Title: Managing quality in online education: a conceptual model for program development and improvement

Authors: Judy Foster Davis, Matthew H. Sauber, Elizabeth A. Edwards

Addresses: Department of Marketing, College of Business, Eastern Michigan University, 469 Owen Bldg., Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA. ' Department of Marketing, College of Business, Eastern Michigan University, 469 Owen Bldg., Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA. ' Department of Marketing, College of Business, Eastern Michigan University, 469 Owen Bldg., Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA

Abstract: There is near universal agreement that in order for online programs in higher education to be viewed as legitimate and valuable, high quality needs to be assured. In this paper, the authors present a comprehensive conceptual framework which identifies the features, benchmarks and institutional practices which underscore high quality in a fully-online degree program. The model, subject to empirical testing, suggests a useful approach for developing and improving online programs.

Keywords: quality management; online education; online program quality; quality assurance; electronic learning; online learning; quality assessment; e-learning quality; service quality; quality models; online teaching; education quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2011.037757

International Journal of Management in Education, 2011 Vol.5 No.1, pp.93 - 108

Published online: 12 Feb 2015 *

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