Establishing Quality Assurance Systems for E-Learning

Integration of technology in all forms of education has narrowed down the gap between the on- and off-campus students and has resulted in the use of the more broad-based term ´distributed learning´. E-learning is seen as a subset of distributed learning, focusing on students who may be separated in time and space from their peers and the instructor. The new forms and meanings it is acquiring, its convergence with traditional learning and its global impact pose several challenges. It has caused a serious concern to the governments and the quality assurance agencies all over the world about the safety of the national systems, legitimacy of the providers, protecting the public from fake providers, quality of the offerings etc. Many quality assurance agencies have responded to this need and there is considerable dialogue about ensuring quality in e-learning. This paper highlights the quality assurance aspects of e-learning that deviate markedly from that of the traditional education, and gives some specific suggestions as to how to implement the quality assurance system for e-learning.