 Vice Chancellor, distinguished colleagues, it's a pleasure to be virtually present at this meeting, to discuss quality assurance in open and distance learning or ODL for the region. As the COVID-19 pandemic forced institutions to pivot to distance learning almost overnight, online learning for many became the only option. Access to technology, devices, connectivity, and even electricity were a major barrier. For teachers, online teaching was an entirely new experience and most lacked the capacity to offer effective technology-nable learning. Students from resource poor communities were even further disadvantaged. So two key issues emerged during this time, quality and equity. Quality, because ODL requires systematic planning and delivery, which was not possible due to the urgency of the situation. Equity, because as a recent study notes, more than 60% of the students in sub-Saharan Africa were excluded from online learning. So the first question to consider in framing a regional strategy is, can the principles of equity be embedded in quality assurance policies and processes to ensure that no one is left behind? Open and distance learning is not new for many developing countries, which established open universities to democratize higher education. In fact, commonwealth countries have 31 open universities, most of them in Asia, which cater to nearly 5 million students every year. Then there are dual mode institutions which offer campus and distance learning provision. India alone has over 200 such universities, which offer both campus and in-person provision. And the numbers have been growing around the world here in North America as well, even before the pandemic struck. Research shows that there is no significant difference between campus and distance learning. Yet, ODL continues to be regarded as second rate in many developing countries. For this reason, many ODL institutions have made extra efforts to demonstrate quality to their different stakeholders. For example, the Open University of Malaysia got an ISO 9001-2000 certification and is also accredited by the Malaysian National Accreditation Board. This reflects the attempt of an ODL institution to constantly improve its processes through internal and external quality assurance measures in relation to national as well as international standards. Institutions such as the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India comply with the standards set by the National Distance Education Council of India. Some institutions have developed their own quality assurance policies, such as the Open University of Sri Lanka. Here, an Open University has taken the lead in developing standards and quality measures that would be applicable to all other providers of distance education in the country. So the second question then for us to consider is, are there elements of these models that could work for our regional policy and strategy? Now for institutions adopting dual mode provision, it would be useful to have a clear policy on the use of ODL. It should be flexible enough to embrace a range of existing and emerging technologies and provide for OER, open educational resources, MOOCs, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality. If you are a campus university, wishing to develop a distance education policy, you need to ask certain questions. What are the reasons for going dual mode and what will you do to achieve your goals? How will the faculty contribute? Would they require training or additional incentives? How will quality courses be developed? Will OER be used? What kind of support will be provided to the distance learners? And how will you ensure that the quality and standards are maintained for both campus and distance students? What systems do you need to put in place to cater to the large numbers and deal with the logistics of preparing and distributing study materials? The second step would be to develop rigorous quality assurance guidelines for ODL and align these with the national qualifications framework for credit mobility and recognition of qualifications. We believe that open universities and campus providers have the same purpose that all universities serve and if all institutions are judged according to the same benchmarks, there is less likelihood of ODL being considered second rate. For example, the Open University UK is assessed like any other university in the UK by the Quality Assurance Agency. It is true that many open universities have a social mission and a more flexible delivery mode. But if the assessments of quality are based on fitness for purpose, quality of courses, effective learner support and student achievement, there is no need for separate quality assurance regulations for ODL provision. The guidelines can be separate, but regulations can be the same. The third step would be to train staff in the different aspects of effective distance learning delivery. Capacity building in course development, effective learner support and assessment techniques would be some areas of focus. And all these three steps which I've outlined, developing a policy, establishing a robust quality assurance framework and building capacity, can be taken up simultaneously. Another thing to remember is that quality assurance is not restricted to well-endowed institutions alone. Kiambojo Teacher Training College in Uganda complements its distance education provision for teacher training through face-to-face tutorials on weekends. And if a student does not come for two consecutive sessions, the tutor gets on his or her bicycle and travels miles to the student's house to find out what happened. Now, this culture of care is really what we call a culture of quality. Professor Kall and I had edited a book towards the culture of quality, where we describe this culture of quality as an institutional culture that promotes the introduction of an internal quality assurance system where every staff member takes ownership, values capacity building for implementing quality assurance and stresses accountability to stakeholders and focuses on learning outcomes. Now, this book came out about 15 years ago. What has changed today? Think what has changed is the focus on livelihoods. The ultimate objective of quality assurance is to ensure not just access to quality learning, but also to student success that leads to opportunities for livelihoods. This means going beyond looking at completion and retention rates to supporting graduates to become employable. And I'm making a distinction between employable and employment. That is, employable means that is equipped with the skills that can lead to employment or entrepreneurship. In short, skills that prepare our students for the uncertain future that lies ahead. Today, we have access to so many resources in quality assurance, toolkits, handbooks, guidelines. In fact, Kaul is a leader in quality assurance for ODL, technology-enabled learning and OER. And all these resources are available on our website. Please draw on these and on the expertise of our colleagues as you undertake this important task. With that, let me wish you and the meeting every possible success. Stay safe and stay cheerful.