Deliverable 3.1 : General information on Quality process

          with : General Quality Process Charter (GQPC)

Full text of the Deliverable (0.5 MB PDF file)
- english version -- french version -

- General Quality Process Charter (0.3 MB PDF file)
- available in english, french, german, italian, polish, spanish -

Abstract

This deliverable is intended as a report on general information on quality processes. As the literature covering the fields of quality in e-learning is very abundant, and as there is no general agreement on the definitions and the concepts used, this document aims at summarizing the state-of-the-art in HE ODL quality management.

This document is eventually targeted at the attendants of the e-Quality training sessions, as an introduction to the concepts of quality in general and quality in e-learning in particular. For this reasons this document focuses on very practical methods and tools instead of general considerations on quality. It is not meant to be a research work but mainly a review of the state-of-the-art in the quality field.

The first parts of this document provide general introductions to ODL and quality, stressing on the importance of rationalizing the development and use of quality processes. Some quality norms and models are detailed and discussed:

• the ISO 9001:2000 standard [1], specifically focusing on the customer, the involvement of employees, and continual improvement -- this standard aims at increasing the customer's satisfaction;
• the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) model [2], which stresses mainly about continuous improvement, people involvement, customer focus, and management by processes -- it proposes a multi-criteria Excellence Model;
• the Council of the European Union guidelines [3], following the European Ministers of Education conferences, and putting in motion the Bologna process;
• the ENQA (European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, created by the EU council of ministers) model [4], which describes the steps to follow for a higher education institution to be evaluated and possible accredited.

A large part of the document is then devoted to a review of the technical standards existing in the e-learning field. Interoperability and sustainability being at stake, the reader will be introduced to the concepts of:

• learning objects
• learning object metadata (LOM)
• learning objects repositories
• learning units

Guidelines for e-learning developers are given, helping them in developing their own interoperable learning/teaching material or in making their existing material interoperable, and thus sustainable. The existence of emerging technical standards about quality in ODL is discussed as well.

References