Message from Susan Metros:
From the Chair:
In June of 2002, Kate Carey, Executive
Director of OLN, convened a Task Force on Quality in Distance Learning.
The Task Force was comprised of OLN staff members and twelve representatives
from ten institutional members of the OLN. They were charged with developing
guidelines and recommending an implementation plan for insuring quality
in elearning across OLN member institutions. The resulting report titled,
"Quality
Learning in Ohio and at a Distance" (PDF), included practical guidelines
along with more theoretical, new models for e-Learning.
The revised OLN Principles of Good
Practice serves as the central focus of the report. The Task Force viewed
quality in elearning as a shared responsibility between OLN, the institution
and the instructors and staff. Under this model, OLN is responsible for
providing leadership to assist institutions, instructional faculty, and
learners; Institutions are responsible for developing and implementing
appropriate policies and procedures to ensure quality for all online offerings
and for providing appropriate student support services; And instructional
faculty and support staff are responsible for developing and implementing
delivery methods to ensure quality. Both institutions and instructional
faculty share the responsibility of assessing learning outcomes and implementing
improvements.
The revised OLN Principles of Good
Practice is a significant step in providing valuable insight into how
best to move Ohio forward in educating its citizens. Understanding that
there are considerable challenges in this arena for the State of Ohio
and its institutions of higher education, it provides a stage for ongoing
discussions about how to best guarantee quality in the delivery of education
offered at a distance, to ensure that the principles are followed and
that all courses created with OLN or OBR funds are measured against these
principles.
Susan E. Metros (metros.1@osu.edu)
Professor and Deputy CIO, The Ohio State University
Chair, OLN Task Force on Quality in Distance Learning
