Approved by NADE's Standing Committee on Quality, 10 June 1993. Note that the Quality Standards were revised in May 1996. The revision consisted mainly of updating of terminology concerning media developments in distance education. This English version respresents a translation of the original work
Since the Norwegian Adult Education Act was amended effective 1 January 1993, the responsibility for assuring the quality of learning material, education and the practical execution of the instruction has been delegated to the individual accredited distance education institutions. NADE has been requested by the ministry to prepare guidelines for quality standards in distance education.
In the autumn of 1992 a project team appointed by NADE's executive board conducted an introductory study of this matter, which was also discussed at the members' seminar. NADE's Standing Committee on Quality, which was established by the executive board on 18 December 1992, has continued this work.
A temporary draft was submitted to the member institutions for a hearing on April 1993 with a 1 June deadline for comments. On the basis of these comments, the Standing Committee on Quality has revised the draft to its current form. The Standing Committee on Quality recommends that the current version of the quality standards be put into effect for a trial period and thereafter revised on the basis of the experiences that are thereby gained.
The individual distance education institutions are very different from each other in purpose, type of activities, resources and size. It is therefore difficult to devise quality standards that are equally applicable despite these differences. NADE's standards should be guidelines, and must give the individual institution sufficient freedom to define quality requirements on the basis of their own circumstances and possibilities. At the same time the standards must establish certain minimum requirements that are expected to be met if the institution is to attain an acceptable level of quality.
The quality standards have both an internal and an external function. Internally at the individual institution they are supposed at serve as guidelines for the institution's own quality improvement work. They should not relieve the institution of the responsibility for defining its own quality improvement policy and goals, nor should they prescribe in detail how quality improvement work is to be done; but they should help the institutions become more aware of their responsibility for quality in various areas, be an aid in the institutions' self-evaluations and define "business sector standards" that an accredited institution is expected to meet.
When these business sector standards are established, they automatically acquire an external function as well and thereby contribute to the definition of quality standards that are relevant for distance education under the jurisdiction of institutions other than the independent ones. This mainly applies to NADE's other members, but also, in principle, to institutions that are not members of NADE. In that way, we hope that NADE's quality standards can have an impact on the quality of Norwegian distance education in general.
Moreover, the standards should provide information and guidance to the ministry in its evaluation of the independent institutions in connection with accreditation and any complaints that may arise. When the ministry is to evaluate the accreditation of institutions, it must base its decision on a comprehensive evaluation. This means that individual departures from the guidelines for quality standards must be acceptable without terminating the accreditation. The ministry must also consider how well the standards are suited for the individual institution's activities. Thus, the ministry must employ the standards in connection with a concrete appraisal of the individual institution's special features in a dialogue with the institution itself.
In the work on the quality standards we have divided the distance education institutions' activities into four main categories:
Each of these main categories is then divided into four phases:
These are combined in a matrix of 16 elements, which we have called quality areas. For each of these quality areas certain factors have been specified, which can or ought to enter into the institution's evaluation of its own quality. These factors may be more or less important for different institutions and types of activities. In some cases other factors besides those included here may also be relevant.
The quality standards that have been specified are grouped and numbered according to areas and factors that have been included in the matrix. Although a factor may be important for quality, it is not always possible or desirable to define general quality standards that are linked to that factor. Hence, quality standards have not been specified for all of the factors, and the number of standards also varies a great deal among the different areas.
Sometimes expressions like "should" or "must" are used in the quality standards. In these cases the standard is meant to expresses a requirement that an approved institution is expected to meet. These standards have therefore been printed in bolder type. On the other hand, when the expression "ought" is used, it means that the standard is not regarded as an absolute requirement. In a comprehensive evaluation of an institution's quality, however, the extent to which the institution meets all of the quality standards that are relevant to its activities will be a significant factor.
NADE's quality standards are recommended standards, and in most cases they are formulated rather generally. The individual institution must therefore specify its own quality requirements and quality assurance and improvement systems.
