Quality assurance for distance learning: a case study at Brunel University

Brunel University currently has four distance learning MSc courses, with over 500 students registered, and one undergraduate distance learning course. Some have been running for over five years, and well-established practices have been developed and provide a basis of support for the university. Quality assurance in the university has always been considered in three, equally important, ways: the curriculum and its assessment; the handling of coursework and assignments; and the liaison with students. The lesson we have learned is that a distance learning programme must be based on an existing full-time MSc programme, which is the gold standard for curriculum and its assessment, and where possible, common examinations and assessment be used. This can be further assured by scrutinisation by the associated research council. This is going to become ever more important with the increasing scrutiny by overseas governments on the academic quality of distance learning courses, which seek assurance on the comparability and quality of degrees. Quality assurance for the handling of coursework and assignments must be secure and demands a high overhead of paperwork. Detailed feedback to students on their assignments is essential, but this can, at the same time, form a quality assurance check for later progression decisions. We also copy and retain approximately 10% of the assignments for the same purpose. Rapid turnaround is essential if feedback is to be timely and therefore useful, and quality checks on processing time should be standard. Quality assurance for the procedures for liaison with distance learning students are somewhat harder to measure quantitatively. The mark of good distance learning must be its tutorial support. This demands good communications. Our own course, entitled Data Communications Systems, benefits from the high proportion of use of electronic communications, namely email, which allows fast turnIntroduction Higher education in the UK has experienced a number of significant changes in the last few years that have altered the traditional model entirely. The recent government drive to increase the numbers in higher education has awakened the interest of far more potential students than was anticipated. However, it is not only that the bricks and mortar campus can no longer cope with the numbers, but that the new age student is often mature and has commitments that prevent attending full time. To meet this need, new modes have been developed, and we have seen an explosion of part-time and distance learning courses being offered. However, riding on the back of this success, we are seeing an increasing number of courses of low standard being offered, and it is right that we, the providers, should look to both the quality of our courses and its assurance if we are to survive the criticism that is being levelled in a non-targeted manner. However, quality assurance is not specific to distance learning, and we are all subject to the scrutiny of the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) in each area of teaching. Formal audit of departments is standard practice, and there is now monitoring and audit of overseas collaborative provision (HEQC, 1996). It is right, therefore, that we concern ourselves in the third area of delivery. The codes of practice developed for these assessments are valuable, and form a fruitful basis on which to also assess the quality of distance learning courses. However, there are inevitable differences between courses where the student is present and those where all communication takes place at a distance. The most significant difference is time. This single factor overrides all other considerations, and can be seen as being responsible for all of the procedures developed specifically for distance learning. Quality assurance It is important that quality assurance of all aspects of a distance learning course is considered. We have identified three, equally important, areas: • Curriculum and its assessment • Handling of coursework and assignments • Liaison with the students It is possible to have variants of distance learning, such as the use of agents overseas for marketing and for providing tutorial support. Should this be the case, these would need to be considered separately. In this paper we concentrate on the three named areas and where possible, report on our best practice or practice of choice, indicating where we would prefer to see improvements to be closer to the ideal. 6 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 35 No 1 2004 © British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, 2004. around of questions, yet is not intrusive. However, it is deemed essential that hard copy of all such correspondence is kept. Migration to other Internet support services, such as the World Wide Web, videoconferencing and groupware, is inevitable. Curriculum and its assessment