According to ISO 9000:2000, quality is defined as “the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs and expectations”.

Typically, a quality assurance system consists of the policies, attitudes, actions and procedures necessary to ensure that quality is being maintained and enhanced, and it applies to the following aspects of an ODL provider:

• courses, awards and degrees offered as well as its learning content;
• teaching and training staff and their pedagogic competence;
• administrative and technical staff;
• learning methods and technology used;
• validation and confirmation systems of evaluation;
• services;
• organizational and managerial structure (including: leaders and leadership and planning mechanisms and systems);
• infrastructure;
• financial resources.

A quality assurance system is usually called to check the following quality criteria:

• curricular learning effectiveness (availability, appropriateness to learning styles, state-of-the-art content, clarity of objectives, etc);
• teaching and training, academic and research achievements;
• flexibility of organisation allowing credit transfer, interdisciplinarity, studying within the framework of various programmes or institutions;
• usability of infrastructure and availability of adequate equipment (e.g. ISO standard);
• protection (security) of personal data;
• accountability with regard to the use of human and material resources;
• feedback from the students and responsiveness to their suggestions, proposals, and critique;
• feedback and support from stakeholders and labour-market needs;
• international scientific competitiveness, which is relevant for universities, but also important for education and training organizations in an European context;
• promising strategic planning with respect to international policies;
• the capacity for change.

We should add to these, another two quality criteria, which are:

• adequacy of self evaluation tools and methods for diagnostic, comparing the results with the policies, objectives and requirements established;
• implementation of actions leading to continuous improvement of the organization performance.

In Europe, some countries have established guidelines to access quality systems in ODL programs. In UK, there are two bodies: the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) and the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council (ODLQC). In the USA, there are several bodies, from which we mention: Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) and Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Implementing a Quality System is always costly and time consuming, so most organizations have difficulties to see immediate benefits from this process.

However, there are several benefits that should be emphasised, from which the following can be pointed out:

• influence in the organization culture. The implementation of a quality system has always a beneficial effect on the way the organization works and sees itself. The discipline associated with the process development (that is, processes identification, writing procedures, establish responsibilities, identify interfaces between processes, identify performance indicators and areas of improvement) has a positive effect on the perception collaborators have of their importance on the organization.
• effect on clients, mostly students, but also their families and society in general. This is mostly a competitive advantage as clients will tend to apply for courses in leading organizations whose public reputation is supported by recognised quality systems.

Accreditation is a recognition by an external and independent body that a training program or an organization meets the necessary requirements to educate their students, so that those that have followed the program can be admitted to a profession. In this definition it is assumed that all training envisages a profession and that both initial training and Long Life Learning (LLL) can be included. Accreditation must be conducted by an external body and, considering the need of adequateness to profession, the natural accreditation bodies are professional associations or any body specifically dedicated to personal accreditation recognised at national or international level by quality assurance accreditation bodies.