问责制——西方国家远程高等教育外部质量保证的新发展

Accountability——the New Development of External Quality Assurance of Distance Higher Education in Western Countries

西方国家远程高等教育外部质量保证是一套由法规和政策、认证、评估、公共舆论监督以及非学历社会的文化氛围等五个方面构成的相对完整的体系。然而这套体系并非尽善尽美,近年来兴起的问责制则解决了当前外部质量保证体系尤其是认证制度无法解决的认证结果的不可比性。问责制是远程高等教育机构面对来自政府、学术共同体和市场力量等不同主体的关切和质疑所公开做出的回应,它的目标是致力于办学信息的公开透明。问责制作为认证、评估等当前流行的外部质量保证措施的补充,对我国开放大学的外部质量保证体系建设具有重要的借鉴意义。

he External Quality Assurance （EQA） of distance higher education in western countries is a relatively comprehensive system composed of law and policy, independent accreditation and evaluation, public supervision and non - credential society. But this system is not absolutely perfect and the rise of accountability in recent years resolves the incommensurability of the accreditation of this system. Accountability is the public response of distance higher education institutions to the concerns and queries from the govern- ments, academic communities and market forces, so its objective is to make the information related open and transparent to public. Ac- countability, as a supplement of the currently popular EQA measures like accreditation and evaluation, is very helpful in constructing the EQA of Chinese Open Universities.