This document outlines approaches used by different countries to manage quality assurance of distance learning programs. It discusses how countries like the UK, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong monitor quality, regulate foreign programs, and their current approaches. Key points include the QAA in the UK charging universities with full responsibility for offshore programs' quality assurance, and AUQA relying on self-review and audits of Australian universities' offshore activities for quality purposes. Singapore regulates foreign programs on a program-by-program basis and focuses on the foreign institution's credibility.

1. An Outline of Approaches used by
the authorities of different
countries in managing the quality
assurance of distance learning
programmes:
Can a viable strategy based on distance learning be
formulated to make Malaysia a competitive
education hub?

2. Outline of Presentation
Definition of distance learning
1.
Monitoring of the quality of delivery by
2.
home countries
The QAA’s case
l
The AUQA’s case
l
Regulation of the delivery of foreign
3.
programmes
The Singapore’s case
l
The Hong Kong’s case
l
Current approach in Malaysia in dealing
4.
with distance learning programmes
Malaysia Boleh!
5.
Concluding Remark
6.
2

3. “He who knows does not speak.
He who speaks does not know.”
A quotation from the great scholar and
philosopher, Lao­tze
3

4. 4
aisyalaM ni dnim
s’elpoep tsom ot semoc sledom 2
?gninraeL ecnatsiD si tahW

5. 5
sesruoC
ecnednopserroC
)2( gninraeL ecnatsiD si tahW

6. 6
ledoM s’MSU ehT
BJ gnihcuK
LK
.ctE
natnauK gnaneP
iriM
KK
)3( gninraeL ecnatsiD si tahW

7. (4)
gninraeL ecnatsiD si tahW
Is there more to distance
learning delivery than these
2 models?
7

8. ecnatsiD fo noitinifeD s’AAQ
)LD( gninraeL
“….a way of providing higher
education that involves the
transfer to the student’s location
of materials
that forms the main basis of study
rather than the student moving
to the location of the resource
provider”
8

9.
LD fo noisnemiD 4 ehT
1. Material­based Learning
2. Programme components delivered
by travelling teachers
3. Learning supported locally
4. Learning supported from the
providing institution remotely from
the student
9

10. (2)
LD fo noisnemiD 4 ehT
Most distance learning
programmes rely on more than
one or even all the 4 dimensions
So, Distance Learning
encompasses ALL off shore
activities of a university
01

11.
?LD no gnikniht ruo fo noisiver A
From QAA:
“What is important to students is that the
material delivered…., the assessments
against which they are judged and the
support received….are of assured quality
& secured standards
…….they are getting good learning opportunities
in a form that suits their needs & that they
are able to achieve the standards expected
of an UK award.”
11

12. (2)
?LD no gnikniht ruo fo noisiver A
Perhaps we should
u Review our classification of programmes in
Malaysia
u Evaluate a programme by
n Its ‘outputs’ (the learning experience and
opportunities)
n Its delivery in a holistic manner
We should not rely on the current loose
definition to pre­judge a programme of
its merits.
21

13. 31
selpmaxE nailartsuA dna KU ehT
erohsffo yreviled
rieht dna semmargorp
fo ytilauQ eht fo gnirotinoM

14. 41
saesrevo seitisrevinu nailartsuA fo secitcarp
ytilauq eht seifirev ailartsuA fo AQUA ehT u
seitivitca
erohsffo ’seitisrevinu hsitirB no tidua ytilauq
seod dna emmargorp fo yreviled ecnatsid
rof senilediug dehsilbup KU fo AAQ ehT u
seirtnuoc ngierof
yb seitivitca erohsffo fo gnirotinoM

15. 51
seitisrevinu rieht fo seitivitca saesrevo
eht gnirotinom rof seitilibisnopser
gnikat era seirtnuoc nBoth
?siht morf ecuded ew nac uWhat
seirtnuoc ngierof
(2)
yb seitivitca erohsffo fo gnirotinoM

16. seitivitca erohsffo fo gnirotinoM
)KU( AAQ eht yb
Guideline on quality assurance of
distance learning programmes
uPublished in 1999
uGenerally used by British
universities regardless of definition
of the delivery mode overseas
61

