Leadership
1.1 Governance
Description:
Establishing governance controls for eLearning to ensure responsible management within the institution, regulating relationships and communication among stakeholders in the educational process, defining roles and responsibilities, protecting stakeholder rights, and enhancing accountability and transparency. This also includes verifying compliance with the approved standards and controls and continuously monitoring and controlling practices to achieve objectives and support sustainability.
Requirements:
- An approved governance structure for eLearning that defines roles and responsibilities, the authority of decision-making, and coordination procedures among relevant stakeholders.
- Monitor the learning process within eLearning environments, and provide clear communication channels between roles, supported by monitoring indicators.
- Ensure the quality of eLearning practices in accordance with approved standards and controls, and document verification results, corrective actions, and improvement measures.
- Protect stakeholders' rights and enable them to file grievances and report misconduct, supported by clear procedures for response, remediation, and escalation when required.
- Periodically review and update the governance structure in alignment with organizational changes and factors impacting the eLearning ecosystem.
- Review and update eLearning-related systems, processes, policies, and practices to ensure relevance, continuity, and integration with supporting learning systems. (e.g., Learning Management Systems (LMS) and assessment and verification systems).
1.2 Strategies
Description:
Defining the strategic direction of eLearning within the institution. This includes the formulation of the vision, mission, and objectives and translating them into actionable operational plans. Furthermore, engaging stakeholders and ensuring continuous monitoring and assessment to support the quality and effectiveness of eLearning.
Requirements:
- Provide a strategic plan for eLearning, either independently or integrated into the institution's strategy, which includes the vision, mission, strategic goals, and operational plans.
- Provide a detailed implementation plan derived from the strategy that includes stakeholders, in addition to providing mechanisms for capability building and professional development, including target Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and documented annual periodic reviews.
- Engage stakeholders in building and developing the eLearning strategic plans.
1.3 Policies
Description:
Establishing policies to regulate eLearning and define the rules, controls, and guidelines for controlled implementation. This standard aims to support the quality of learning, address diverse needs, ensure alignment with relevant public policies, comply with regulations and ethical requirements, and protect rights within digital environments.
Requirements:
- Provide comprehensive and published operational policies and controls supporting the implementation of eLearning, including digital privacy and security, beneficiaries' rights in digital environments, educational data governance, and universal access.
- Provide a policy governing the interoperability, reliability, security, and effectiveness of systems within the eLearning environment (e.g., Learning Management Systems (LMS) and assessment and verification systems).
- Develop policies for continuous training and support for beneficiaries to enable the effective utilization of technology within the eLearning environment.
- Establish an academic integrity policy to regulate academic behavior in eLearning environments and ensure the authenticity of learners' work, fair assessment, and clarity of procedures, while respecting data privacy and beneficiaries' rights and defining documented and announced processes for prevention, detection, remediation, and grievances.
- Provide an eLearning attendance and participation policy that clearly outlines attendance requirements based on the learning mode (distance/blended, synchronous, asynchronous) and defines the processes of monitoring and documenting and the procedures for addressing technical outages and excuses. This enhances transparency of expectations, fairness of application, and learning continuity.
- Develop a policy that defines learner-to-educator ratios in eLearning to ensure quality of interaction, support, and assessment. Such a policy balances the course, its delivery mode, the required level of engagement, and available human resources with clearly defined exception procedures.
- Adhere to regulations and national requirements in all content and services presented or delivered within the eLearning environment.
- Develop, implement, and update the institution's policies periodically to align with evolving eLearning practices and the national frameworks established by the National eLearning Center (NeLC) and relevant institutions.
1.4 Procedures
Description:
Converting strategies and policies into clear operational procedures that regulate eLearning processes and enhance their efficiency. It involves process description, knowledge documentation, automation of procedures where applicable, developing guidelines for data collection and reporting, and regularly monitoring the effectiveness of procedures to support sustainability and continuous improvement.
Requirements:
- The institution defines KPIs to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of eLearning, monitor goal achievement, and utilize measurement results for continuous improvement.
- The institution defines eLearning workflow procedures and outlines them to stakeholders to ensure alignment between objectives and goals.
- The institution outlines administrative processes, documents knowledge, and automates procedures wherever possible.
- The institution conducts periodic monitoring to track the effectiveness of procedures and improves them based on results.
- The institution defines the roles responsible for executing procedures for various stakeholders.
- Engage stakeholders in the design, implementation, and development of eLearning.
- Develop guidelines for data collection and reporting related to eLearning.
- Utilize tools, resources, and systems to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of procedures and processes. (e.g., Learning Management Systems (LMS) and assessment and verification systems).
- Implement procedures and practices that enhance sustainability in delivering eLearning.
