QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS

QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS

Dinh Duc Tai taidd@vnies.edu.vn Vietnam Education Strategy and Policy Institute 101 Tran Hung Dao, Cua Nam ward, Hanoi, Vietnam
Le Anh Vinh vinhla@vnies.edu.vn Vietnam Education Strategy and Policy Institute 101 Tran Hung Dao, Cua Nam ward, Hanoi, Vietnam
Nguyen Huu Bich* nhbich@moet.edu.vn Ministry of Education and Training -Vietnam 35 Dai Co Viet road, Bach Mai ward, Hanoi, Vietnam
Summary: 
This article presents the findings of a systematic literature review on quality management in online higher education, with a particular focus on e-learning, in order to clarify its theoretical foundations and identify existing research gaps. Three major gaps are identified: The lack of systematic synthesis, the insufficient contextualization of research in developing countries, and the limited integration between theory and practice. The study uses a systematic literature review design following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, combining thematic qualitative synthesis with quantitative bibliometric analysis. Data was retrieved from three databases, namely SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, using the PICOS framework. The findings indicate that the number of studies increased sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic; however, research has remained concentrated mainly in developed countries. Four dominant theoretical frameworks are identified: Quality Matters, the Community of Inquiry, the EFQM model combined with Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model, and ISO 9001. The study also identifies five core and mutually interacting dimensions of quality: Instructor quality; course content and design; technological infrastructure; institutional support; and learner satisfaction and learning outcomes. Based on these findings, the article proposes a theoretical analytical framework and offers several recommendations for policymakers, higher education institutions, and researchers.
Keywords: 
quality management
E-learning
higher education
training quality.
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