The document discusses quality in distance education and e-learning. It provides an overview of different quality models and accreditation systems in Europe. Specifically, it mentions the Bologna Process, standards from ENQUA and ESG, and certification models like UNIQUE. It also describes Norway's quality guidelines developed by NADE. The document advocates for a focus on quality culture and dialogue between practitioners and accreditation bodies. It argues that distance education should be fully integrated and quality ensured also in open and social learning environments.

1. A Quality Dialogue
Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
Ingeborg Bø, Norway
EDEN Senior Fellow, European Distance and E-learning
Network,
EFQUEL, European Foundation for Quality in E-learning
Inspection
Inspiration
From
To
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2. Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
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4. My golden learning perspectives after 40
years in distance education:
- always keep the student´s needs in
mind
- use technology to the benefit of
learning and make it accessible
- ensure high quality through a quality
culture
Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
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5. ” I could never have accomplished my Master’s
degree without the possiblity to study via e-
learning,” says Mona Berg Jenssen, mother of
three children, rector of a high school. 5Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10

6. Have fun
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7. I will speak about:
Quality through dialogue
The context within which we are operating
Models for accreditation and certification
A case study from Norway
Thoughts at the end
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8. My reference points when speaking about quality dialogue
 NADE - Norwegian Association for Distance and flexible
Education www.nade-nff.no
 EDEN – European Distance and E-learning Network
http://www.eden-online.org.
24-27 Oct. Budapest: Research workshop:
”User Generated Content Assessment in Learning”
 ICDE – International Council for Open and Distance
Education www.icde.org
World Conference Bali, 2 – 5 Oct. 2011
 EFQUEL – European Foundation for Quality in E-learning
http://www.qualityfoundation.org
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9. Euroean Foundation for Quality in
E-Learning EFQUEL
http://www.qualityfoundation.org/
 A membership organisation,
80 members
 EFQUEL enhances the quality of
eLearning in Europe by
 providing services for members
 and support for all stakeholders
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10. EFQUEL
 Information and Recommendations
 Dialogue
 Networking
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11. OECD-CERI
Quality assurance in Tertiary Education:
Current Practises in OECD Countries.
Viktoria Kis August 2005
Quality assurance procedures can serve
two major purposes:
improvement and accountability.
There is an uneasy balance between both
purposes, which frequently raises the
question of incompatibility
(Vroeijenstijn, 1995a).
Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
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12. A different approach to quality
Maria Jose Lemaitre. President in RIACES, Iberoamerican Network for Quality Assessment
and Assurance in Higher Education,
Innovation
Doing the same but better Innovate and improve
Current situation
Change: new issues, new
approaches
Improvement
Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
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13. The context
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14. Bologna process 10 action lines
Reform process with European Higher
Education
1. Comparable degrees
2. Two cycles:
Bachelor, Master
3. System of credits
4. Mobility
5. Quality assurance
6. European dimension
7. Lifelong learning
8. Institutions and
students
9. Attractiveness of
European higher
educaion area (EHEA)
10. Doctoral studies +
research areas
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15. Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir,
07.10.10
European University Association (EUA)
Recommendations on
Quality - 2009
1. Context sensitive
2. Developmental
approach
3. Inclusive
4. Engaging all key actors
5. Partnership
HEI – Agencies
6. Allow risk taking and
failure
7. Sharing experiences in
QA
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16. The Social web
Facebook, twitter, linkin, slideshare, open educational resources, open
educational practises, user generated content etc. etc.
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17. The OPAL Vision
Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
Focus on the practises of OER rather than the
resources. Better understanding will lead to
improvements in the quality of OER and more
innovation.
Open Educational Resource Practise (OEP)
constitute the range of practises around the
creation, use and management of OER with
the intent to improve quality and innovative
education.
Unesco, ICDE, EFQUEL, OU UK, Aalto Univeristy, Universidade Católica
Portugese, University Duisburg-Essen
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18. EFQUEL Innovation Forum
2010
OPENING EDUCATION:
INNOVATIVE, INCLUSIVE, EXCELLENT
Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
”What are the
quality
implications in
an increasingly
open context?”!
Grainne Conole, OU UK!
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19. Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
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20. EFQUEL Innovation Forum 2010
Recommendations
”HOW CAN QUALITY APPROACHES EVOLVE AND ENHANCE
INCLUSION, INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE"
Leadership
Policy support
Confidence
culture
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21. EUROPEAN DISTANCE AND E-LEARNING NETWORK
A NETWORK AND MEETING PLACE FOR
THE OPEN, DISTANCE AND E-LEARNING COMMUNITY IN EUROPE
Models
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22. Different kinds of certification and
accreditation of e-learning
• Public accreditation. Regulatory
framework (ENQUA)
• Certification of e-learning as part of
a broader system
(UNIQUE, EFMD-CEL)
• Certification within a system of
agreed association standards
(BILD, E-xcellence, NADE)
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23. European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher
Education (ENQUA)
Report to the Bologna Ministerial Anniversary Conference of March 2010
Major outcomes of the Quality Assurance
action line of the Bologna Process:
• Standards and guidelines for quality assurance in
the European Higher Education Area (ESG) (2005)
• The European Quality Assurance Forum (2006)
• The European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR)
(2008)
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24. Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance
in the European Higher Education Area (ESG)
Developed by
ENQUA in cooperation with the other members of
the“E4 Group” (ENQA, EUA, EURASHE and ESU).
ENQUA – European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher
Education
EUA - European University Association
EURASHE – European Association of Institutions in Higher
Education
ESU – European Students´ Union
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25. Quality assurance can be undertaken by
external agencies for a number of purposes,
including:
 Safeguarding of national academic standards for
higher education
 Accreditation of programmes and/or institutions
 User protection
 Public provision of independently-verified
information about programmes or institutions
 Improvement and enhancement of quality
Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
ENQUA
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26. Some general principles of good practice in
external quality assurance processes:
 Institutional autonomy should be respected
 The interests of students and other stakeholders
such as labour market representatives should
be at the forefront of the external quality
assurance processes
 Use should be made, wherever possible, of the
results of insitutions´ own internal quality
assurance activities
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ENQUA
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27. ”E-learning quality.
Aspects and criteria for evaluation of e-learning in higher
education”
Report 2008:11 R by Swedish National Agency for Higher Education
http://www.hsv.se
Quality aspects for e-learning need
to be integrated into existing quality
assurance systems
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28. The UNIQUe Methodology
http://www.qualityfoundation.org/unique-certification/
EFQUEL, MENON, EFMD, EUROPACE
What: UNIQUe is a quality improvement
process that provides an institutional
certification
Aim: To raise the standard of technology-
enhanced learning in Europe
Target: European HE institutions
Process result: Certification and continuous
quality improvement
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29. UNIQUe Process
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30. The UNIQUe Quality Criteria
Learning resources • Resources for learning
• Students
• Faculty
• Technological equipment
Learning processes • Quality of the offer (services)
• IPR management
• Personal development/HR
development
Learning context/institution • Commitment to innovation
• Institutional standing
• Openness
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31. EUROPEAN DISTANCE AND E-LEARNING NETWORK
A NETWORK AND MEETING PLACE FOR
THE OPEN, DISTANCE AND E-LEARNING COMMUNITY IN EUROPE
31Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10