1.5 Resource Allocation
Description:
Managing financial, physical, and human resources for the implementation and sustainability of eLearning. This includes establishing a budgetary framework and sustainable funding models, developing infrastructure, fostering human capital development, and investing in digital content and tools, while monitoring resource utilization to optimize efficiency and effectiveness.
Requirements:
- Develop a plan to ensure sustainable financial resources that support the stability and efficiency of eLearning.
- Provide efficient and qualified human resources to lead and implement eLearning tasks and programs.
- Develop talent acquisition and recruitment plans that include employment targets, achievements, and processes for continuous development and talent retention.
- Continuously review and update job descriptions for academic, technical, and administrative staff to ensure alignment with eLearning.
- Assess resource utilization efficiency through financial and operational KPIs, and link expenditure to educational and operational Return on Investment (ROI).
- Utilize shared digital educational resources to reduce duplication and enhance spending efficiency, adhere to usage controls and intellectual property rights, and document utilization levels and their impact.
1.6 Change Management
Description:
Fostering a culture of change and managing it effectively within the eLearning ecosystem. This includes aligning roles and responsibilities with anticipated transformations, building the knowledge, skills, and tools for fundamental improvements and transformations, and keeping pace with emerging trends and evolving needs to ensure continuous development without compromising operational stability.
Requirements:
- Develop a plan for change management in eLearning that clearly defines new roles and responsibilities and supports the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and tools to implement changes and improvements.
- Monitor developments, directions, and changing needs continuously within the eLearning ecosystem to ensure alignment with national requirements and to update regulations, policies, procedures, and technologies.
- Continuous assessment of risks associated with eLearning (academic, technical, operational, and data protection), and development of plans to address them while ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and policies.
1.7 AI Governance
Description:
Establishing a governance framework to regulate the use of AI in eLearning. This standard ensures alignment with learning objectives, clear allocation of responsibilities, risk management, and the protection of rights and data, in addition to promoting transparency and accountability in approval and decision-making.
Requirements:
- Develop a framework that defines the scope of AI use (permissible/prohibited), acceptance and approval standards, and periodic review mechanisms.
- Define roles, responsibilities, authorities, and operational governance related to the use of AI in eLearning.
- Develop a methodology to manage AI risks associated with usage (e.g., privacy, bias, content safety, and academic integrity) with remediation and escalation processes.
- Define data protection controls when using AI tools, including policies for data sharing, retention, and access, and verify compliance before sharing.
- Document approval decisions, significant changes, and incidents related to misuse or risks, and establish channels for reporting, addressing, and following-up.
Curriculum Design and Planning
2.1 Compliance with Standards
Description:
Ensuring that the design, content, and delivery of digital curricula comply with national eLearning standards and other relevant standards. This includes aligning learning materials, activities, resources, and assessments with educational objectives and adhering to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to support accessibility and equal opportunities.
Requirements:
- Align the design of digital programs and courses with national curriculum and program design standards.
- Enhance the quality of digital delivery by adopting standards issued by relevant institutions to ensure consistency and reliability.
- Adhere to technical standards for tracking learning experiences when designing digital content (e.g., Experience API/xAPI).
- Comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure usability for all beneficiaries.
- Provide mechanisms for periodic review and approval of digital course design and quality during implementation and prior to release.
2.2 Instructional Design
Description:
Applying an instructional design methodology guided by the development of digital courses and content to ensure consistency, reliability, and effectiveness. This is based on instructional design principles, models, and learning theories, with a focus on the learner, interaction, flexibility, accessibility, and the alignment of components with learning objectives.
Requirements:
- Provide a multidisciplinary instructional design team to ensure a systematic approach to digital content development.
- Conduct regular reviews and updates to maintain content quality and ensure distinguished learning experiences.
- Develop plans to analyze learner needs, course objectives, content requirements, and influential factors to guide the instructional design.
- Ensure that instructional design is learner-centered, focusing on interaction, accessibility, flexibility, and the alignment of components with learning objectives.
- Utilize UDL principles in digital programs, curricula, and courses to promote equal learning opportunities.
- Organize content into sequential micro learning modules to enhance comprehension.
- Adopt a standardized course structure to help learners understand and anticipate components across all courses easily.
- Ensure that any use of AI (such as personalization or instructional aids) is directly linked to learning outcomes and designed with human supervision to define limits of use and the respective roles of both learner and educator.
- Consider equity and accessibility principles when integrating AI into learning experience design, verify its impact on diverse groups, and mitigate potential biases.
