Quality Assurance for eLearning  

For a comprehensive account of the development of virtual universities around the world through the analysis of case studies, see the IEEP UNESCO project The virtual universities: models and messages   

Click here for a list of virtual universities.

COL is involved in developing a Virtual University for Small States in the Commonwealth (VUSSC). For further information click here.  

Chapter 7 of the second preparatory study for VUSSC The Changing Faces of Virtual Education (2001) is devoted to quality assurance issues.

 

The project handbook “Reviewing the virtual campus phenomenon: the rise of large-scale e-learning initiatives worldwide” provides a comprehensive and useful appraisal of virtual campuses worldwide.

For an overview of the development of on-line education in the US, see the annual reports of the Sloan Consortium, a consortium of institutions and organizations committed to quality online education. Their most recent report is entitled Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States, 2008.  

The opportunities to engage in on-line learning are not limited to those offered as part of a structured programme of study. In 2002 in order to educate the consumer of on-line learning in what to look for in a good on-line learning course, the Canadian Association for Community Education (CACE) and the Office of Learning Technologies(OLI) of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) commissioned Dr Kathryn Barker of Futured Inc. to develop a Consumer's guide to E-learning based on the Canadian Recommended E-learning Guidelines.