Distance Education Quality Material.

Learning materials that enable students to achieve the intended outcomes of a course or programme would probably be considered to be of an acceptable standard or quality. But is learner success the only criteria for establishing the quality of learning materials? In South Africa distance education practitioners have debated issues around quality learning materials, materials development and course design for a number of years. As a way of working towards a common understanding of quality in distance education provision, a set of criteria was developed and published by NADEOSA (National Association of Distance Education Organizations in South Africa) in 2005. The criteria specify clearly what the requirements are for quality course materials, online materials and the materials development process.

Sloan-C, a Consortium of Institutions and Organizations committed to Quality Online Education identifies five pillars of quality online education: student satisfaction, access, learning effectiveness, faculty satisfaction and institutional cost effectiveness.

Quality in one context may not necessarily be considered quality in another context. Internationally accepted standards and benchmarks can provide guidance for education and training practitioners in any context to establish what is good practice in their particular situation. Quality is an integral part of the materials development cycle: clear criteria inform the planning and development of the learning materials. They are also used to evaluate and refine the materials.