2.3 Content Development and Course Materials
Description:
Designing, developing, and producing digital course materials using resources and media that support teaching and learning. This standard ensures content accuracy, currency, and comprehensiveness while maintaining alignment with curricular objectives and cultural appropriateness. Furthermore, it guarantees that content is free from any inappropriate material, violations, or value conflicts, and in full compliance with national regulations, policies, and best practices.
Requirements:
- Conduct a comprehensive analysis of educational needs to determine the digital content to be developed, its objectives, and the target audience.
- Regularly review and update content in accordance with national standards and best practices, utilize feedback, and provide a periodic update plan.
- Adhere to Intellectual Property (IP) rights, user rights, and legal requirements for digital content.
- Consider diversity and inclusion and align content with the cultural context to support the creation of inclusive learning environments.
- Provide materials and resources related to the course, facilitate access for all learners, and adhere to accessibility guidelines where possible.
- Inform learners of essential resource requirements (e.g., systems, digital tools, and required materials) before or upon enrollment, and provide links to approved supporting digital resources within the institution.
- The institution enables downloading or exporting educational resources in formats that support offline learning.
- Verify the accuracy of the AI-generated content before publication, including scientific and linguistic validation, contextual appropriateness, and ensure it is free from misleading information.
- Utilize AI to generate and edit content as needed according to a standardized mechanism that supports review and improvement.
- Ensure adherence to IP rights when utilizing AI tools to generate media and text.
2.4 Program/Course Description
Description:
Providing a standardized and well-structured description for the program/course as a reference document that offers clear, essential information for educators and learners. It includes an overview of the content, objectives, intended learning outcomes (ILOs), tasks, assessment, and relevant policies and requirements to enhance clarity of expectations before and during the course and enhance the quality of the learning experience.
Requirements:
- Provide a program description that includes the minimum essential program information.
- Provide course descriptions for each course, aligned with learning outcomes, and include minimum essential information (such as assessment policies).
- Publish course descriptions to ensure beneficiaries can review them prior to enrollment.
- Specify expected dates for coursework, activities, exams, and communication channels within the course description.
- Periodically review course descriptions for improvements and updates, and notify educators and learners about any changes.
- Offer guidelines for AI use in learning activities and assignments within the course description (including what is permitted and prohibited, as well as what requires documentation).
Education and Digital Learning
3.1 Teaching and Learning Strategies
Description:
Employing teaching and learning strategies within the digital environment to achieve effective, engaging, and learner-centered experiences, and considering the content and learners' needs, while leveraging available data to support the selection and optimization of these strategies.
Requirements:
- Diversify digital teaching and learning strategies to align with learning modes, content, and the diverse needs of learners, including those with special needs.
- Design Virtual Learning Communities (VLCs) that foster collaboration, interaction, and creation and sharing of knowledge.
- Design learning experiences that support active learning, self-directed learning, and deep comprehension of content.
- Provide experiential learning opportunities (such as simulations or hands-on activities) to support the transfer of learning into real-world practice.
- Leverage available educational data in the LMS to guide the selection of learning strategies and enhance their effectiveness over time.
- Design learning activities that utilize AI to support the process (e.g., training and practice), and ensure that deep learning and understanding are achieved through tasks requiring student-led analysis and critical thinking.
- Ensure clarity of the AI role in activities (an assistive tool, not an alternative), and define checkpoints that require human review when needed.
3.2 Learning Outcomes
Description:
Formulating clear, concise, learner-centered, and measurable learning outcomes to enable learners to acquire knowledge, skills, behaviors, and values by the end of the course/program, while aligning them with program objectives and relevant national directions.
Requirements:
- Adopt accurate, clear, realistic, and measurable learning outcomes for every course in digital learning.
- Align course learning outcomes with the educational objectives of the program in digital learning.
- Ensure that program and course learning outcomes align with national educational trends, the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), and labor market domains, with the involvement of stakeholders.
- Periodically review course learning outcomes and educational objectives to ensure alignment and continuous improvement.
3.3 Setting Expectations
Description:
Defining learning expectations clearly for learners at the beginning of the program/course. This includes course requirements, participation guidelines, ILOs, internet ethics, and etiquette. In addition to technologies, tools, and systems utilized in the digital learning environment to promote consistency, reduce confusion, and enhance the quality.
Requirements:
- Define program/course expectations, including expected learning outcomes, enrollment requirements, the role of learners and educators, expected workload, and the course timeline.
- Specify attendance and participation requirements, measurement processes, and their impact on course progression, and ensure beneficiaries can access this information.
- Provide an assessment overview within the course (assessment components, weight/distribution, and deadlines).
- Clarify communication channels within the course, interaction etiquette, contact hours/office hours, and expected response time, in line with the approved communication policy.
