Summary Report: ICDE Roundtable at UNESCO World Higher Education Conference 2022
This report presents regional perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for the topic of quality within Open, Flexible and Distance learning (OFDL). With the backdrop of an increasing need for quality assurance in OFDL and the aim of Sustainable Development Goal 4 on Quality Education, this report looks at one initiative for quality data collection and benchmarking among institutions as well as the international views during a panel discussion.
Firstly, this report introduces the Benchmarking Framework and Consortium, a quality assurance initiative established in 2019 by Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU). The objectives, online education pillars and members are presented, with a link for further information.
The second part of this report summarises ICDE Roundtable at the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference 2022. The roundtable consisted of five panelists and explores their views on eight identified challenges. Key opportunities for quality assurance of OFDL are then presented from their regional and institutional contexts.
The discussion ends with their visions of the future of education, OFDL’s place in the system and how the benchmarking framework can be utilised by institutions across borders. This report concludes with a final view of next steps and recommendations for the improvement and innovation of quality assurance within the OFDL system.