Quality Assurance

Introduction
Rationale

Quality assurance in open and distance learning is essential because in some countries, the distance mode of learning has not been fully accepted. As more and more providers compete within national borders and in the global market, quality assurance for higher education in general and distance education in particular is becoming even more necessary.

A number of reasons for establishing quality assurance mechanisms and processes follow:

• to promote the integrity of courses and programmes;
• to ensure that degrees are respected and accepted particularly by employers;
• to maintain parity between on-campus and distance learners;
• to continuously improve the quality of programmes within a dynamic environment;
• to protect students and the public from programme scams and abuse;
• to ensure commitment of staff and employees.

It is still debatable whether quality assurance measures for distance education institutions need to be more stringent than that of traditional schools. It is clear however that ODL providers should not receive any special treatment; otherwise, they will never receive the same respect as the quality programmes of conventional education.

Although there are aspects of distance education that need special attention in terms of quality assurance, the general mechanisms for assuring quality in conventional higher education are applicable to distance learning institutions. This section will present those mechanisms and at the same time, discuss the challenges brought upon by the distance learning environment to traditional approaches of quality assurance.

Objectives

This section has been set up to:

• Offer guidelines and models for quality assurance in ODL

• Present the various mechanisms for quality assurance in higher education and distance education

• Discuss the challenges in the quality assurance of ODL

• Provide a list of case studies on quality assurance in Asia-Pacific countries.

Guidelines

Quality assurance should cover all the aspects and elements necessary for implementing ODL programmes. Hence, various stakeholders need to be considered in every stage of quality assurance development. Quality systems should also be set up in the context of an institution’s vision and mission, objectives and core values relative to ODL.

The aspects where quality assurance is likely to require attention when study is by distance learning according to the guidelines of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (UK) are:

• System design
• Programme design, approval and review
• The management of programme delivery
• Student development and support
• Student communication and representation
• Student assessment

Indicators of ODL quality

How is the quality of distance education measured? The report Planning and Evaluating Systems of Open and Distance Learning (1998) proposes the following areas of quality assurance and the corresponding quality indicators in each area:

1. Policy development and management
• Policy framework for distance education within an institution
• Reporting achievements and developments in distance education
• Acknowledgement of expertise in distance education within promotion/tenure criteria
• Provision of release time for academic staff engaged in course writing and peer review

2. Staff development
• Conduct of professional development programs for academic staff
• Conduct of staff awareness program in relation to institutional distance education policy
• Access to expertise/ advice on materials design
• Access to expertise/ advise on instructional media
• Access to expertise/ advice on the use of computer/ communication technologies employed for external delivery

3. Service provision
• Institutional responsiveness to student enquiries
• Receipt of learning materials
• Timely pre-preparation of materials by academic staff
• Technical quality of learning materials

4. Process of distance education
• Availability and use of preparatory materials to assist students in their role as an external student generalised information related to the distance learner
• Review of 'instructional blueprints' by expert panel against academic and distance teaching criteria
• Study materials and processes
     - account for student background
     - appropriate materials and learning
     - interactions

• Perceived teaching quality
• Variety of interactions
• Lecturer availability to students
• Assignment marking
• Student feedback on the quality of student support and administrative services supplied by the institution
• Monitoring student progress and achievement.

Mechanisms

The mechanisms for quality assurance are: accreditation or certification; external review; and internal review.

Accreditation

Accreditation is done by a number of agencies to help learners know when a particular programme of study taken in a place other than their home countries is of high quality relative to the standards set in their home countries or vice-versa. One of the key questions that a prospective distance learner should ask is whether or not the course, programme or institution he plans to join is accredited, or if not, at least certified. Accreditation is important since the recognition and value of courses and the transferability of credits help learners in their choices.

In the Asia-Pacific region, accreditation agencies include the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation, Australian Universities Quality Agency, and India’s National Board of Accreditation. The Open University of Hong Kong, formerly called the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong, used to submit to the accreditation process of Hong Kong’s accreditation body.

There are also multilateral agreements that address international quality assurance. These agreements set criteria, policies and procedures for accrediting certain academic programmes. They are common among Latin American, European, and North American universities. The Asia-Pacific Network established in January 2003 and which forms part of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) has initiated its own activities on quality assurance. These activities include: compilation of quality indicators; gathering and dissemination of information on quality assurance agencies; facilitation of training and development of staff of institutions and quality assurance bodies; staff exchange/secondment between quality assurance agencies; quality assurance of distance education; and compilation of information on national qualification frameworks.

External review

External review bodies can be composed of faculty members from other institutions, members of professional organizations, employers, and experts from abroad. External review resembles peer group evaluation. The process usually involves review of the curriculum and course syllabi, advice on project development and oversight of examinations. Although external review is not used too often, it is critical for new providers.

Internal review

Internal review is done by an institution’s own staff, hence, a self-evaluation process. It aims to instill in the staff a culture of keeping quality standards. The process is guided by several parameters that are themselves based on the policy areas and elements that are necessary for running ODL programmes.

One set of indicators (from Planning and evaluating systems of open and distance learning) covers the following clusters:

• policy development and management
• staff development
• service provision
• process of distance education

Under each cluster are several criteria with the corresponding units concerned and standards or benchmarks.

Monash University, one of the leading open and distance learning providers in Australia has formulated a comprehensive document on policy and procedures for quality assurance for its programmes. Clustering is by technical and administrative support service units: learning and teaching support; teaching units; library services; student records and admissions; examinations and certification; administrative and management information systems; and computer centre.

