QUALITY ASSURANCE IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: EVALUATING THE QUALITY OF DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSES

This paper presents quality indicators for the development of college level undergraduate courses taught at a distance. The research was based on a qualitative, descriptive, naturalistic-constructive analysis, including a survey of related research literature. It was carried out as part of ongoing research into the identification of metrics used for the quality assurance of distance education in an international and national context (especially in light of the recommendations of the Brazilian Ministry of Education). The systemization of these data revealed a collective of directives which include indicators for the creation of courses in such a modality. A validation of the study was performed in part through an online survey sent to coordinators of distance education in Brazil. From the results of the study it can be surmised that distance education requires considerable financial investment, that a high percentage of face-to-face time is not synonymous with the quality of instruction, and that education at a distance is indeed possible, as long as in the realization of pedagogical projects, quality indicators are accounted for, such as the ones proposed here.