E-Learning

The advent of the Internet, telematics, and interactive testing has prodded many leading universities to experiment with innovative programming and with distance education. Currently, there exists no internationally accepted accrediting body for schools without brick-and-mortar campuses.

New programmes have led to the need for innovative and even unorthodox approaches to measure academic accomplishment. Concerns over transferability need to be addressed and transnational evaluation criteria formulated to define traditional and non-traditional education in equivalent terms. Current efforts focus on determining the operational variables.

One of Cheshire’s undertakings is to determine the analytical tools for verification of work experience and life skills in terms of academic standards at its affiliated institutions. The Regents have been assessing academic programmes to identify a set of standards that they believe can then be used towards the formulation of an internationally recognised qualification system.

Our goal is to translate these into criteria based upon the American model of granting accreditation to programmes rather than institutions. Reliable evaluation can only be achieved through the integration of educational and academic standards into a unified paradigm of recognised departmental qualifications and achievement. In the future, our activities will include the application of these criteria for evaluating an individual’s intellectual achievements in various academic fields.

These will then be used to prepare Computerized Adaptive Tests, or CAT’s, reflecting national and international standards of accomplishment. Given in real time and at designated test centres, these tests, will determine each candidate’s ability level without penalizing for source of derivation.

This is important because the determination of a student’s objective achievement level can be used to further reduce the time needed to complete a degree programme. Institutions will be invited to apply these criteria on an experimental basis.

To assure the stability and integrity of this process, participating schools will be asked to provide full disclosure of their overall admissions criteria, course requirements, required texts, and teaching methodologies.