E-LIQAL - THE E-LEARNING INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY ASSURANCE LABEL

Cross Border Education (CBE) and especially Distance Learning Education (DLE) mainly delivered through e-learning, is becoming a strategic direction of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) reforms. Its importance is recently gaining more and more recognition by both the policy makers as well as the various providers of Higher Education. The vision and mission of Universities have recently changed to address CBE and DLE and associated new modes of teaching and learning, utilizing Information Communication Technologies. This paper introduces e-LIQAL, the e-Learning Institutional Quality Assurance Label. e-LIQAL provides a model that evaluates the extent to which Higher Education Institutions provide quality e-learning education. The model draws from the experience of University of Nicosia offering e-learning DLE to more than 5,500 students and from the University's expertise in receiving quality assurance evaluations and accreditations by both National and International Quality Assurance Agencies. Furthermore, the model draws from the European Framework for Quality in e-Learning (EFQUEL) and the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU) E-xcellence models for quality in e-learning education. The University of Nicosia was awarded both the UNIQUe and the E-xcellence labels awarded by EFQUEL and EADTU respectively. The e-LIQAL model provides for the evaluation of 100 Quality Indicators, grouped in 4 thematic areas supporting excellence in e-learning, namely (a) Institutional Strategy and Organization, (b) DLE Skills Framework, Training and Rewards, (c) Curriculum Design and Offering and (d) Resources, Services and Support. We are also in the process of building a prototype tool in Excel to automate the evaluation of the process and results that will later lead to a fully-fledged web-based tool. Finally, we are currently introducing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each Quality Indicator.