Quality assurance and accreditation in distance education and e-learning: models, policies and research

Quality assurance (QA) in open and distance learning (ODL) can be a contentious issue. There is little research-based literature to guide policy-makers, managers and practitioners in applying QA in education and training to ensure the right balance is found between accountability and autonomy, as well as assuring quality for the time and costs involved. This book explains what is involved in QA and accreditation in education. It describes and analyses applications of these practices in open, distance, dual-mode and conventional universities throughout Europe, North America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific, looking at open schooling, e-learning in conventional schools, non-formal adult and community education, and corporate and small-to-medium enterprises. The contents are: Quality assurance and accreditation in higher education / Denise Chalmers and Shannon Johnston; Quality assurance and accreditation in open and distance learning / Colin Latchem and Insung Jung; International and regional quality assurance and accreditation / Colin Latchem and Anuwar Ali; Quality assurance in Asian open and distance learning / Insung Jung; Quality assurance for distance education in sub-Saharan Africa / Sarah Hoosen and Neil Butcher; Quality assurance and accreditation in the United States and Canada / Nancy K. Parker; Quality assurance and accreditation for distance education in the United Kingdom / Denise Kirkpatrick; Quality assurance policies and guidelines in European distance and e-learning / Ulf-Daniel Ehlers; Quality assurance policies and guidelines for distance education in Australia and New Zealand / Yoni Ryan and Mark Brown; Quality assurance in open universities / Asha Kanwar and Kate Clarke; Quality assurance in a mega-university: Universitas Terbuka / Tian Belawati, Aminudin Zuhairi and I. G. A. K. Wardani; Quality assurance in a consortium: Open Universities Australia, Teresa De Fazio, John Ketonen and Michael Crock; Quality assurance in regional dual-mode universities: the University of the South Pacific and the University of the West Indies / Rajesh Chandra, Dianne Thurab-Nkhosi and Stewart Marshall; Conducting an external institutional quality review: the Palestinian Al-Quds Open University / Kathleen Matheos; Lowering the cost and increasing the effectiveness of quality assurance: COL RIM / Geoff Plimmer, Alison Schmidt, Willie Clarke-Okah, Caroline Donovan and Winsome Russell; Quality assurance in open schooling: National Institute of Open Schooling, India and Open Junior Secondary School, Indonesia / Sanjaya Mishra, Sitanshu S. Jena and Arief S. Sadiman; Assuring quality in school digital ecosystems / Michael Gaffney; So few lessons learned?: quality assurance in the global telecentre movement / Richard Fuchs; Quality assurance in e-learning for European small-to-medium enterprises / Torstein Rekkedal; Quality assurance for e-learning in the South Korean corporate sector / Cheolil Lim; Competencies and quality assurance in distance and e-learning / Insung Jung and Colin Latchem; Learners' perceptions and opinions of quality assurance / Insung Jung; Concluding remarks: quality matters / Insung Jung and Colin Latchem. Show less