LS4ODFL/Quality Assurance for Learner Support/Understanding Quality and Learner Support

Quality is critical in determining not only the value of a degree, diploma or certificate, or learning experience, but also in determining the long-term viability of a programme, course or institution. Quality matters in learner support. Learner support focuses on what the teacher or instructor can or should do to help learners beyond the formal delivery of content or skills development. You may recall the types and foundations of learner support in Module 2. Determining quality standards is an important aspect of designing learner support activities for ODFL. But how we define quality can be both a standard barrier to accountability and an inhibitor to innovation and change. Our notions of quality are very much focused on inputs and a limited range of outputs:

1. We are concerned about the qualifications of the students admitted.
2. We are concerned about the qualifications of faculty.
3. We are concerned about the design of the programme and its "equivalence" to other similar programmes already operating.
4. We are concerned about the management of processes within a programme – assessment rubrics, appeals, academic integrity, and academic governance.
5. We are concerned about the rigour of marking.
6. We are concerned the outputs match the intended outcomes of the course.

While formal quality assurance regimes are increasingly focused on the student experience, they have not made student engagement the key driver for quality. Nor do such regimes look at whether the programme is innovative, flexible, makes great use of technology for learning analytics and assessment and engages students with potential applications of that learning.

Quality as a Driver for Innovation

If we want to see quality as a driver for innovation rather than as a barrier to it, we need to start rethinking our approach to quality. We should ask ourselves:

1. The How: How do the students experience their learning? Is it the best experience it could be, given the resources available to the institution, the faculty member/instructor and the learner? Were real attempts made to engage the learner with other learners worldwide, with experts worldwide and with their faculty member/ instructor? Did the learning design fit all learners? Were good routes provided for learners who struggled or those who need to fast track?
2. The How Much: How satisfied is the faculty member/instructor with their conditions of practice? Do they have the supports they need to be able to provide the learning opportunities to truly engage learners? Do faculty/instructors feel they "own" the learning agenda and their teaching? Do faculty feel they have a genuine voice in the governance of programmes and courses?
3. The What: What are the outcomes of a student’s learning? What matters most is what the student can do or understand now, which they could not do or understand when the programme/ course began.
4. The So What: What are the impacts of the students we produce in society? Focus on the impacts of the learning in practice, not just immediately, but over time (e.g. in the workplace, in society and in their engagement in the community).
5. The Then What: How does the experience of learners lead to innovation and change within the university or college? After the learning occurred, what changes are made to the design, deployment and delivery of the programme the next time it is offered? Can the programme and the course be significantly improved for both learners and faculty/instructor? We need to escape from the "ISO 9000" thinking about quality, which so informed the quality movement in the 1980s, and move to a much more experiential and outcome view of quality if it is to be the engine of transformation

Ten Key Developments Which Impact Our Understanding of Quality

There are 10 key developments which will drive new thinking about quality and quality assurance.

1. The development of learning analytics
2. The use of student engagement as a basis for benchmarking and evaluation
3. New forms of flexible learning which focus on outcomes, not process
4. New forms of assessment
5. The focus on skills and competencies
6. New kinds of credit and skills recognition
7. New providers for learning with new institutional models and processes
8. The internationalisation of learning
9. A changed expectation about qualifications and outcomes from employers
10. A renewed focus on outcomes and impact

The following video elaborates on quality assurance in education [Watchtime: 15.24 mins]

by Ilnur Miftakhov

Quality assurance is a term that has different definitions in varying contexts. It encompasses any activity that is concerned with assessing and improving the merit or the worth of a development intervention or its compliance with given standards. Regardless of the definition taken on board, it is a critical component when designing learning support in ODFL to ensure that the programme meets that individual course and teacher standards. Therefore, it is important that you follow the standards for quality when designing online learner support activities, and we will delve deeper into this in the next section.