Quality Assurance in Open, Distance and Online Education in Mauritius

Abstract

Quality assurance in the education sector is the systematic review of educational programmes to ensure that acceptable standards of education, scholarship and infrastructure are being maintained. The current vision and strategic direction of many organisations has raised the importance of using technology to create flexibility in the teaching process. Quality assurance in open, distance and online education, aims at providing information to protect students from inadequate learning resources and low-quality provisions. It also aims to provide decision-makers at the governmental and institutional level with information and skills necessary to better navigate in the new higher education space. In order to ensure that the quality of this new approach to learning and teaching at tertiary level maintains the aspiration of excellence Universities need to be aware of and reflect on what it does and where changes are called for there need to be opportunities to adapt and revise. Quality is
emerging as a key factor in assuring the success of online learning initiatives. Quality assurance is a difficult concept to discuss because everyone’s picture of quality varies and this is particularly true of online learning. This paper will in it own way discuss the concept of quality assurance as applied to open, distance and online education.

Keywords: distance education, quality assurance, online learning