ASQA is conducting a strategic review into online learning. This is particularly timely in a COVID and post-COVID world.

A while ago we reported on some work NCVER had done on purely online courses, and good practice for online delivery. You can refresh your memory about these VDC News articles by clicking on the links above. ASQA provides some guidance to online learning too.

Now ASQA has launched its review, and the website for it can be found here. The review’s purpose is outlined in its terms of reference. It is to:

“understand the opportunities and risks of online learning in the VET sector, to ensure our regulatory approaches are effective in responding to our changing environment [and] ensure that the quality of Australian VET delivered online to domestic and international students remains at a high standard so that students, employers, the community and governments can have confidence in the integrity of national qualifications issued by training providers.”

The terms of reference note that online delivery in a CBT-based system such as ours is not without risk, for example not being able to deliver all components of a qualification through online or distance delivery (this particularly relates to those aspects where workplace experiences are required by the training package or where practical skills need to be acquired and demonstrated) and “not considering learner needs, including the ability, desire and capacity of students to undertake distance learning.”

ASQA began stakeholder consultation in late 2020 and “intends to deliver a final report by mid-2021.” Interested readers can contact the Strategic Review Team by emailing [email protected].

You can also access a webinar related to the review.