Quality Assurance in Open and Distance Learning

Abstract

Assuring the quality of education provision is a fundamental aspect of gaining and maintaining credibility for programmes, institutions and national systems of higher education worldwide. Despite a long and generally successful track record, open and distance learning (ODL) is still required to prove that the quality of student learning is at least equivalent to face-to-face teaching. A comprehensive quality assurance (QA) system can help accomplish this. QA is designed to prove and improve the quality of an institution’s methods, and educational products and outcomes. In ODL this includes developing and producing learning materials, academic programmes, services and support, as well as standards of student learning.