- Clarify the controls for using digital tools within the course (including AI tools where permitted), usage boundaries, and documentation requirements, with reference to relevant approved policies (integrity/digital citizenship/privacy).
- Provide links and channels for relevant support (technical, academic, and guidance) and clear mechanisms for inquiries.
3.4 Engagement and Interaction
Description:
Supporting learner success by designing interactions within the digital course to enhance the learner's engagement with the content, peers, and educators. The standard aims to foster engagement in educational activities and the creation of a digital learning community that promotes active learning and a sense of belonging.
Requirements:
- Design diverse activities that promote interaction and engagement in digital courses to enhance learner success and create engaging learning experiences.
- Provide a range of activities that facilitate interaction and participation tailored to the course and learner needs.
- Provide tools/methods to enhance learner engagement and encourage interaction with course activities, peers, and educators.
- Design tools/methods that support learner participation, sustained focus, and interaction during distance learning.
- Leverage interaction data to monitor learner interaction levels and identify opportunities for improving educational activities.
3.5 Communication
Description:
Fostering effective communication within the digital course to build positive relationships among learners and educators. This is achieved through communication channels (text, audio, and video), and the utilization of both synchronous and asynchronous modes based on the course design and the learners' needs.
Requirements:
- Develop a communication policy that includes communication channels, etiquette, and office hours, and outline it to beneficiaries within the digital learning environment.
- Provide online discussion spaces that enable learners to post and reply to messages to enhance collaborative learning.
- Provide group activities/projects that enable learners to work collaboratively using participatory tools within a shared digital environment.
3.6 Feedback
Description:
Providing continuous feedback to support learners' progress throughout the course/program. This involves leveraging data and learning analytics to enhance learner performance and support efficiency, therefore, meeting the needs of learners, educators, and the educational institution.
Requirements:
- Provide a mechanism for delivering timely feedback on tasks and activities throughout the duration of the course/program.
- Leverage learning analytics to utilize data derived from LMS and improve learner performance, enhance feedback mechanisms, and support data-driven decision-making.
- Provide instructions, tools, and activities that deliver feedback to learners throughout the course duration.
- Design self-assessments that provide immediate feedback and enable learners to track and improve their own performance.
- Provide interactive mechanisms that enable learners to exchange constructive peer feedback within a digital environment to enhance collaborative learning and feedback quality.
- Clarify the feedback and its scope when using AI, and provide a channel for objections/inquiries and human review when needed.
- Periodically verify the quality, relevance, and neutrality of AI-supported feedback, and improve when deficiencies are detected.
Assessment
4.1 Assessment strategies
Description:
Planning the design, preparation, and management of a diverse range of digital assessments. It involves defining methods, tools, technologies, and criteria to measure learner performance, progress, and achievement of learning outcomes, while incorporating controls for academic integrity and the security and privacy of learner data throughout all assessment stages.
Requirements:
- Develop an assessment framework that defines assessment methods, tools, techniques, and standards, and ensure alignment with learning outcomes and appropriateness for the content and delivery mode to effectively measure learner progress.
- Identify digital tools and technologies to develop a comprehensive assessment program, and provide alternatives when needed to support equal opportunities.
- Utilize emerging technologies (such as AI) in the designing and developing of online assessments according to approved quality and governance controls, define documentation requirements for AI use in specific assessments, and link them to a specific grading system.
- Consider learner data privacy and security when designing and delivering digital assessments in accordance with national requirements and approved controls.
- Design assessments that promote academic integrity and mitigate cheating or impersonation consistent with the course and risk level, and provide appropriate verification tools when needed (e.g., proctoring, detecting cheating, and identity verification).
- Design assessments while presuming AI availability by providing assessments that measure thinking, analysis, and knowledge application, as well as assessments that require performance-based evidence.
4.2 Assessment Procedures
Description:
Setting procedures for designing, managing, and evaluating digital assessments. This encompasses planning, implementation, grading, and providing feedback, while employing pedagogical methods and knowledge content to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and reusability of assessment tools with consistent results.
Requirements:
- Define key performance standards, develop measurable assessment models, and share them to support self-assessment throughout the study.
- Apply best practices in assessment development to ensure alignment with educational objectives, and periodically verify their accuracy and reliability.
- Provide assessment procedures that include timely feedback, and offer orientation/training for learners on digital assessments as needed.
- Regularly collect stakeholder feedback on digital assessments and utilize it for improvement, and provide channels to engage learners in processes regarding assessment changes.
- Define the grading mechanism for assessing learners’ activities and tasks, and ensure that it is communicated clearly within each digital course.
- Establish documented procedures for appeals, reviews, and reassessments, with response timelines, and provide submission channels and escalation procedures when needed.
