NVAO s Accreditation of online Education in a nutshell Lucien Bollaert Board of executives NVAO Visit Jordanian Universities 8 September 2015 Brussels
contents Introduction to NVAO Introduction to Dutch and Flemish systems of external QA and accreditation Growing importance of online education QA of online education and MOOCs Approach on programme level Approach on institutional level Conclusions : NVAO approach 2
intro to NVAO Governance Bi-national organisation Safeguards for independence procedures, methodologies, decision-making Publicly funded Pre-funded by the Netherlands & Flanders (60/40) HEIs pay for procedures Accountable Committee of ministers Respective parliaments Organisation Executive Board < Board -- Advisory board 3
intro to NVAO Overall approach Initial accreditation Report Institution Institutional audit Focus on policy & practice re. internal QA system teaching and learning Report Programme Accreditation Concentrate on content (& focus on performance) learning outcomes Report Official register Postponed in Flanders for existing programmes until 2018/2020 Publication 4
intro to NVAO Purpose of NVAO s system (1/2) & Accountability Public demonstration of quality Public reports Watchdog with teeth Obligatory Grants status for fixed periods Linked to recognition & funding Increase transparency Public register of quality assured, accredited higher education Enhancement Stimulate quality culture Focus on functioning of (internal) QA system with respect to teaching & learning institutional audit Commit professionals / academic ownership Focus on content; and not procedures; not quantitative elements programme assessment 5
intro to NVAO Purpose of NVAO s system (2/2) & Accountability Enhancement To balance accountability & enhancement Respect institutional autonomy Generic, descriptive standards Start from intentions formulated by HEI/programme (aims/learning outcomes) Reward earned trust Limited programme assessment No trust (yet)? Extensive programme assessment In Flanders no programme assessment after successful institutional audit from 2020 Stimulate HE to aim above threshold Accredit as good or excellent, not in Flanders anymore Distinctive (quality) features, e.g. internationalisation, sustainability, entrepeneurship, online education? 6
importance of online education More than MOOCs: Online MOOC 1995: first online course 2008: first MOOC 2015: 4000 MOOCs >>4000 non-mooc online courses 7 NVAO - Titel van de presentatie - 2010
importance of online education MOOCs are from the US 8
importance of online education NVAO - Titel van de presentatie - 2010 9
QA of online education & MOOCs 29% of European universities had in place IQA related to e- learning; 35% were discussing the matter (Gaebel, M., Kupriyanova, M., Morais, R., and Colucci, E., 2014, E-learning in European Higher Education Institutions: Results of a Mapping Survey conducted in October-December 2013, Brussel, EUA) Arrival of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) gave a Global boom to online (blended) education Still a technological tool, no paradigm shift to democratize and enhance (higher) education globally 10
QA of online education & MOOCs European Association of Distance Teaching Universities http://www.eadtu.eu A Guide to Quality in Post-Traditional Online Higher Education Special issue on Quality in MOOCs INNOQUAL - International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning Volume 2, No 3, 2014 and Special Issue on Quality in Massive Open Online Courses Quality Assessment for E-learning a Benchmarking Approach (2nd edition) http://e-xcellencelabel.eadtu.eu 11
QA of online education & MOOCs International Council for Open and Distance Education http://www.icde.org Innovation Quality models in online and open education around the globe: State of the art and recommendations Authors: Ebba Ossiannilsson, Keith Williams, Anthony F. Camilleri and Mark Brown - International Journal for coordinated by EADTU May 2015 12
QA of online education & MOOCs However, the overarching paradox is that online and distance education systems with their digital content and the persistent record of online transactions provide a rich source of evidence to enable quality assurance and audit processes. If open and distance learning were the current dominant mode of Higher Education and lecturebased education the innovation, the challenge would lie in how to quality assure a form of education in which interactions at the core of the system were ephemeral, highly dependent on personal interpretation by the teacher and student and seldom directly monitored. (p. 16) 13
QA of online education & MOOCs First Principles of Instruction (book by M. David Merrill, 2013) Learning is promoted when learners 1. acquire skill in the context of real-world problems 2. activate existing knowledge and skill as a foundation for new skill 3. observe a demonstration of the skill to be learned 4. apply their newly acquired skill to solve problems 5. reflect on, discuss, and defend their newly acquired skill 14
QA of online education & MOOCs Instructional Quality of MOOCs (January 2015 research article) Key criteria: Merrill s First Principles of Instruction Additional criteria: learning resources and supports Scoring on 72-point scale 76 randomly selected MOOCs assessed 15
QA of online education & MOOCs Instructional Quality of MOOCs (January 2015 research article) [continued] The majority of MOOCs scored poorly on most instructional design principles: 28 out of 72 points. However, most MOOCs scored highly on organisation and presentation of course material. 16
Programme assessment approach on programme level 1 2 3 Intended learning Teaching and learning outcomes Achieved learning outcomes Programme Module x Module y Module z... Intended LOs Intended LOs Intended LOs Intended LOs... (C. &) LOs (C. &) LOs (C. &) LOs Assessment Assessment Assessment... Achieved? Achieved? Achieved? Achieved? What do you aim to do? What are you doing? What have you done? 17
approach on programme level NVAO does not accredit courses, modules or MOOCs NVAO assesses how the courses, modules or MOOCs fit into the programmes through: Learning outcomes/qualifications (in connection with the National Qualifications Framework ESG) How they are assessed How successful courses, modules or MOOCs are recognized/certified On which bases students are exempted from existing units in the programme the assessment of online education (units) follows the review framework of the study programme 18
approach on institutional level NVAO starts from the HEI s policy on online education NVAO assesses the HEI s practice of online education (horizontal & vertical trails) NVAO assesses the IQA on online education NVAO assesses how the HEI improves its (policy of) online education the assessment of the institutional policy and practice of online education follows the institutional review framework 19
Scenarios IQA conclusions : NVAO approach EQA Credit recognition As usual; MOOC: certificate? Expertise panel; learning outcomes Imported e-learning As above; Who assesses? As above; assessment & LOs E-learning module As usual; Justification Expertise panel E-learning programme As above; Justification Expertise panel; Assessment & LOs
conclusions : NVAO approach 2009 NVAO position: Thanks to the open character of the assessment frameworks they are able to accommodate online education It is crucial that appropriate expertise on online education is represented in the composition of the assessment panels if necessary NVAO considers it a duty to have expertise on online education in house and share it with all stakeholders e.g. EADTU, ICDE, etc http://e-xcellencelabel.eadtu.eu 21
conclusions : NVAO approach 2014 NVAO position paper on MOOCs & online HE No separate accreditation of online education, but as part/variant (FL) of programme with experts as panel members Help to promote and improve good online education Develop expertise and share it 22
Q & A Thanks for attention Fred Mulder NVAO Policy Advisor +31 (0)70 312 23 54 f.mulder@nvao.net Contact NVAO visiting address: Parkstraat 28 The Hague Postal address: P.O. Box 85498, 2508 CD The Hague The Netherlands www.nvao.net 23