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Assessing Quality Tip Sheet
Quality Benchmarks for Distance Learning
Helping you be a wise distance learning consumer!
The overall quality of a distance learning experience depends not only on the quality of the course, but also on the institution's readiness to deliver courses at a distance, the student support services it provides and the quality of the faculty teaching the course.
Prior to enrolling in a distance learning course it is recommended that all students contact their local college's early childhood department to determine the:
required courses needed for a degree or work requirement, ability of the courses to transfer (or articulate) into a degree program at another college or four-year degree program, number of college credits required to be taken from a single institution of your choice to obtain a degree from that college, and tests or courses required prior to enrolling in a course.
Learn about the characteristics of a quality distance learning course.
- The National Education Association (NEA) developed a quality checklist in 1999 and released 24 measures of quality in Internet-based distance learning in 2000. A list of benchmarks for quality distance education can be found on the NEA web site at www.nea.org.
Gather information about the course.
- Ask about student admissions standards. Admission standards should be the same for on-campus and on-line courses.
- Ask to preview a course web site offered by the institution.
- Ask what percentage of students complete the course, and if applicable, why students have dropped out of the course.
- Request information about how your grade will be determined.
- Ask for references from other students who have taken the course from the college and/or instructor.
Gather information about the quality of the college offering the course.
- Ask if the college is accredited. Accreditation information should be provided on the college’s web site or in the institution's catalog.
Accreditation is a process of external peer review of the quality of higher education institutions and programs. The federal government has relied on accreditation for the past 50 years for decisions about eligibility of higher education institutions to receive federal student financial assistance and other federal funds. Visit the web site of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (www.sacscoc.org) to learn more about how North Carolina colleges and universities are accredited.
Gather information about the availability of student support services.
- Request information about the types of student supports the college offers to distance learning students (ex: online or telephone computer support, contact information for the distance learning department, online and on-campus office hours for the instructor, etc.)
Gather information about the quality of the college faculty.
- Ask for information about the course instructor's education.
- Ask how long the instructor has been teaching college courses.
- Ask if the instructor's has been trained to teach Internet courses.
- Ask how many courses the instructor has taught over the Internet.
Resources for Students
The following resources are available to students seeking additional information about being a distance learner.
Goodwill Industries Global Learning Network web site www.gcflearnfree.org Learning computer and Internet skills. Enroll in a college or community class and/or visit the for FREE training and tips on computer software programs and in English and Spanish.
OnlineLearning.net www.onlinelearning.net OnlineLearning.net provides busy teachers with the tools to pursue lifelong learning. A combination of technological innovation and quality provides exceptional learning experiences.
MERLOT http://www.merlot.org/ Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments.
Elearners.com http://elearners.com/ Source for online and distance learning needs. This site provides links to online and distance learning, courses, degrees, and training.
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute 2003 Project CONTACT