A quality framework for Open and Distance Higher Education

Abstract

In view of the absence of a regulatory and normative framework in Portugal, in the context of Open and Distance Education (ODE) in Higher Education (HE), and in view of the emphasis that international guidelines have placed on this domain, it was considered important to create a quality reference framework that supports the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and all those involved in the creation and monitoring of open and distance courses in HE. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of creating a quality reference for ODE, carried out within the scope of the PhD in Education at the Open University of Portugal. Here are described the process of identifying and analysing 40 international quality models in the area of ​​ODE, which led to the preliminary version of the framework; and the Delphi study that was carried out with a panel of ODE specialists, in order to validate the preliminary version. The results of the first Round of the Delphi Study are presented and some considerations for the next steps of the research are outlined.