Starting with the NADE standards, the institution ought to go through the sixteen quality areas with an eye to its own activities. First the specified quality improvement factors ought to be evaluated. How relevant are they to the activities? Have any factors been overlooked? Thereafter, the individual quality standards can be considered. If they are relevant to its activities, the institution will often be able to formulate the requirement more concretely and specifically in relation to its own organisation and way of working. It will also be possible to define requirements for aspects of the quality of the activities that NADE's general standards do not touch upon.
The institution ought to also evaluate the organisation of quality improvement measures and systems and/or routines for quality assurance. Many of them will choose to formulate a comprehensive quality assurance system with comprehensive documentation where a single person is responsible for the system. NADE's quality standards do not make any specific requirements about how the quality improvement work should be organised and documented internally in an organisation. Nevertheless, this is a very important aspect of the institution's quality improvement policy.
The institutions will be subject to some external requirements for documentation, primarily in connection with reporting to and supervision by the Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs. It will be an advantage for both the institution itself and the ministry if quality improvement measures and quality assurance can be documented in a well-arranged and easily accessible form. However, more specific rules for this have not been devised.
| Conditions and Constraints | Implementation | Results | Follow up | |
| Information and Counselling | 1 External constraints Organisation Partners |
2 Channels Content |
3 Student body Other results |
4 Evaluation Customer relations |
| Course Development | 5 External constraints Organisation Target group Staff Partners |
6 Supervision, co-operation,follow-up and guidance of authors Choice of media Formative evaluation |
7 Course description Materials meeting requirements Teaching aids |
8 Evaluation Customer reactions Updating and/or revision |
| Course Delivery | 9 External constraints Organisation Students Materials Teachers Partners |
10 Two-way contact Teaching and guidance Exams and tests |
11 Students' achievements of goals Course completion Learning results |
12 Evaluation Customer relations |
| Organisation | 13 External constraints Organisation Partners |
14 Management Communication Future orientation |
15 Achievement of goals Financial results Repute |
16 Evaluation Reporting |
1.1 External Constraints
1.2 Organisational Constraints
1.3 Collaborative Partners
1.1.1 In their information to the society and prospective students, accredited distance education institutions should follow the rules and ethical guidelines that are stipulated in the legislation that regulates trade and marketing. The same applies to rules and guidelines in the Norwegian Adult Education Act with provisions and in the approved quality standards for distance education.
1.2.1 The institution's staff should be able to give sufficient, objective information and advise people that seek information about courses and study programmes that are offered.
1.2.2 The institution should prepare informative written material about all of the training measures it offers. It should be possible to send this material to prospective students, and it ought to include information about target group(s), any existing requirements for previous training, goals or what competence the measure aims to provide, content, learning material, study programme, scope of the course, and an evaluation form. Moreover, it should provide information relating to prices and payment conditions, the right to return course materials, any time limits for completion that may exist, and terms regarding any interruption or postponement that may occur. (Cf. 7.1.1 and 9.2.1)
2.1 Content of the Information
2.2 Channels
2.1.1 Before a registration is binding, the student should receive written information that specifies what product and which services the participant has a right to and what economic and other obligations he/she is assuming.
2.1.2 Employers and others who enter into collective agreements regarding training, ought to have received sufficient correct information about the content, qualifications, implementation and goals of the training.
2.2.1 The institution's advertisements should be truthful, objective and informative. False promises or assertions (??) must not occur. Derogatory statements about competitors should be avoided.
2.2.2 Catalogues and brochures should have a content that provides as realistic a picture as possible of the courses that are offered at the institution, the form of instruction and the requirements that will be made of the student.
2.2.3 All direct communication with prospective students should have the aim of providing the recipient with the best possible basis for determining whether the courses offered by the institution are in accordance with his or her needs and qualifications.
2.2.4 When communication with prospective students is carried out by external personnel or other organisations, the institution must make sure that those who provide information have sufficient competence and knowledge to give information that meets the distance education institution's requirements. The institution should see that information material to the students is available, cf. 1.2.2.
3.1 Recruiting
3.2 Other Results
3.1.1 Information about distance education programmes ought to reach as many of those who can be expected to have a need or use for these courses as possible, given the limitations imposed by resources and available information channels.
