Performance Indicators for Quality Assurance
Most national quality assurance systems involve external monitoring and emphasize accountability rather than continuous improvement. The use of the PIs requires institutions to engage in critical self-assessment that promotes the development of a reflective culture of quality, which is particularly important within new and emerging ODL systems.
Performance
Indicators are tools to evaluate performance trends in the
institution/program/course and to initiate continuous improvement.
In developing the PIs, care was taken to ensure
that they would:
- Provide comprehensive coverage of the most relevant domains of quality in ODL institutions.
- Capture important aspects of performance.
- Impact on overall institutional/program quality improvement.
- Reflect institutional realities.
- Focus on the impact of institutional processes on learners.
- Reflect on key policy concerns.
- Make sense logically and in practice.
- Capture meaningful aspects of quality provisions.
- Be realistic and implementable.
The PI is categorized into these 10 criteria as follows:
- Vision, mission, and planning
- Management, organizational culture, and leadership
- Learners
- Human Resource Development
- Program design and development
- Course design and development
- Learner support and progression
- Learner assessment, and evaluation
- Learning infrastructure and resources
- Research, consultancy, and extension services
The performance indicators are thus built on principles that apply generally to higher education, irrespective of mode and level and relate those principles to distance learning provision.