- Document any use of AI to support assessment, ensure human review and quality control prior to approval, and establish a verification method for suspected misuse.
4.3 Assessment Methods
Description:
Selecting assessment methods and tools to measure learner performance and ensuring fair opportunities for all learners to demonstrate content mastery and achieve course learning outcomes. This includes diversifying assessment methods to align with the content and its intended outcomes.
Requirements:
- Align digital assessment tools and methods with learning outcomes, technical requirements, and teaching and learning strategies.
- Include a variety of clear digital assessment tasks that are presented regularly and promptly, supported by well-designed assessment rubrics.
- Provide training for teachers on designing available digital assessment tools and selecting the assessment method and targeted level of proficiency.
4.4 Types of Assessment
Description:
Selecting various types of assessments throughout the learning stages (diagnostic, formative, and summative). This ensures providing multiple opportunities for learners to demonstrate content mastery and measures both the theoretical and practical aspects of digital courses, while aligning the assessment type with learning outcomes and technology.
Requirements:
- Diversify types of assessments for course outcomes to match learners' needs, course objectives, and desired learning outcomes.
- Implement different types of assessments to effectively measure both theoretical and practical aspects of digital courses.
- Employ appropriate types of assessments that suit the nature of the content, selecting the appropriate technology to measure knowledge, skills, and required competencies.
Technology
Description:
The institution provides an integrated technical ecosystem for digital learning with supporting platforms and tools and ensures seamless integration. It enables beneficiaries to operate and utilize them easily across common platforms and operating systems, supporting diverse delivery modes and facilitating seamless access for all beneficiaries.
Requirements:
- Provide and maintain the technical infrastructure to support the effectiveness and efficiency of digital learning.
- Provide an educational platform (such as LMS) that includes the following features:
- Organizing content and activities within a clear structure (units/topics) and uploading/displaying educational resources in multiple formats.
- Managing assignments, submitting and returning them, and displaying due dates and the course timeline.
- Providing appropriate communication and interaction tools within the course (synchronous or asynchronous) to support learner engagement and facilitate communication with the educator.
- Tracking progress and generating key reports for the relevant roles (such as attendance/entry, completion of activities, interaction, and learning progress) according to permissions.
- Sending alerts/notifications related to deadlines, tasks, and educational events through appropriate channels.
- Integration with educational/support tools in the learning and training ecosystem (such as assessment systems, verification systems, and virtual classroom tools) to ensure a smooth experience.
- Providing tools/applications that support multiple delivery styles and methods (such as virtual classrooms for synchronous learning).
- Enable 24/7 access to relevant systems with ease of use.
- Provide training and online guides for the platforms and technologies used.
- Ensure the integration of AI tools (if available) with the technical system to provide a seamless user experience, reduce tool fragmentation, and facilitate support and tracking.
5.2 Internet Access
Description:
The institution ensures accessibility to reliable, high-performance internet services for educational, research, and innovative purposes. Furthermore, it provides alternatives and procedures in the event of disconnection or degraded service quality.
Requirements:
- Provide internet services that enable access to content and services related to digital learning.
- Provide procedures for reporting service levels and outages in collaboration with beneficiaries.
- Offer guidelines for beneficiaries to verify service, make updates, and check related internal setups.
- Provide accessibility alternatives when the internet connection is not available.
- Conduct periodic reviews to identify beneficiaries facing challenges with connection speed and provide appropriate support resources.
5.3 Scope of Service, Continuity, and Reliability
Description:
The institution ensures the continuity of digital learning services and minimizes downtime and delays through technical and administrative procedures. This includes contingency planning, backup and recovery, proactive monitoring, and scalability to meet demand, alongside alternative solutions and metrics for continuous improvement.
Requirements:
- Ensure reliable access to the internet and platforms, and monitor implementation, evaluation, and updates in collaboration with relevant authorities.
- Include a business continuity plan for minimum protection against outages, especially during crises.
- Manage capacity and implement backup and disaster recovery solutions according to best practices.
- Implement proactive monitoring to identify and address potential issues.
- Address expansion and high demand, and provide alternative solutions for emergencies.
- Define service scope and conduct periodic benchmarking to support continuous improvement.
- Ensure the readiness, suitability, and availability of the supporting infrastructure for learning technologies under all conditions, including emergencies.
5.4 IT Service Management
Description:
The institution ensures the planning, management, and implementation of IT services for digital learning in an effective and coordinated manner to meet user needs. It provides technical support and ensures the integration of support mechanisms within the technical ecosystem while adhering to security, privacy, and quality requirements.
Requirements:
- Adopt and apply best practices for IT service management as needed.
- Include a technical plan for the program, considering resource allocation, continuous improvement initiatives, and compliance with relevant regulatory requirements.