3.1.2 The institution's information and guidance ought to enable it to recruit students with the necessary qualifications for completing the training and with sufficient correct information about the training.
3.2.1 A distance education institution's marketing, sales methods and information should be such that they do not undermine distance education's repute.
4.1 Evaluation
4.2 Customer Reactions
4.1.1 The institution ought to regularly evaluate the content, channels and results of its marketing, sales and information activities, e.g. on the basis of user surveys.
4.2.1 Reactions, requests and ideas from potential customers ought to be systematically disseminated within the institution so that they can be included when evaluating ways of improving the activities and developing new study programmes.
5.1 External Constraints
5.2 Organisational Constraints
5.3 The Target Group
5.4 Staff
5.5 Collaborative Partners
5.1.1 The institution must see that all those who are responsible for the development work are familiar with relevant laws, rules and external constraints.
5.1.2 When commissioned courses are developed, a description of the product that specifies goals, content, quality requirements, etc. ought to be available.
5.2.1 The development of course material ought to be based on a project plan, which describes routines, finances and other resources, the delegation of responsibility among employees, plus a time schedule for the work.
5.3.1 The development and use of course material must be based on an appraisal of the target group's needs, qualifications, knowledge and experience.
5.3.4 The distance education programme ought not to require access to equipment that excludes significant portions of the target group.
5.5.1 When there is a collaboration on course development among several institutions, the delegation of responsibility should be specified in writing.
6.1 Supervision, Management and Cooperation
6.2 Follow Up and Guidance of Authors
6.3 Choice of Media and Learning Material
6.4 Evaluation of Product under Development
6.1.1 The project manager should make the participants in the development project aware of the conditions and constraints that have been specified for the project.
6.1.2 The project manager ought to see that the development work follows a fixed plan with respect to time, resource input and other conditions. He should also report departures from this plan and implement corrective measures.
6.2.1 The institution should make relevant competence requirements of authors, consultants and others who are brought into the development process.
6.2.2 In accordance with Norwegian law and contract legislation, the institution ought to have clear agreements with and contractual obligations to authors, consultants and others.
6.2.3 The institution should give authors, consultants and others necessary guidance and training regarding conditions related to distance education that are necessary in order to assure quality in their work.
6.3.1 It ought to always be possible to justify the choice of media and use of existing learning material on the basis of the course's goals and the students' needs and qualifications.
6.4.1 The institution ought to evaluate course material during the development process. The following factors ought to be considered:
The material ought to be evaluated by at least one person who is professionally qualified to do so in addition to the author before it is put into production.
7.1 Course Description (study programme)
7.2 Material That Meets Requirements
7.3 Auxiliary Teaching Materials
7.1.1 A course description (called a study programme in the regulations) should be drawn up for each course. Moreover, for studies or series of courses a corresponding description ought to be drawn up for the study as a whole. A copy of the descriptions at both levels should be sent to the National Centre for Educational Resources.
7.2.1 A distance education institution should be able to document what has been done to take care of the following factors:
It ought to also be possible to document which consultants have been employed during the project development.
7.3.1 When it is natural to do so, the institution ought to draw up teaching guides and auxiliary teaching materials for organizers of local classes and tutors.
8.1 Evaluation
8.2 Customer Reactions
8.3 Updating and Revision
8.1.1 The institution ought to regularly evaluate its systems and routines for course development and also the quality of the institution's learning material.
8.2.1 The institution ought to keep a list of errors found in the learning material and other comments from students and teachers and make use of them in revising the learning material.
8.3.1 The institution should see that the quality of the learning material is maintained by evaluating, and if necessary updating and/or revising, all courses that are offered. No course in the programme should be offered for more than five years without conducting this kind of evaluation.
9.1 External Constraints
9.2 Organisational Constraints
9.3 Students
9.4 Material
9.5 Teachers
9.6 Collaborative Partners
9.1.1 The institution should know and obey laws, regulations and quality standards for education in the relevant field. The same applies to government plans and certification schemes when they are relevant.
9.2.1 For every course and/or study there should be a description that specifies: goals, content, standard length of study, learning material, study programme, an evaluation form, time constraints, any requirements for preliminary knowledge that may exist, and the competence requirements that the training aspires to. (Cf. 1.2.2 and 7.1.1.)
