sejak tahun 2001. Asesmen dan review kualitas secara eksternal telah dilakukan melalui sertifikasi ISO 9001 dan ISO 27001, akreditasi Program Studi dan Institusi oleh Badan Akreditasi Nasional Perguruan Tinggi (BAN-PT), dan review kualitas oleh International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE). Arah ke depan UT sebagaimana dinyatakan oleh Menteri Riset, Teknologi, dan Pendidikan Tinggi 2014-2015 adalah tantangan UT sebagai pelopor cyber university di Indonesia serta menyediakan matakuliah online bagi mahasiswa dari perguruan tinggi di Indonesia lain agar memiliki pengalaman pembelajaran online. Universitas Terbuka (UT) has been functioning since 1984 to widen opportunities for the citizens of Indonesia from all geographical, social and economic backgrounds to have access to quality higher education. This paper presents the UT operational aspects of open and distance learning and its quality assurance system. The description and analysis of UT is presented in terms of teaching and learning system, assessment of student learning, and operational support system. The UT modes of learning support to students are provided based on the students’ needs to include distance learning with online tutorials, blended distance learning with face-to-face and online tutorials, distance learning with all courses supported by face-to-face tutorials, and fully online learning courses. Quality assurance is discussed in terms of the development of quality work culture as shared responsibility, focus on prevention, and the establishment of mechanism for internal and external assessment. UT has adopted the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) Quality Assurance Framework since 2001. External quality assessment includes certification for ISO 9001 and ISO 27001, Study Program and Institution accreditations by the National Board of Higher Education Accreditation (BAN-PT), and quality reviews by the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE). Future directions of UT as stated by the former Minister of Research, Technology, and Higher Education was to be pioneer in cyber university and to provide online courses for students from other universities in Indonesia.

Jordi Casanovas' #Coronavirusplays

2022 ◽  
pp. 175-194
Author(s):  
Veronica Orazi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
First Results ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Online Activities

The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 and the diffusion of the COVID-19 disease had and still has a huge impact on the world's population. The pandemic has also psychological implications and online activities can help to support people experiencing its consequences. The project COVID-19 LiTraPan aims to contribute to meet the needs that emerged during the pandemic in the field of humanistic higher education and quality assurance of distance learning. The line of research consists of the creation and study of corpora of works inspired and composed during the health emergency, and of their use for distance learning and discomfort management. In the first phase of development of the project, the author's choice fell on the Spanish and Catalan microtheatre production published online as a result of the initiative #Coronvirusplays, launched by the playwright Jordi Casanovas on 13 March 2020, which ran until 8 May 2020. In this contribution, the author synthetizes the first results of the investigation and distance learning activities in the framework of the COVID-19 LiTraPan project.

scholarly journals A Comparative Case Study

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Des Monk ◽  
Julie Hitchen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Institutional Practice ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Open And Distance Learning ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Strategic Thought

This article is concerned with the provision of open and distance learning by the higher education sectors in two countries, the UK and Finland. The central contention is that more strategic thought must be given to this issue if the potential benefits of such learning are to be maximized. The article considers in detail institutional practice in one UK university and compares it to practice in a Finnish institution to ascertain whether procedures and practices adopted in Finland might inform policies in UK universities. By way of conclusion, it is suggested that higher education institutions in both countries need to explore the importance of improved networking, develop better quality-assurance procedures and introduce changes in pedagogic practice.

scholarly journals Quality Improvement, Quality Assurance, and Benchmarking: Comparing two frameworks for managing quality processes in open and distance learning

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Inglis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Quality Framework ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Open And Distance Learning ◽  
Similarities And Differences

<P>Managing quality processes become critically important for higher education institutions generally, but especially for institutions involved in open and distance learning. In Australia, managers of centers responsible for open and distance learning have identified two frameworks that potentially offer ways of conceiving of the application of quality processes: the Quality Framework published in Inglis, Ling, and Joosten (1999); and the Benchmarking Framework published in McKinnon, Walker, and Davis (2000). However, managers who have been considering applying one or other framework within their institutional contexts have had to face the issue of how they should choose between, or combine the use, of these frameworks. Part of their dilemma lies in distinguishing among the related functions of quality improvement, quality assurance, and benchmarking. This article compares the frameworks in terms of their scope, institutional application, structures, and method of application, and then considers what implications the similarities and differences between the frameworks have for their use.</P>

scholarly journals A Neo-Institutionalist Approach to Understanding Drivers of Quality Assurance in ODL

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asha Kanwar ◽  
Romeela Mohee ◽  
Alexis Carr ◽  
Kayla Ortlieb ◽  
Kaviraj Sukon
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Open University ◽  
Drivers Of Change ◽  
Endogenous Factors ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Open And Distance Learning ◽  
Culture Of Quality

In recent years, quality assurance (QA) in higher education has received increasing attention by academics, learners, institutions, and governments alike. Many open universities (OUs) have taken steps to re-define or re-orient their systems and practices to integrate quality. While there is a growing body of literature on QA best practices, there has been little investigation into the factors that influence institutions to improve or adopt QA and how these factors impact on the specific manifestations of institutional QA. This paper examines the challenges of QA implementation in OUs and, using a neo-institutionalist lens, it advances a framework for understanding drivers of institutional QA implementation. The framework is applied to the case of the Open University of Mauritius (OUM). Existing literature, institutional records, interviews and reports are analysed to assess how exogenous and endogenous factors have influenced QA implementation at OUM, with a focus on addressing the specificities of open and distance learning (ODL). A better understanding of the drivers of change for QA can help OUs plan the implementation of QA mechanisms in a more comprehensive way and to systematically develop a culture of quality that responds to the ideological and practical context of ODL.

Quality Assurance in Open and Distance Learning

2018 ◽  
pp. 195-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Manzoor
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Open And Distance Learning ◽  
Learning Institutions

Today, open and distance-learning universities are regarded as a groundbreaking option to expand access to higher education. Economies of scale supported by a large number of enrolments have fueled the growth of open and distance learning institutions (ODLIs) across the globe. At the same time, many have raised serious concerns about the quality of education provided by ODLIs. This chapter presents a comparative case analysis of quality assurance (QA) programs in distance education at two large open and distance learning universities in Pakistan. The study explored QA policies and their implementation in the context of management practices and structures and internal and external environmental factors.

USE OF BLENDED LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION – SOME EXPERIENCES

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
R J Singh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Face To Face Learning ◽  
Made In

This article reports on the use of blended learning in higher education. Blended learning has become popular in higher education in recent years. It is a move beyond traditional lecturing to incorporate face-to-face learning with e-learning, thereby creating a blend of learning experiences. The problem is that learning in higher education is complex and learning situations differ across contexts. Whilst there is face-to-face contact at some institutions, others offer distance learning or correspondence learning. In each context, the mode of learning may differ. The challenge is to cater for various learning opportunities through a series of learning interactions and to incorporate a blended approach. The aim of this study was to examine various ways of defining blended learning in different contexts. This was done through an examination of experiences of the use of blended learning in different higher education contexts. The study presents a case of blended learning in a postgraduate course. The experiences from all these cases are summarised and conclusions and recommendations are made in the context of blended learning in higher education in South Africa.

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