6.2 Examining elements of quality within online education programs  (Page 3/9)

According to the literature, various opinions exist for evaluating the quality of online education. For example, Lee and Dziuban (2002) suggested that the overall success of online education greatly depends upon the quality evaluation strategies integrated within the program. In a 2003 article, Benson explored the different meanings of quality that stakeholders brought to the table when planning an online degree program. She found the following perceptions of quality were resonant with stakeholders: quality is overcoming the stigma associated with online learning; quality is accreditation; quality is an efficient and effective course development process; and quality is effective pedagogy. After paralleling the demise of some online education programs created as stand-alone units to the dotcom bust in 2000, Shelton and Saltsman (2004) postulated that the mark of quality for an online education program is not its growth rate but the combination of retention rate, academic outcomes, and success in online student and faculty support. Husman and Miller (2001) argued, after their study of program administrators, “administrators perceive quality to be based almost exclusively in the performance of faculty” (para. 17).

Online education has been heavily critiqued and compared to traditional teaching since its emergence as an instructional technique, with veiled suggestions of inadequacies and low quality. Responding to those suggestions, various approaches found in the literature propose guidelines for evaluating quality online education programs. After reviewing those approaches, this chapter provides a framework for evaluating quality online education programs. Presented in chronological order of their appearance in the literature, the articles and studies examined here best represent the processes available to define and evaluate the quality of online education programs.

Existing frameworks for evaluating the quality of online education programs

Presented in chronological order of their appearance in the literature, thirteen articles and studies examined here best represent the processes available to define and evaluate the quality of online education programs. Table 1 provides the frameworks for quality online education examined for this review.

Table 1. Existing Frameworks for Evaluating Quality of Online Education Programs

The 24 benchmarks for success in Internet-based distance education. In their report, Quality on the Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-Based Distance Education (2000), The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) identified 24 benchmarks for success in Internet-based distance education that were individual quality indicators chosen as absolutely essential by various respected online education leaders of higher education institutions from an original 45 indicators determined through a literature search. While the study called each indicator a benchmark, in reality, they are attributes of online education programs to indicate overall quality; they are not measureable against other institutional results. However, the study sought to prove that “distance learning can be quality learning” (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 2000, p. vii).