32. Norwegian Association for Distance and Flexible Education
NADE, a member organisation, founded in 1968
Formulated “Code of good practice for distance
education”
Law regulating the activities from 1948 with an external
agency for quality control
New law 1993 introducing internal quality assurance
Quality guidelines developed in 1993 (Ljoså, Rekkedal
et.al), revised several times, latest 2010
NADE´s standing committee on quality since 1993
NOKUT: National agency for quality assurance
regulates tertiary education according to ENQUA´s
Guidelines (ESG)
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33. Norwegian Association for Distance and Flexible Education
Quality guidelines
 Regulated by law
 Institutions accredited by the Ministry of
Education
 Requires that the institutions have a
system for quality assurance
 The responsibility for quality guidelines
lies with NADE
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34. NADE´s Quality guidelines 2010
A new structure with more focus on quality culture:
1. Quality management and quality work
2. Organisational issues
3. Course development
4. Information and counselling
5. Study-process (enrolment, administration and
information, tutors´ contract, tutoring, evaluation
and documentation)
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35. Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
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36. Dialogue in Social Media
a conference about pod-casts in
Oslo (Sept. 28-29 2010):
Marianne Talbot´s lecture ”A romp through the history of
philosophy” (University of Oxford):
500 000 downloads since Oct. 2008
Reflections by Morten Flate Paulsen (NKI, Norway) after the conference:
 Future students will not hand in papers but learning objects in various
Web 2.0 services
 The students will be more innovative than the podcast-lecturers
 Their submissions will be a challenge to the professors (e.g. Copyright
issues)
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37. Why not focus more on dialogue using pod-cast?
Why not focus more on quality?
 Content quality
 Instructional design and development teams
 Technical quality
 Is Berkely (university lecturers´ pod-cast) quality
good enough for e-learning?
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38. Challenges for higher education
Trends 2010 (European University Association)
- Developing strategies for lifelong learning
- Widening participation and access to
higher education
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39. Thoughts at the end
 Let us move from inspection to inspiration
 Encourage dialogue between accreditation bodies
and distance education practitioners
 Distance education must be accepted as an integral
part of the ordinary educational system
 Put more focus on quality in the social web
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40. Ingeborg Bø, Eskisehir, 07.10.10
Thank you!
ingebob@online.no
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