17. ecnatsid no senilediug s’AAQ
gninrael
Six aspects of distance learning
programmes are looked at:
1.System Design and integrated approach
Academic Standards & quality in programme
2.
design, approval and review process
3. Quality assurance and standards in the
management of programme delivery
Student development and support.
4.
5. Student communication and representation
Student assessment
6.
71

18. ecnatsid no senilediug s’AAQ
(2)
gninrael
What can we conclude from these?
u QAA has charged all British universities
with the full responsibilities and
accountabilities of the delivery of distance
learning programmes
u QAA is scrutinising the conduct of quality
assurance process of all British
universities with off shore activities
u We should engage the QAA & avoid
duplication of efforts & streamline the QA
workload of IPTS!
81

19. seitivitca erohsffo fo gnirotinoM
)ailartsuA( AQUA eht yb
uNon­prescriptive approach: no
guidelines!
uRely on self­review, verifications
and audit of off shore activities of
Australian universities for quality
assurance purposes
91

20. 02
desiminim eb ot stidua fo tsoC .5
sseneuqinu
nwo sti rof desingocer si noitutitsni
hcae ,etalpmet oiloftrop oN .4
weiver
fles s’noitutitsni no tidua desaB .3
snoitutitsni neewteb nosirapmoc oN .2
sevitcejbo
& slaog detats s’ytisrevinu :epocS .1
selpicnirp tidua AQUA

21.
stset 7 eht :selpicnirp tidua AQUA
7 tests to determine if an audit visit
overseas is warranted:
The number of staff and students
1.
Significance of overseas activities to the
2.
institution
Likelihood of things going wrong
3.
The experience of the institution
4.
Number & locations of overseas operations
5.
Accreditation requirements of th host
6.
country
Is a visit necessary
7.
12

22. tidua ytilauq s’AQUA
What can we conclude from these?
u AUQA audits all Australian universities’
offshore activities
u AUQA’s self­review system and audit
ensure that institution review their
operations & practice what they have set
out to achieve
u We should engage the AUQA to avoid
duplication of efforts & streamline the QA
workload of IPTS!
22

23. 32
sevitcepsrep gnoK gnoH & eropagniS ehT
semmargorp
ngierof fo yreviled eht gnitalugeR

24. esac s’eropagniS ehT
u All foreign programmes delivered locally are
classified as distance learning programmes
u Registration is on programme by programme
basis
u Credibility of foreign institution is of
paramount importance, less focus on local
partner
u Quality assurance process of offshore
programmes must be equivalent to that on
campus
u Learning experience of students locally must be
similar to their colleagues’ on campus
42

25.
eropagniS ni emag eht fo selur ehT
1. All local players offering foreign
programmes must obtain MoE’s
permission to conduct their activities
(programme by programme basis)
2. The overseas institution is fully accountable
for every aspect of the programme offered
locally
3. The local player provide only support
(facilities, logistics, recruitment, programme
admin etc)
52

26. (2)
eropagniS ni emag eht fo selur ehT
4. MoE does not have a list of accredited
overseas universities, no central
authority to recognise foreign degrees
either
5. MoE publishes a list of approved foreign
degree programmes for local delivery.
62

27. (3)
eropagniS ni emag eht fo selur ehT
6. MoE is very strict on the offer of post
secondary courses: only registered
private schools allowed, with teachers
for such courses well regulated
7. The registration of foreign programmes is a
very straightforward affair: 2 months or less
to get approval
72

28. ni semmargorp ngierof ehT
eropagniS
Number of Undergraduate Postgraduate Total Number of
Country Institutions programmes programmes Programmes
Australia 44 210 217 427
UK 57 96 132 228
US 28 14 42 56
Others 27 22 37 59
Total 156 342 428 770
82

29.
eropagniS ni sutats ehT
The result of this effective & efficient
policy:
u 770 foreign programmes are approved
to run in the country!
u Nearly all the ‘who’s who’ of Australian
universities & over half of UK
universities are represented
u Singapore has 50,000 foreign
students, aiming for 150,000 by 2012!
92

30. esac s’gnoK gnoH ehT
u Non­local Higher and Professional
Education (Regulation Ordinance)
rules the industry via Hong Kong
Council for Academic Accreditation
(HKCAA)
u The HKCAA does not apply the
Ordinance universally: local public
institutions collaborating with foreign
universities are exempted from full
registration if these can fulfil 2 criteria
& classed in the ‘exempted list’
03

