1. „How about accrediting your e-learning courses?“ Results of a survey of e-learning providers DLAE Conference, Stockholm, 10th & 11th June 2004

2. 2 Methodological background 10 providers of eLearning courses took part in our survey 5 universities 5 private providers of vocational training function of interviewees: e.g. director of studies, CEO, research associate kind of courses offered by the interviewees: e.g. European Net Trainer, Business information technologies, Tele Trainer, Master of business administration Note: this survey is exploratory and does not claim to give representative results

3. 3 Accreditation in e-learning

4. 4 Accreditation: Reasons for renouncement no legal requirement no strong regulation to accredit courses without BA /MA- certificate ZfU is not responsible for e-learning modules which are not defined as distance learning

5. 5 Well-known accreditation bodies ZFU Staatliche Zentralstelle für Fernunterricht e.V. (nominated 9 times) ASIN (for BA /MA- Studies) AQUINN (for BA / MA- Studies) AQUAS (for BA / MA- Studies) (each nominated 4 times) EFQM ISO LQWZ (learner-orientated qualification) CHE (ranking of universities) Certqua Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Office) (each nominated one time)

6. 6 Criteria of accreditation judgement

7. 7 Aspects of accreditation judgement

8. 8 Objects of accreditation I Universities Management, Pedagogy/Didactics Communication Other: Quality of education, target group, concept as a whole, location, staff (teachers, tutors, etc.), platform of the provider, support Vocational training institutes Pedagogy/Didactics Management Communication Other: Concept as a whole, formal framework, e.g. contracts, cost benefit analysis

9. 9 Objects of accreditation II

10. 10 The Course (nominated 8 times) easier to accreditate the accreditation procedure doesn‘t take so much time it is a quality criteria for the client / the customer The Institution (nominated 2 times): it is a quality criteria for the client / the customer if an institution has proved a high level of quality about some years, the accreditation body should take this into consideration Objects of accreditation III: Explanations

11. 11 Accreditation: Test-methods

12. 12 Kinds of accreditation

13. 13 Accreditation body

14. 14 Accreditation: Reasonable price No general answer possible, tendency to low prices (from 100 up to 500 Euro maximum) the reasonability of the price depends on several aspects: accreditation object (course or institution) Number, volume and duration of the course(s) expenditure of the accreditation suggestion: dynamic model, like ZFU: price of the accreditation is based on the price of the course

15. 15 Accreditation: Problems External evaluators have external criteria which do not always fit with the realities of the institution Participants should be taken into account much stronger Unique definition of „qualitiy“ e-learning is quite new to most of the evaluators, this leads to inconsistent criteria Extreme standardisation may lead to arbitrariness (anything can be accreditated) Not always enough information about the reputation of the accreditation body (important for the acceptance in the market) The evaluator‘s pedagogical competences should be as good as the provider‘s are

16. 16 Requirements on the optimal accreditation It should be: Fast, to make sure that the provider has no drawbacks in business Standardized, to make it fast Transparent, to make it comparable to others Affordable, if an organisation or institution has proved a continual quality, the accreditation shouldn‘t testify each new offer again