committee on culture and education quality assurance … survey... · committee on culture and...

Committee on Culture andEducation

“Quality assurance and accreditationof Online and Distance Higher

Education”.24 January 2017

George UbachsEADTU

SURVEY: QUALITY ASSURANCE ANDACCREDITATION FOR BLENDED ANDONLINE EDUCATION

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Lead authors: Jeff Haywood, PietHenderikx, Martin Weller, Keith

Williams, Louise Connelly

NATIONAL FRAMEWORKS ANDREGULATIONS

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24 January 2017 George Ubachs, EADTU 5

• National governments should review theirlegislative and regulatory frameworks andpractices for quality assurance andaccreditation in higher education (includingrecognition of prior learning) to ensure thatthey encourage, and do not impede, theprovision of more flexible educational formats,including degrees and other ECTS-bearingcourses that are fully online.


Recommendation 1

SUPPORTIVE ACTIONS FOREXTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE

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• National QA agencies should develop theirown in-house expertise and establishprocesses that are sufficiently flexible toinclude recognising and supporting newmodes of teaching and learning. They shouldevaluate institutions on their active support ofinnovation (or importantly, the lack of it), andits impact on the quality of teaching andlearning.


Recommendation 2

• ENQA and other relevant European networksshould support the sharing of good practice bynational QA agencies in the development ofcriteria on the recognition of new modes ofteaching and learning.


Recommendation 3

• Building on the strong existing base of digitaleducation, European and national metricsshould be established to record the typologiesand extent of online, blended, and openeducation at institutional and national levels.This would enable institutions to comparethemselves with others and to monitor theirown progress.


Recommendation 4

STUDENT NEEDS AND EXTERNALQUALITY ASSURANCE

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• ENQA and other relevant European networks shouldsupport measures taken by institutions related to theneeds of non-traditional target groups and part-timestudents and to widening access strategies, includingwell-structured, but flexible education leading to studyprogress and success. This will also include digitalpedagogies in blended and online course design,collaborative learning in small groups, formative andsummative e-assessment. They should assure thatinstitutional strategies and the continuous professionaldevelopment of teaching staff involve innovationthrough digital teaching and learning.


Recommendation 5

INSTITUTIONAL QUALITYASSURANCE

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• Institutional leaders should develop innovationstrategies using the potential of new modes ofteaching and learning for he quality enhancementof higher education and eventually for extendingtheir provisions to non-traditional and part-timestudents by flexible modes of delivery. In thesestrategies, the continuous professionaldevelopment of staff should embrace digitaleducation and deal as well with off campusstudents, when they are there.


Recommendation 6

• Staff should be supported by technical andpedagogical experts. Institutions shouldpromote sharing expertise by staff incommunities of practice or course teams.Institutional evaluation and research shouldbe part of the quality assurance process.Internal quality assurance for digital modes ofteaching and learning should be developed inpartnership with the external qualityassurance agencies.


Recommendation 7

ACCREDITATION

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• Distance education should be accredited according thesame rules as face to face programmes. If accreditationis based on quality reviews or if quality reviews arerequested for programmes accredited by law, reviewsshould take in account specific criteria, indicators,guidelines or frameworks.

• If short learning programmes need an accreditation,this should preferably be based on an ex post qualityreview. Institutional quality assurance should beapplicable beforehand, as is also the case for MOOCs.


Recommendation 8

CRITERIA FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE:E-XCELLENCE

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EMPOWERING UNIVERSITIES

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George Ubachs

[email protected]


Thank you!

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