9.2.2 The staff in charge of education at the institution should have professional and pedagogical expertise that corresponds to the subject content and level of the courses that are offered. This expertise can be assured through a combination of permanent and temporarily hired staff.
9.2.3 The course prices must be reasonable relative to the benefits that the students receive in the form of study materials and education.
9.3.1 Contracts and terms of study must be formulated in accordance with the consumer legislation. For longer studies the contract should not bind the students economically to a sum greater than the amount corresponding to a semester of full time study. In the event of interruptions, it ought to be possible to resume the study within a reasonable period of time and on reasonable terms. The contract should be in accordance with NADE's ethical rules.
9.3.2 It should be possible to cancel enrolments for at least 10 days after the course material has been received, possibly with the payment of a small fee.
9.5.1 The institution must specify the competence requirements for the teachers in all courses. In courses or studies that lead up to a state examination or test, the competence requirements should not differ significantly from the competence requirements for corresponding public education courses.
9.5.2 The institution should see that all teachers are given thorough guidance and/or training in distance education pedagogics adapted to the instruction that they are to carry out. The institution ought also to motivate the teachers to keep both professionally and pedagogically abreast of their field.
9.5.3 When the institution uses teachers that are not permanently employed at the institution, this working relationship ought to be regulated by a written agreement. This agreement ought to give the institution the right to make requirements of the quality of the teachers' work and to terminate the working relationship if these requirements are not met. The teachers ought to have the right to voice their opinions regarding the institution's arrangements and plans within their particular field of work.
9.6.1 If several parties collaborate on a distance education measure, it must be ensured that all of the parties have a common understanding of the education's goals and implementation and of the delegation of responsibility among the parties.
10.1 Two-way Communication
10.2 Instruction, Guidance and Other Support
10.3 Evaluation, Tests and Examinations
10.1.1 Distance education institutions should conform to the government definition of distance education, as it has been stipulated in the regulations:
"Distance education means training by remote communication where the teacher and student are separated in space and/or time. Technical aids are utilised for the dissemination of teaching materials and real two-way communication to help facilitate the teaching process."
10.1.2 In NADE's opinion, one qualification for accreditation as an independent distance education institution is that real two-way remote communication must occur frequently and be an obligatory part of the educational arrangements at the institution.
10.2.1 The teachers' tasks should include real instruction and guidance of the students in a way that takes care of the individual student's needs.
10.2.2 The institution ought to make sure that the students receive the teaching support they need, e.g. the possibility of telephone contact, etc. The institution should have a system for the follow up and quality assurance of the teachers' instruction.
10.2.3 The institution must see that the students receive feedback within specified deadlines. It ought to be possible to document goals and results. The institution ought to check to make sure that the deadlines are met.
10.2.4 The institution ought to have functioning systems for follow up and support throughout the duration of the study.
10.3.1 The institution must guarantee an appropriate evaluation and feedback to the students regarding their performance during the course and upon its completion.
10.3.2 The institution must be able to document rules for evaluation, grading of papers, tests and examinations, examination results and the handling of complaints.
10.3.3 The institution's tests and examinations should be formulated and carried out so that they give as correct a picture as possible of the scope, content and level of the education.
11.1 The Students' Achievement of Goals
11.2 Course Completion
11.3 Teaching Results
11.1.1 The institution should have a system for the evaluation and/or monitoring of the extent to which the students achieve the goals that were established for the individual courses and studies.
11.2.1 The institution should have systems for the registration and presentation of its results in the form of statistics regarding course completions, educated candidates, etc.
11.2.2 The institution ought to have systems and/or routines for registering the relationship between recruiting and completion of various types of courses and studies.
11.2.3 The institution ought to have a specified objective as regards completion and other results in courses and studies. What's more, it ought to have plans for measures for dealing with a lack of accordance between goals and results.
11.3.1 The institution should have systems and/or routines for the evaluation and documentation of teaching results. Evaluation and/or documentation can be conducted continuously throughout the course or study and/or through a final test or examination.