31.
KH ni emag eht fo elur ehT
1. 2 main criteria to fulfil:
n Foreign institution must be recognised in
home country & programme offered locally
must be of comparable standard to a similar
programme on campus
n Programme leading to foreign professional
qualification must be recognised by the
professional body in the home country
2. All foreign programmes must be
registered (either in non­local or
exempted list)
13

32. (2)
KH ni emag eht fo elur ehT
3. High fees are charged for initial Full
registration and annual fees (HK$33k &
HK18.2k respectively)
4. Registration for Exempted list is very
cheap: HK$115 for initial registration &
HK$605 for annual fees
5. Registration is a lengthy affair: 12 – 18
months…..
6. “Pure distance learning” without the physical
presence of institution or agent in HK to
delivery, assess the programme are exempted
from registration
23

33.
KH ni semmargorp ngierof ehT
Non­Local List Local List
Under­ Total Number
Number of Under­graduate Post­graduate graduate Post­graduate of
Country Institutions programmes programmes programmes programmes Programmes
39 71 83 52 80 286
Australia
75 78 81 152 184 495
UK
35 27 13 14 26 80
US
43 39 11 37 28 115
Others
192 215 188 255 318 976
Total
33

34. 43
:semmargorP
605
etaudargtsoP fo rebmun latoT
:semmargorP
074
etaudargrednU fo rebmun latoT
:)tsiL
375
lacoL( semmargorp fo rebmun latoT
:)tsiL lacoL
304
-noN( semmargorp fo rebmun latoT
KH ni semmargorp ngierof ehT
(2)

35. KH ni sutatS ehT
u A lot of unhappiness over the two­tier
quality assurance system: led to review
of HKCAA’s policy
u Streamlining of registration process
have reduced timeframe to 6 months or
less
u After a review in 2003, HKCAA will
adopt a revised criteria for quality
assurance that are more output­focused
and open­ended to accommodate all
types of provisions
53

36.
aisyalaM ni enecS tnerruC
Royal Professor Ungku Aziz said 1994:
“Distance education is not always fully
understood by many key decision
makers in Malaysia………Malaysia
already has all the necessary
technology……all it lacks is the software
and political will to realise it.”
10 Years on, we still do not have a clear policy,
guidelines for approval and accreditation of
overseas distance learning programmes in Malaysia
63

37. (2)
aisyalaM ni enecS tnerruC
Malaysian Qualifications Framework
u Will help to promote lifelong learning
u Provides a less rigid regulation and
recognition criteria for the industry
u Allows diverse entry & exit points
u Recognises different pathways to
achieve accredited qualifications
73

38. ecnatsiD no desab ygetartS elbaiV
gninraeL
u No Malaysian IPTA or IPTS appeared
in the top 500 universities in the world
u No Malaysian IPTA or IPTS appeared
in the top 100 universities in Asia
Pacific
Majority of foreign students are coming
to Malaysia as a means to an end……an
affordable and reliable route for them
to acquire an international qualification
from UK, Australia & US etc.!
83

39. ecnatsiD no desab ygetartS elbaiV
(2)
gninraeL
To achieve our vision to be the education
hub of the region we should:
u Leverage on the strengths & expertise
of the IPTS in providing supported
distance learning programmes from
overseas
u Provide a flexible, transparent &
efficient regulatory framework
u Recognise the threats from our
neighbours
93

40.
!heloB aisyalaM
Perhaps to be ‘Boleh’ we should consider:
u Adopting QAA’s definition & 4
dimensions of distance learning
u Adopt a flexible & efficient regulatory
system
u Emphasising less on the ‘input’ but more
on ‘output’
u Letting market forces but not regulatory
system to determine the acceptability of
academic qualifications for employment
04

41. (2)
!heloB aisyalaM
u Emphasising more on the quality of the
foreign awarding institutions & placing
responsibility for quality assurance upon
them, less on the local partner
u Collaborating actively with accreditation
agencies like QAA, AUQA etc to avoid
duplication of work
14

42. 24
skrameR gnidulcnoC

43. 34
Q & A?
!noitnetta ruoy rof sknahT