- Design systems to provide a user-centered approach through unified access to technical support services.
5.5 Educational Data Management and Analytics
Description:
The institution enables educational data management to support decision-making and continuous improvement by collecting, storing, and analyzing data. This includes building unified insights by linking data repositories while governing access to data and providing it based on relevant policies and regulations.
Requirements:
- Provide systems/technologies for data collection and analysis to support decision-making processes.
- Build an integrative approach for systems and data, and develop a dashboard that connects data repositories for a unified display of information.
- Manage data, including appropriate storage capacity, backup solutions, and disaster recovery plans.
- Governing data access to support security and privacy requirements.
- Offer learning and training data in accordance with regulatory policies and procedures.
- Comply with approved privacy regulations and policies to ensure data confidentiality and prevent misuse.
- Provide periodic data backup systems with clear plans for service restoration in case of emergencies or failures.
- Define usage controls in AI-supported analytics, including minimizing data, ensuring data quality, and interpreting outputs and their limitations before employing them in decision-making.
- Monitor the impact of AI-supported analytics on fairness (such as bias in predicting failure) and correct as needed.
5.6 Security, Privacy, and Identity Management
Description:
The institution ensures that digital learning technologies are interoperable, user-friendly, and accessible to beneficiaries across various platforms and operating systems, enabling continuous access and providing guidance, training, and downtime mitigation plans.
Requirements:
- Implement appropriate user identity verification controls when accessing digital learning systems (e.g., multi-factor authentication) based on risk level.
- Provide a unified and secure access mechanism when multiple systems are involved (e.g., single sign-on) with centralized identity and privilege management.
- Define and manage access privileges based on roles and the principle of least privilege, with periodic reviews of privileges and revocation when roles or needs change.
- Regulate data sharing with AI tools (internal/external) according to clear privacy rules, verify compliance before enablement, and define the scope of data allowed for sharing and its purpose.
- Implement controls to protect the confidentiality of beneficiary data within digital learning systems during use and exchange (such as access control, tracking sensitive operations, and protection against unauthorized access).
- Provide a mechanism to handle privacy and security incidents/breaches that includes reporting, processing, documentation, and escalation within appropriate timeframes, with procedures to reduce recurrence.
- Document and review relevant security activities (such as login attempts and privilege management) to support investigation and verification as needed, according to approved controls.
Learner and Parent Support
6.1 Guidance and Counseling
Description:
The institution provides guidance and counseling to support learners and parents in succeeding within the digital learning environment. This includes developing self-directed learning skills, managing and organizing learning, research and analytical skills, and critical thinking. It also encompasses guiding collaborative work, time management, and providing academic and professional counseling tailored to beneficiaries' needs.
Requirements:
- Provide guidance and support for developing learner skills in the digital learning environment (such as time management, learning management, teamwork, communication, and critical thinking).
- Provide guidance for using digital learning platforms and educational applications, and enhance basic digital skills.
- Offer additional digital resources and activities and individual guidance as needed to enhance understanding and develop skills according to academic needs and objectives.
- Offer academic and career guidance in selecting programs/specializations and pathways, and provide information about labor market needs and relevant future skills.
6.2 Technical Support for Beneficiaries
Description:
Providing technical support that facilitates the digital learning experience for learners and parents. This is achieved by responding to technical issues and providing assistance for using platforms and tools to enhance seamless access and continuity of use.
Requirements:
- Provide multiple channels for technical support (such as phone, email, and live chat).
- Ensure prompt responses to complaints and feedback, and provide effective solutions to recurring issues.
- Engage the beneficiaries in the development and improvement of technical support services.
- Measure the quality of communication and technical support provided to beneficiaries.
6.3 Digital Citizenship and Safe Behavior
Description:
Enabling users to practice safe and responsible technology use within the digital learning environment. This promotes awareness of digital protection methods, fosters positive behavior in digital communities, and develops critical thinking to verify information and sources. The standard also ensures adherence to ethical use , data protection requirements, and academic integrity, including the responsible use of AI.
Requirements:
- Provide guidelines for the safe and responsible use of technology, including protection from malware, phishing messages, and basic prevention methods.
- Promote positive and responsible participation in digital communities to support a constructive digital learning environment.
- Develop critical thinking and digital analysis skills to evaluate information, verify its sources, and reduce misinformation.
- Provide a charter for internet etiquette, explain it to all parties involved in digital learning, and raise awareness of the associated commitments.
- Awareness of responsible AI use within digital citizenship programs, covering misinformation risks, data protection requirements, and academic integrity.
