Designing and establishment of Accreditation system for evaluation of Virtual schools and centers

The aim of this study was to develop and implement a national accreditation system for virtual centers and schools of Universities of Medical Sciences, according to Ministry of Health and Medical Education policies, which are documented in the package of Medical Education Innovation Plan. In this study the expertise oriented approach and accreditation model was chosen for evaluation. At the first step an extensive library study was performed and accreditation and quality assurance systems in developed countries were assessed extensively. Then an expert committee including medical educationists and e-learning specialists was organized. The draft of standards and consequent rules and regulation of accreditation body were designed. Afterward all standards were finalized through a national Delphi process among all eLearning stakeholders around the country. These documents were legislated in Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The standards consisted of four main domains: governance (5 standards), infrastructure (6 standards), educational affairs (5 standards) and consultation and support (3 standards). Currently this system is being used for evaluation of virtual centers of Universities of Medical Sciences in Iran.