QUALITY ASSURANCE OF E-LEARNING IN THE NORTH AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA

Abstract

The article analyzes the international experience of quality assurance in higher education in the format of e-learning within the North American Higher Education Area (USA and Canada) and presents the proposals for improving activities in this field in Ukraine. The approaches to quality assurance in e-learning in the North American Higher Education Area via self-assessment, external assessment and accreditation have been identified. Institutional and programme accreditation processes and procedures conducted by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), Approved Quality Curriculum (AQC), Canada's Association of IT Professionals (CIPS) were reviewed. AQC’s and CIPS’s training programmes for volunteers-evaluators of e-learning study programmes have been analyzed. It is determined that there are the common approaches to e-learning quality assurance: keeping a certain periodicity in the self-assessment procedure; mandatory assessing current, new and modified curricula; conducting surveys among students; involving external experts in the assessment; publishing assessment results. It is noted that the authorities of the countries within the North American Higher Education Area develop a public policy in higher education and exercise control over its implementation. The governments also control the provision of constitutional rights and non-discrimination in all its manifestations in the education sector. It is worth noting that University autonomy, lack of administrative accountability and mandatory methodical instructions, active cooperation with public and professional associations leads to the creating effective educational initiatives, improving students' professional competences as well as increasing competitiveness of the Universities themselves and, as a consequence, higher education systems at all. The necessity to encourage higher education institutions into international accreditation and study programmes modernization in accordance with international standards of e-learning has been determined.