Quality Assurance in Course Development and Delivery in a Post-Pandemic World

Riding the Wave of Technology Transformations

Abstract

As higher education institutions engage in course development and delivery in this post-pandemic context, quality assurance considerations must play a key role, as emergency remote teaching is not the standard for online learning. In this position paper, the author conducted desk research and sought to answer the following questions: i) What were the main technology transformations experienced by higher education institutions during the Covid-19 Pandemic? ii) What are some post-pandemic considerations for course development and delivery in higher education?; iii) What are the quality assurance considerations for post-pandemic higher education institutions seeking to deliver online courses? Sources were identified, reviewed and evaluated for credibility based on the quality of the publication, taking account of journal impact factor, relevance to the topic and the timeliness of the information. The articles were read and sentences, paragraphs, or sections that reflected the scope of the research questions were extracted and reviewed to see how they responded to the research questions. Findings confirmed that a wave of technology transformations took place, marked by increased use of Learning Management Systems and synchronous web conferencing platforms. It was found that the use of rubrics to identify quality indicators is an important quality consideration. It was also found that lecturers gained more experience with remote examination and virtual labs and simulations. There was enhanced online student support in institutions and more options for developing faculty competencies in online teaching. Overall, there was greater understanding of the continuum of online learning, and that specific resources are required to ensure quality in course development and delivery. It was recommended that institutions engage in appropriate and timely policy development, including the development of a clear quality policy that captures the standards for online learning. There should also be the application of an appropriate quality assurance framework, and the strengthening of those entities responsible for implementation of the activities crucial for online course development and delivery.