Higher education institutions in general and virtual institutions in particular are experiencing pressure to become more competitive all over the world. Such striving for excellence can be associated with and seen as a consequence of globalization that is propelling the reshaping of higher education. Further, a number of failed eLearning projects, along with the accountability movement in higher education, have significantly amplified concerns about quality in eLearning. Accordingly, there are worldwide calls for enhancing and assuring quality in eLearning, specifically in the context of the developing countries.

"Quality in eLearning, however, is bound up with our values, expectations, and underlying premises. Similarly, quality in eLearning as a multifaceted construct can be judged and defined differently. Quality in eLearning is a 'relative concept' that depends on or is constrained by the circumstances of use", says author of the thesis Davoud Masoumi.

By taking into account the pros and cons of previous models, frameworks, and studies of quality in eLearning, the author developed an e-quality framework in order to enhance and assure quality in eLearning in developing countries. The framework developed was validated in Iranian virtual institutions as an instance of a developing country context.

"The e-quality framework needs to be viewed as a cultural artefact and thus be adapted to the circumstances in which it will be implemented. To build in and integrate the cultural and cultural-pedagogical issues when developing and then implementing an e-quality framework, a culture-sensitive model is proposed. This is done with the aim of giving the specific culture a 'voice' in the development its own e-quality models/framework, and not just adopting 'outside' norms and values in a one-way globalization process", adds Masoumi.

The thesis was successfully defended on June 10, 2010.