Universiteit Maastricht Standards and Distance Education Peter A.J. Bouhuijs Professor in Health Science Education

Universiteit Maastricht My Background Educational psychologist PhD in medical education 30 years in problem-based learning Currently professor in Health Science Education in South Africa

Universiteit Maastricht My experience Course and program evaluation is part of my job International experience in external review and quality assurance matters Including distance education programs I teach on line in three master programs using distance education

Universiteit Maastricht My contribution Focus on higher and professional education Explain what is being done already Critical points related to the main theme of the conference: social justice Hopefully a good start for a round table debate

Universiteit Maastricht The quality question: Are we doing the right thing? Are we doing things in the right way?

Universiteit Maastricht The comparison Compared with other distance education programs and courses? Compared with other delivery models?

Universiteit Maastricht Levels Course level Curriculum level Institutional level Systems level

Universiteit Maastricht The distance debate In the 19th century start of correspondence university programs Considered inferior to face-to-face teaching With each new medium used since we got a similar discussion: film, radio, TV, audio&video disks, computer Typical for the debate is that the delivery mode is discussed

Universiteit Maastricht The distance debate The central issue is whether students can learn using a distance format And whether we can reach parts of the population who are not served by traditional courses and programs

Universiteit Maastricht At systems level Blended learning is important in all programs New technology needs a new approach to how we work in education The control over where, when, how, and also what is learned shifts to learners

Universiteit Maastricht Accreditation in Higher Education Around the world increased attention The European perspective: all EU countries plus some others are implementing a QA program with a common structure Related to program reform Aim: a common labor market

Universiteit Maastricht The European structure National accreditation bodies using a common framework Institutional self-evaluation External review by expert committee appointed by an accredited audit agency

Universiteit Maastricht The chapters: Mission and objectives Curriculum structure Learning environment Student characteristics Learning results Quality of graduates Quality of staff and organization Facilities System of internal quality assurance

Universiteit Maastricht Some problems Bureaucratic Control rather than improvement Experts are usually coming from the old system

Universiteit Maastricht Some problems with distance education Definition of students What is reasonable progress? Are we reaching new groups?

Universiteit Maastricht Globalization Distance learning can be applied globally It is seen by many as a business But it is transmitting values Will the strongest voice become the global voice? South Africa denied foreign universities access, but can it forbid distance education?

Universiteit Maastricht Some wishes for the future We need to use cognitive research seriously in education: importance of constructivism and collaborative learning We also need to study “good practices” We need to reframe our conception of education: not only students are learners, but teachers are (advanced) learners

Universiteit Maastricht Learning communities Our curricula were built when teachers were needed to transfer knowledge Today learners can have access to data bases, libraries, computer simulations And they can use sophisticated communication tools to work with other learners Let us use these tools for better education and for a better world.

Universiteit Maastricht Thank You!