- Promote balanced use of technology and time management, and reduce the risks of digital overuse within digital citizenship guidelines
6.4 Equal Opportunities and Accessibility
Description:
Ensuring equal opportunities for all learners to benefit from digital learning by removing barriers that may limit equitable access to digital services and resources. It involves providing reasonable accommodations, assistive technologies, and alternatives that meet diverse needs, thereby promoting inclusion without compromising the core of learning outcomes.
Requirements:
- Identify categories and needs that require additional support in digital learning, and offer support according to a clear mechanism.
- Offer digital educational resources in various formats and suitable alternatives that support different needs (such as text/audio/visual) to enhance accessibility.
- Provide assistive technologies and tools to enable learning and access to content and activities for all categories.
- Ensure fair implementation of assessments and tests for all learners, and provide additional support without altering the essence of learning outcomes.
6.5 Social and Mental Support
Description:
Providing social and mental support within the digital learning environment to address challenges that may affect learners' well-being, belonging, and motivation. This is achieved through clear support services, monitoring and referral procedures, and gradual intervention to enhance mental and social health and ensure learning continuity.
Requirements:
- Offer channels and services for social and mental support for learners (and parents if needed), including specialized counseling/guidance and a mechanism for requesting help confidentially.
- Establish an early monitoring mechanism for indicators of mental and social risks related to digital learning (such as isolation, withdrawal, stress, and burnout), with gradual interventions and clear referrals as needed.
- Enhance social integration and engagement of learners in the digital environment through supportive initiatives and activities that encourage positive communication and relationship building within the learning community.
- Provide targeted support to address the effects of prolonged technology use on well-being (such as digital stress), within the framework of mental and social support, without repeating digital citizenship guidelines.
- Measure beneficiaries' satisfaction with social and mental support services, collect feedback, and analyze it to improve programs and services.
- Ensure the privacy of support data and maintain its confidentiality, and define access rights and use it solely for support and improvement purposes.
Educator Support
7.1 Technical Support for Educators
Description:
Providing technical support for educators in the digital learning environment and enabling them to use learning platforms and tools effectively. This involves addressing malfunctions and operational issues, minimizing their impact on teaching and learning quality through channels, escalation procedures, documentation, and continuous improvement.
Requirements:
- Provide clear technical support channels for educators to address issues related to educational platforms, tools, devices, and network connectivity.
- Provide concise and updated usage guidelines and manuals that enable educators to perform common tasks and solve recurring problems independently.
- Establish a clear procedure for receiving, classifying, documenting, and following up on reports until closure, with an escalation path for critical cases.
- Enable technical support to address issues affecting teaching during implementation (such as tool failure or course inaccessibility) to minimize disruption and ensure continuity of practice.
- Analyze reports and operational indicators to extract root causes and offer improvements to reduce problem recurrence and enhance support quality.
- Provide technical support for the learning tools when used within the ecosystem (such as virtual classroom tools, assessment, verification, or AI tools) to ensure smooth use and reduce tool fragmentation.
7.2 Professional Development
Description:
Promoting continuous professional development for digital learning and training practitioners through initiatives that keep pace with developments and best practices. This supports knowledge exchange, builds professional learning communities, and ultimately enhances the quality of teaching, instructional design, and assessment within the digital environment.
Requirements:
- Set an annual professional development plan that includes pathways, priorities, target groups, and implementation and follow-up mechanisms.
- Provide flexible and progressive professional development pathways that consider the educator’s level of experience and professional needs.
- Encourage participation in diverse professional development activities (workshops, professional learning communities, online courses, conferences), document participation, and offer incentives to support sustainability.
- Include core topics such as effective educational strategies in digital learning, instructional design, assessment methods, and emerging technologies.
- Include units on the responsible use of AI in teaching, including designing activities that reduce illicit dependency, verifying outputs, and improving content quality.
7.3 Qualification and Training
Description:
Providing well-structured and progressive training and qualification programs for educators in digital learning. These programs develop the practical competencies for implementing digital learning (including digital pedagogy, classroom management, digital assessment, documentation, and verification), while aligning training with experience levels and measuring its impact for improvement.
Requirements:
- Offer an orientation program for new educators that clarifies roles, expectations, and basic operational procedures in digital learning.
- Regularly update training programs to include modern technologies, educational strategies, and digital learning delivery modes.
- Provide progressive training pathways according to the educator's level of experience and individual needs, with practical support (such as professional mentoring/classroom observation/accompaniment) as needed.
- Include essential practical competencies such as: Managing the digital classroom, building activities, preparing assessment tools, formulating requests, verification, and documentation. In addition to managing classroom practices with AI tools.
- Measure the impact of training on learning outcomes, the quality of assessments, and integrity indicators, update training content based on results, and utilize data and indicators to guide development decisions.
