E-learning quality: Identification of its dimensions, proposal and validation of a model for its assessment in higher education

Abstract

Quality assessment in higher education institutions is a non-standardised process and it depends on each university. The digitalisation of teaching and the situations, which have occurred in recent times, have led to a notable increase in the interest and relevance of e-Learning in both the teaching as well as the learning processes, with quality also being understood as a fundamental element in its evaluation and improvement. This research proposes the identification of the dimensions related to the e-Learning quality, noting the need of a new evaluative framework according to the analysis of the literature and, also, generating a new model. After its construction, this study focused on the validation of its content by four expert judges in the quality evaluation and e-Learning fields. This validation process included the development of a tool for the evaluation of its dimensions and items, as well as a presentation of the model. On the other hand, both a qualitative evaluation (content analysis and suggestions) as well as a quantitative evaluation (analysed through descriptive statistics and the CVC calculation) were carried out for evaluating the outcomes. This validation showed a high level of acceptance and conformity of the judges with the model, the dimensions and the proposed items. Based on this validation, the final model was developed consisting of four main dimensions, 14 sub-dimensions and a total of 80 indicators that attempt to assess each relevant quality factor in e-Learning. Limitations and future avenues of research derived from the proposal are presented in the final conclusions.