Improving the quality of e-learning: lessons from the eMM

Abstract

The quality of e-learning can be defined in many different ways, reflecting different stakeholders and the complexity of the systems and processes used in higher education. These different conceptions of quality can be mutually contradictory and, while politically significant, may also be beyond the direct control or influence of institutional leaders. The e-learning maturity model (eMM) provides a framework for e-learning quality improvement that measures the capability of institutions to sustainably engage in e-learning and visualizes that capability in a way that assists leaders and managers using that information to undertake systematic and targeted improvements in their institution's e-learning activities. This paper synthesizes the outcomes of multiple international eMM assessments to extract a set of starting points for institutions intending to improve the quality of e-learning experienced by their students.