Quality Assessment and Assurance in Distance Education

Abstract

The article reveals the peculiarities of the formation of quality assessment and quality assurance standards in the distance education. The study aims to investigate the most common factors that affect the applying of QA in higher distance education. The key concepts of the quality assessment practices in education have been analyzed.

Key words: higher education, distance education, quality assessment, quality assurance, the USA, Ukraine

Introduction

Education in general continues to be a crucial means to national development, and a well-educated and trained population is found to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of any country [4]. In addition, open and distance learning methods and programs are known to make valuable contributions to the socio-economic development of countries that offer such programs. Many countries have therefore recognized that distance learning is a powerful tool for achieving the country’s educational and training needs and a potent instrument in creating a learning society capable of bringing about scientific, technological, social, and economic development.

The term quality assurance in distance education is generally understood to refer to policies, actions, systematic standards, and procedures designed to enhance quality and achieve pre-determined quality criteria [11]. Implementing quality assurance (QA) programs in distance education is challenging, partly because quality in this domain is difficult to define or standardize.

Statement of the problem

While introducing and conducting distance education in the Ukrainian Higher Education the scholars should conduct an extensive search of the well-known distance education standards for institutions of higher education in the United States and other countries. So the aim of this paper is to research what has been achieved in the field of quality assessment and assurance in distance education worldwide [10].

Results

QA relies on best practices, standards, performance indicators, and feedback to support quality evaluation and improvement. Generally, QA models in industry, such as ISO 9001 and the Baldrige National Quality Award, offer additional perspectives. ISO 9001 requires that quality must be integrated into the systems and procedures of the organization in its attempt to make continuous improvement [8], while the Baldrige model, as applied to education, helps educational institutions to gain competitive advantage through the establishment of criteria for excellence and recognition for performance [8].

The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) provides a QA model specifically for distance learning that provides standards and performance indicators for key performance areas [12]. For the COL, learner support must effectively provide tuition (activities that promote intellectual support such as explaining a concept or instruction to the learners, exploring issues with the learners, and giving feedback to the learners) and counselling (personal and emotional support such as providing learners with information and advice, taking action to help learners, and advocating on their behalf). A related QA framework from the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) sets out important guidelines for ten strategic issues in the distance education system. In this framework, learners are supported by a range of opportunities for real two-way communication through the use of various forms of technology for tutoring at a distance: contact tutoring, assignment tutoring, mentoring, counselling, and peer support structures.

Distance education theories also offer guidelines for achieving quality, as do successful institutional examples and QA practices in other domains. Theories proposed by scholars can guide and support good practice [6]. For example, Holmberg’s theories of interaction and communication [1,2] articulate the importance of teacher-learner dialogue; Moore and Kearsley [5] stress that, despite the increasing importance of online delivery and services, face-to-face (F2F) interaction is still sometimes most effective for some services.

The need for learner support in distance teaching comes from the recognition that learning processes take place with a geographical separation of teaching providers (tutors, instructors, and learning material developers) and students. This learning mode requires distance students to work alone for most parts of the learning process. Therefore, distance learners have unique needs, and many practitioners in the field believe that providing distance learners with appropriate support services will increase the quality of their learning [3, 9]. Their unique needs include the following: 1) information to help learners relate to the institution and understand its systems, 2) contact with tutors to help maintain motivation and overcome learning problems, 3) a strong institutional identity to feel that they are part of a body of learners rather than studying in isolation, and 4) advice on how to study in distance education delivery mode [12].

An evaluation of the body of distance education standards is a timely exercise because of the rapid growth and anticipated future expansion of online learning. Online course offerings in higher education have grown at a faster rate than overall enrollment in higher education. A study of the growth of online education over the past decade revealed that the proportion of students taking at least one online course is at an all-time high of 32%. If the popularity of online education continues as anticipated, by 2018, the number of full-time online students will outnumber the number of students enrolled exclusively in traditional seated classes.

The proliferation of online education poses unique challenges to administrators and faculty members seeking to offer quality online instruction. Each of the 17 regional and national institutional accreditation bodies in the USA takes into account standards, guidelines, and policies when scrutinizing an institution’s distance education programs or courses. For instance, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ (SACS) guidelines impose a duty upon institutions to ensure that distance education programs are properly maintained, supported, staffed, and equipped to promote the growth and development of students.

Administrators are expected to create distance education policies to achieve these ends, and to address copyright ownership, compensation, and technology issues. SACS (2011) guidelines also impose a duty upon faculty to teach online courses with the same rigor as seated courses. This charge is not without its challenges as the current generation of administrators and faculty were largely educated in the traditional, bricks and mortar format. Also, the majority of instructors who venture into online education receive little or no training prior to developing and teaching their courses. Hence, administrators and faculty both rely upon the body of online standards when creating institution-specific guidelines and teaching online courses.

It is not easy to define quality assurance in relation to education, however, without the rapid spread of real quality education, there can hardly be any scope for sustainable development. The various quality indicators is core to any higher education course especially those which are aimed at developing professionals in various areas as well as leaders and decision makers in the society. These indicators are also critical to any mode of open and distance education and could be generated through a variety of media and methods. It is important to note that quality assurance can only work when everyone is fully of aware and understands what is involved, and that it takes effort and commitment to make ‘quality’ happen and can only happen when all stakeholders from students and frontline staff, to university leadership and government, has input into the system. Quality assurance implementation also requires shared responsibility of all staff and management.

Finally, it should be remarked that quality assurance is essential for improving institutional efficiency and effectiveness, and also increasing public accountability. To meet the challenges of implementing quality assurance systems, institutions must therefore be ready and willing to adapt, change, and innovate. Quality assurance activities must be clear and transparent and, more importantly, they must be achievable and able to meet customer expectations. When quality assurance systems and procedures are clear and activities well defined, it is only then, that open and distance learning institutions will be able to meet high quality standards.

Conclusion

Numerous standards, criteria, guidelines, and benchmarks have been developed by accrediting bodies, institutes, consortiums, and trade associations at the national, regional and state levels for distance learning in higher education. Although developed for the common purpose of ensuring quality, significant variations exist in their scope, depth, emphasis, and review components. For instance, some focus primarily on learner perspectives while others emphasize instructor and course content issues. Given the substantial volume of disparate resources, those seeking to use them as guidance have a difficult task of locating the standards that best fit their respective needs. While integrating the innovations in modern Ukrainian higher education it is important to consider the experience gained abroad. The comparative analysis of the contents, the forms and methods of the implemented innovations in Quality Assessment and Assurance in Distance Education belongs to the promising directions of the further research.