Quality in Online Higher Education: A Theoretical Analysis

The rise of non-conventional educational modalities has triggered the need to verify the quality of such educational models. This documentary and comparative analysis demonstrates current national and international standards upheld by quality assurance bodies and the complex process of enforcing these standards within Mexico's educational system and at international levels. A rubric of criteria and categories used by educational assessment bodies such as CIEES (Interinstitutional Committee for the Evaluation of Higher Education in Mexico), Conacyt (National Council of Science and Technology), CALED (Latin America and Caribbean Institute for Quality in Distance Higher Education) and OLC (Online Learning Consortium) was developed for comparative purposes and to identify how these bodies weigh or determine the relevance of each attribute when determining program quality. As a result of this comparison, eight dimensions associated with educational evaluations were identified: educational models, results of the model, students, faculty, infrastructure services and administrative procedures, institutional social responsibility and linkages. Based on the findings, recommendations are made to standardize aspects evaluated by the assessment bodies, such as consolidating the number of categories or criteria and, assign appropriate assessment models for non-conventional education modalities.