The applicability of international benchmarks to an internet-based distance education programme at the University of Stellenbosch

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The publication of the Report of the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) in1996, the White Paper on Higher Education (1997) and the Size and Shape Report (2000)has profoundly changed the landscape of Higher Education in South Africa. Institutions ofHigher Education have to re-think, among others, their teaching and learning strategiesincluding the integration and use of technology. Although the use of technology in highereducation is still in the early stages, the use of Information and CommunicationTechnologies (ICTs) is growing rapidly.The University of Stellenbosch started to integrate the Internet in their teaching in 1998.Research was undertaken to find a suitable on-line course management system and WebCourse Tools (WebCT) was chosen for this purpose. Since it was implemented, the useof WebCT has grown exponentially, although in most cases only as an add-on toclassroom lectures. The World Health Organisation (WHO) Mental Health Disorders inPrimary Care programme was the first programme developed as a full distance educationcourse, delivered completely by means of WebCT and making use of the team approachto programme development. This programme was therefore chosen as the case study forthis research.The purpose of this study is to apply 24 internationally developed benchmarks for qualityon-line distance education to the WebCT component of the WHO programme in order todetermine the applicability of these benchmarks for World Wide Web (WWW)programmes at the University of Stellenbosch.The research strategy for this study is a qualitative case study. Qualitative data wasobtained by conducting semi-structured interviews with the individuals involved in thedesign, development and implementation of the WHO course. The study concludes thatthe 24 benchmarks cannot be applied to the current University of Stellenbosch context.The systems at the US will either have to be adapted, or established to meet therequirements of the international benchmarks. Another option for the US could be todevelop their own benchmarks, taking international guidelines into account.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University