For each cluster, the types of services provided with detailed activities/responsibilities are mapped with quality criteria or quality assurance objective and monitoring procedures. Under learning and teaching support, for example, types of services include course development, materials production, and academic support for students and staff.

ODL Challenges to Quality Assurance

The additional challenges and emerging issues faced in providing quality assurance mechanisms in distance learning are discussed in the USA-based report The Challenges of Quality Assurance in a Distance Learning Environment. Some of these challenges and issues are:

• The boundary problem: Current structures for accountability are tied to political and geographic boundaries, but distance learning is increasingly transcending those boundaries. The task for governmental agencies and accrediting bodies is to coordinate development of standards with a wide array of players.

• The standards problem: Traditional programmes are often judged on the basis of resources presumed to indicate quality. For example, the number of full-time faculty with appropriate degrees may be a legitimate quality indicator for conventional programmes, but it could have no meaning to new education structures of distance learning. Therefore, there is a need to develop standards of good practice which are less tied to physical assets and intellectual resources on-site.

• The regulation problem: It is very difficult to regulate the Internet, which is the latest ‘medium of choice’ in distance learning. Instead, better consumer information may be the best approach to combating fraud.

• Evaluating consortia and non-educational providers of services:
New collaborative arrangements including the outsourcing of some functions
to vendors are increasing the complexity of accreditation. The pragmatic
approach taken by accrediting bodies is to hold the degree-granting
institute accountable for the vendors’ actions rather than accrediting the
vendors.

• Evaluating course and modules: Educational experiences today are more
likely to be a series of courses rather than a ‘holistic’ college experience,
and accountability systems will have to adjust as well. To gain meaningful
customer feedback, quality assurance might have to be done at the course
level at least.

References
Quality assurance in ODL

:: Accreditation and assuring quality in distance learning (2002)
This report identifies the primary challenges that distance learning poses for accreditation and describes the response of the American accrediting community to assure quality in distance learning. Regional and national accrediting organizations are addressing three major challenges of accreditation in distance learning: alternative design of instruction, alternative providers of higher education, and expanded focus on training.

:: Constructing quality assurance for distance education: Reflecting on what we have learned and the potential impact on access
This paper aims to reflect on the implications of new providers and access issues in relation to methods and forms of quality assurance and to discover how quality assurance continues to be used in distance higher education. It also looks at how quality impacts on access issues in areas such as student choice and equity.

:: Planning and evaluating systems of open and distance learning (1998)
Appendix B contains a matrix of quality indicators of distance education, including standards and benchmarks.

:: The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education:
Guidelines on the quality assurance of distance learning
The guidelines are arranged under six headings, each dealing with an aspect where quality assurance is likely to require attention in a particular way when study is by distance learning. Precepts and exemplifying questions included for each aspect.

:: Quality assurance and accreditation for virtual education (2001)
This paper illustrates some ways in which virtual education raises issues of quality. It also discusses quality assurance (QA) needs of different groups of stakeholders; examines different models of QA and compares strategies adopted in higher education and in commercial sectors; describes a number of QA initiatives in different parts of the world; and draws practical lessons learned in the course of delivering virtual education programmes.

:: Quality assurance implications of new forms of higher education.
Part 1: A typology (2001)
Published by the European Network for Quality Assurance (ENQA) in Higher Education, the report is primarily an identification and typology of the new forms of higher education, such as distance learning and cross-border education, and their implications to current approaches to internal and external quality assurance.

:: Quality standards in e-learning: A matrix of analysis (2003)
This article summarizes currently published quality standards of postsecondary and higher education in the US to assist in the formulation of e-learning quality standards. The nine-cell matrix organizes these standards into these domains: executive commitment, technological infrastructure, student services, design and development, instruction and instructor services, program delivery, financial health, legal and regulatory requirements, and programme evaluation.

:: Twelve important questions about external quality review (2003)
In an effort to assist individuals who wish to pursue higher education in the United States, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) prepared a series of questions that students and others may find useful to ask about the external quality review of a course, institution or program in which they might enroll.

Country and institutional cases

Australia

:: Policy and procedures for quality assurance in off campus learning and open learning programs
This procedure manual contains the comprehensive guide for quality assurance of off-campus and ODL programmes of Monash University.

:: Repositioning quality assurance and accreditation in Australian
higher education (2000)
This resource is a comprehensive overview of QA and accreditation in Australia with considerations to emerging trends in higher education

China, Hong Kong SAR

:: Quality assurance in distance learning
Mechanisms for quality assurance in the Open University of Hong Kong are explained here.

:: Quality assurance in lifelong learning

[Contributed by Enoch CM Young, Advisory Board Member]

This paper shares the experience of Hong Kong University SPACE in its quality assurance review, including its strengths and proposed enhancement to the current QA provisions.

:: Toward an effective quality assurance of web-based learning: the perspective of distance learning students
This research paper evaluates an effective model of quality assurance for Web-based learning in Hong Kong in terms of the perspective of students.

Malaysia

:: Open and distance learning in Malaysia:
III. Quality assurance in the distance learning program of USM
This case of quality assurance in Unisversiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is illustrated.

Philippines

:: Country report: Conditions and practices of e-learning in the Philippines
Slides 6 & 7 specifically describe the quality assurance framework for the delivery of open learning and distance education

Thailand

:: Current context of accreditation and quality assurance:
Challenges in the new environment
This set of slides outline the assurance of quality in Thailand and in Rajamala Institute of Technology in the context of the new challenges to higher education.

:: Mutual recognition of qualifications: the context of Thailand
A section of this paper describes the quality assurance framework in Thailand.