27P. Evaluating Quality of International Distance Education
In this paper, quality is examined from three dimensions design, conformance, and performance. However, the primary focus is on the performance quality of distance education. Previous works have mostly focused on the design and conformance quality. This research is proposing that the true measure of distance education or e-learning should be on the performance quality. This is more important if the distance learning is global in nature. One key finding from the pilot study reveals that local application of the knowledge gained from distance education is the key to career advancement.
Quality management applied to higher education
In the last decade, many universities and American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) have increased their interest in applying principles of quality management to higher education. There is general agreement on the tools of quality management, however, there is limited discussion and no universally agreed upon model of quality management. We propose a model of quality management that has three components: quality of design, quality of conformance and quality of performance. The model is applied to Rochester Institute of Technology's College of Business. It provides a framework to identify research, teaching and operational improvement opportunities.
Total Quality Management in Engineering Education—A Case Study from University College Dublin (National University of Ireland-Dublin)
Abstract The last 3 years have seen extensive time and resources invested in quality assessment/quality improvement (QA/QI) within the Irish university sector. The introduction of a formalized QA/QI programme in the 1998/99 academic year at University College Dublin (UCD) of Ireland-Dublin, will mean that every department in College will have a direct and compulsory involvement in the quality assurance programme in the coming years. There is limited experience of formalized quality assessment in the higher education sector in Ireland, and several pilot projects have been running which represent a first step in establishing a methodology suited to conditions prevailing within the Irish context. The Universities Act 1997 in Ireland will drive the issue of quality assessment in the university sector and ensure that emphasis is placed on the attainment of the highest possible standards in teaching and research. The universities are responding to this new challenge by adopting a pro-active approach and impleme...