Impact of Globalisation on Accreditation and Quality Management of Open and Distance Learning Institutions

The term globalisation has become very common now and it is a very generic term and can be defined in a number of ways depending upon the circumstance. Globalisation pertaining to higher education has been best defined by Knight and de Wit (1997). Their definition reveals that globalisation is a multi- faceted process and has several impacts. As a result of globalisation new modes of higher education are emerging and mode like Open and Distance Learning (ODL) are becoming more popular. ODL is adopting new forms of delivery to keep the momentum with the changing pace of time and demand. But, the new forms it is adopting and acquiring has posed several challenges and accreditation being the primary. Globalisation has also caused a serious concern for quality of ODL institutions. To cope with these challenges, ODL institutions are developing mechanisms and adopting strategies for continuous quality improvement. Likewise, over the past few years accreditation has become a priority of ODL institutions. The concept of accreditation and quality of ODL are becoming more popular then itself. This paper is an effort to highlight the aspects of globalisation of higher education, outline the impact of globalisation on ODL, analyse aspects of accreditation and quality management of ODL institutions in the current scenario and discuss specific issues and challenges regarding accreditation of ODL institutions.