11.3.2 The institution should meet state requirements for examinations, examination results, and documentation where this is relevant, and it should have a set of rules for evaluation, tests and examinations with which the teachers and students are familiar.
11.3.3 The institution should give the students documentation for achieved study results upon completion of the training.
11.3.4 Course certificates, diplomas and certificates should give correct documentation of the course's or study's scope, content and level, plus the students' results, and they should be in accordance with common practice for a corresponding education.
12.1 Evaluation
12.2 Customer Reactions
12.1.1 The institution ought to regularly evaluate the various elements that are included in the institution's education and follow up of the students.
12.1.2 Based on data on the students' progression, results and viewpoints, the institution ought to evaluate the extent to which their and the institution's goals for the education have been achieved, both comprehensively and for the individual training measures and/or fields. In the event of departures from these goals, the institution ought to take corrective measures.
12.2.1 In courses that are held in collaboration with or at the request of an employer, there ought to be a system for reporting back the employer's appraisal of the course's benefit.
12.2.2 Complaints about the instruction from students should always be taken seriously, and in the event of repeated complaints, possible improvements should be assessed.
13.1 External Constraints
13.2 Organisational Constraints
13.3 Collaborative Partners
13.1.1 The institution must make sure that all employees have the necessary familiarity with relevant laws and provisions that apply to the activities and to their respective lines of work.
13.2.1 The institution should be able to document statutes in which it is made clear that the distance education has ideal objectives for the general good, and that the operations are non-profit in keeping with the Norwegian Adult Education Act's intentions and provisions.
13.2.2 The institution should be able to document an organisational structure that is in accordance with these provisions, i.e. that distance education is the distance education institution or department's main pursuit, that the institution has a responsible day to day management and state authorized public accountant, and that separate accounts are kept for the distance education activities.
13.2.3 The institution should have an organisation, administrative systems and technical equipment that ensure that the education can be provided with sufficient quality.
13.2.4 The institution ought to work to develop an organisational culture that encourages work to improve the quality of the education.
13.2.5 The institution should have routines and systems for quality assurance that are familiar to those involved and that are possible to follow. The institution ought to have a designated person who is responsible for following up the institution's quality improvement work and revising the systems.
14.1 Quality Management
14.2 Communication
14.3 Future Orientation
14.1.1 The institution's management should make sure in its day to day work that its activities meet the quality standards that have been prescribed by NADE's quality standards and the institution's own policy for the different quality areas.
14.1.2 The institution should arrange the necessary training of employees within their lines of work and make sure that their competence is maintained and developed.
14.1.3 The institution's management ought to motivate its employees to get involved in and work on matters relating to quality in their own organisation and to take part in NADE's measures in this area.
14.3.1 Through the development of products, methods and organisation, the institution ought to make sure that it is capable at all times of meeting the target groups' needs in an effective and timely way.
15.1 Achievement of Goals
15.2 Financial Results
15.3 Repute
15.1.1 The institution's way of operating must help meet the Norwegian Adult Education Act's objective of "providing adult expertise, developing the individual personally, socially and culturally, and providing skills for an active social involvement" within the individual institution's chosen sphere of activity.
15.2.1 A distance education institution ought to have financial results that afford the students a reasonable prospect of completing their studies. The institution ought to also generate profits sufficient to ensure the future development of products and services.
15.2.2 An institution ought to be run in such a way that educational programmes are developed that are cost effective for the individual and the society.
15.3.1 The institution ought to achieve the society's and customers' goals in a way that improves this method of education's good repute and that provides a basis for further improvement.
16.1 Evaluation (quality audit)
16.2 Reporting
16.1.1 The institution ought to regularly go through all aspects of the organisation that affect its ability to provide services of the proper quality and evaluate any measures that may be necessary to bring about improvements.
16.2.1 The institution should submit an annual report and accounts to KUF in accordance with the pertinent laws and regulations. In this report an account should be given in the form that the ministry requires of what is being done to assure the quality of products and services.
16.2.2 In the case of supervision and/or inspections by the ministry, the institution should give complete access to information that is relevant to the ministry's assessment of whether the institution is meeting the necessary requirements for quality.