Documents and guidelines for ensuring the quality of online and hybrid teaching

1. Documents and guidelines for ensuring the quality of online and hybrid teaching

The development and implementation of online and hybrid study models in Croatia are regulated by a legal and qualitative framework, which includes documents and guidelines from the Agency for Science and Higher Education (ASHE). You need to go through the legislative framework and understand the criteria that apply when issuing a permit for online studies, including procedures from initial accreditation to regular quality monitoring.

Quality assurance of the implementation of the teaching process in a digital educational environment is carried out based on the guidelines developed by the constituent itself, and the overarching document is the „General Guidelines for Quality Assurance in e-Learning" developed by the ENQA working group (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education). Special emphasis is placed on ESG 1.3. Student-centred learning, teaching and assessment and ESG 1.6. Learning resources and student support.

2. Criteria for obtaining an online study permit

According to the ASHE, higher education institutions are required to meet the following prerequisites for issuing a license.

• a formal decision by the competent professional body to launch online studies and the participation of students or external stakeholders in the development of the programme
• strategic commitment to online models and ability for long-term sustainability, including a five-year financial plan for digital infrastructure
• appropriate digital infrastructure, including server capacity, LMS platform, customer services, backup systems and constant 24/7 internet access
• staffing requirements, including teacher competencies for online teaching and student support
• planned pedagogical design and evaluation methods, including interactive teaching methods, transparent evaluation and clear learning outcomes
• transparent enrollment and advancement conditions, including access criteria, recognition of prior learning and required digital prior knowledge
• monitoring and evaluation of the quality of online studies, with monitoring of key indicators (completion rate, dropout rate), feedback and external evaluation
• clear communication and public availability of information about the programme, method of implementation, student rights and teaching methods.

In short, HEI must fulfill additional technical-pedagogical-organisational conditions even if it wants to accredit an existing study programme as one that can be performed online.

3. Examples of good practice

The examples of good practice relate to quality assurance measures with a particular focus on ESG 1.3 Student-centred learning, teaching and assessment and ESG 1.6 Learning resources and student support. Analyse them to see how specific measures contribute to the achievement of ESG 1.3 and ESG 1.6. Pay attention to approaches that encourage active learning, timely feedback and the availability of resources for all students. Consider which elements you could apply or improve in your own environment to improve the quality of teaching and student support. Compare the examples with practices at your higher education institution and identify possible opportunities for developing or changing existing processes.

ESG Standard 1.3 

ESG Standard 1.3 states that "Higher education institutions must ensure that programmes are delivered in a way that encourages students to take an active role in the learning process and that student assessment reflects this approach", and the guidelines state that student-centred learning and teaching play an important role in fostering student motivation, self-reflection and engagement in the learning process. This involves the careful design of study programmes and their delivery, as well as the assessment of outcomes. The implementation of student-centred learning and teaching includes:

• respecting and adapting to the diversity of students and their needs, while enabling flexible learning paths
• taking into account — where appropriate — the use of different teaching methods
• flexible use of different pedagogical methods
• regular evaluation and adaptation of different teaching methods and pedagogical methods
• encouraging autonomy in students, with appropriate guidance and support from teachers
• mutual respect between teacher and student
• appropriate procedures for resolving student complaints.

ESG Standard 1.6

ESG 1.6. "Higher education institutions must adequately fund learning and teaching activities and ensure sufficient and easily accessible resources for learning and support for students", and the guidelines emphasize that in order to ensure a quality study experience, higher education institutions should offer students a variety of resources: from physical (libraries, workspaces, computer equipment) to human (tutors, mentors, advisors). Special attention should be paid to the needs of a diverse student population, including older, employed, international students and students with disabilities, and to encouraging flexible forms of learning. Internal quality systems should guarantee that all resources are purposeful, accessible and clearly presented to students. Support and administrative services should play a key role in this, and they must be professionally trained and have the opportunity to continuously develop their competencies.

Examples of good practice:

Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb

4. Relevant documents

Here are the relevant documents related to ensuring the quality of online studies that complement each other in terms of quality standards and the implementation of online studies in the education system of the Republic of Croatia:

• Criteria for evaluating online studies
  
• Quality standards - initial accreditation of online studies
  
• Guidelines for e-universities  (presentation by CARNET/AZVO)
• Additional literature on digitization of teaching and implementation of technology (UNIRI)
• Consultation form and report on online standards (AZVO).