7.4 Work-Life Balance
Description:
Supporting educators' well-being in digital learning by managing workloads and providing flexible arrangements where applicable. This maintains teaching quality and performance sustainability and prevents occupational burnout.
Requirements:
- Provide flexible working methods as needed to support work organization and time management in line with digital learning regulations and policies.
- Organize the workload associated with digital teaching (such as follow-up, interaction, assessment, and feedback) through clear task distribution and operational support when needed.
- Provide resources and services to manage stress and professional well-being when needed, in line with the digital work environment.
- Design monitoring indicators for work-life balance (such as actual workload compared to planned, clarity of expectations, and educator satisfaction) and leverage them for improvement.
Continuous Evaluation and Improvement
8.1 Measuring Satisfaction
Description:
Measuring beneficiary satisfaction systematically with digital learning and analyzing results to drive continuous improvement. The standard aims to reflect the quality of the learning experience and service level throughout the beneficiary’s journey.
Requirements:
- Design appropriate satisfaction measurement tools that cover aspects of the digital learning experience (such as teaching quality, content, assessment, support, and platforms).
- Implement measurement periodically and through multiple channels, and identify the target audience and the mechanisms for feedback collection.
- Analyze satisfaction results and highlight improvement opportunities, while documenting improvement actions based on the results.
- Monitor the impact of improvements on satisfaction indicators over time to ensure continuous improvement.
Description:
Measuring the performance of the digital learning ecosystem through quantitative and qualitative indicators and learning analytics. This supports informed decision-making and continuous improvement across both operational and learning levels.
Requirements:
- Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) for digital learning (such as interaction, attendance/login, achievement, completion, quality of assessments, and effectiveness of support), their sources, and mechanisms for calculating them.
- Use learning analytics systematically to monitor performance, track trends, and identify gaps, with periodic reports supporting decision-making.
- Compare performance against specific baselines/goals and track changes over time to measure improvement.
- Utilize AI in analyzing performance indicators (such as achievement, interaction, and discipline), outline the differences between groups, and identify improvement actions based on results.
8.3 Evaluating the Quality of Curriculum and Course Outcomes
Description:
Evaluating the quality of learning outcomes and the effectiveness of digital courses/programs in achieving targeted outcomes. Evaluation results are utilized to enhance instructional design, content, teaching methodologies, and assessment.
Requirements:
- Measure the achievement of targeted learning outcomes and link them to performance evidence and assessment results to support judgments on quality and effectiveness.
- Implement multiple evaluations of the effectiveness of content, design, learning methods, and assessment, while analyzing results and identifying improvement opportunities.
- Monitor the impact of improvements on the quality of outputs (knowledge, skills, competencies) periodically.
8.4 Periodic Review and Update
Description:
Reviewing the policies and procedures for the digital courses/programs periodically. This involves updating content and practices to keep pace with developments and to address evaluation results and feedback.
Requirements:
- Conduct periodic reviews of content and digital educational practices according to a clear plan that includes updates needed and the approval process.
- Update content and educational materials—when needed—based on evaluation results, analytics, feedback, and relevant developments.
- Review policies and procedures that guide evaluation and improvement and update them in line with developments.
8.5 Innovation
Description:
Adopting institutional innovation in digital learning through governance and a methodological framework for managing ideas, initiatives, and experiences. In addition, providing enablers (units/teams, resources, partnerships) and measuring impact to make evidence-based decisions on scaling up or decommissioning based on clear results. This enhances sustainability and the quality of digital learning practices and services.
Requirements:
- Adopt an institutional framework for innovation in digital learning that defines roles and responsibilities (such as a committee/unit/innovation team), governance mechanisms, decision-making, and linking initiatives to the strategic priorities of digital learning.
- Provide a standardized approach for managing the cycle of digital learning innovations (idea reception → initiative design → experimentation in a digital learning environment → impact assessment → scaling up/decommissioning decision → documentation and knowledge transfer).
- Adopt an organized approach for receiving ideas for developing digital learning and prioritizing them, with appropriate resources allocated for initiatives (time/funding/expertise/digital experimental environments as needed) according to clear eligibility criteria.
- Build effective partnerships with relevant stakeholders and technology providers in digital learning to support experimentation, knowledge transfer, and experience sharing.
- Implement innovative experiments and initiatives in digital learning according to clear impact measurement standards, with successful initiatives transformed into improved practices that can be scaled up within digital programs/courses/services.
- Measure the level of innovation in digital learning, its culture, and its outputs (such as participation, proposed and implemented initiatives, and their results) and utilize the results for continuous improvement, including the use of modern and emerging technologies (including AI) within approved standards and impact measurement
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