ABSTRACT
The aim of this book has been to initiate dialogue on and work towards common
understandings of the need for quality and quality assurance (QA) in open and dis-
tance learning (ODL) and what is entailed in the process. It has provided examples
of policies, frameworks, guidelines and best practice in QA and accreditation in
ODL across the globe. It has identified the challenges in ensuring quality at national,
regional and international levels and in the Information Age. It has also recorded
lessons learned by policymakers, managers and practitioners. It has shown that, as in
all other forms of education, QA in ODL needs to be performance-or outcomes-
based, concerned with systemic change and aimed at continuous improvement and
achieving a culture of quality and self-accountability. It can also be shown that there
are costs in not applying QA. In this final chapter, we consider these issues further.
