Editorial

Abstract

The Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law No. 83/2019, which aims to regulate distance learning in higher education, introducing a clear framework of principles and rules for the organization and operation of this higher education modality. This new legal framework, approved for public discussion, has been suggested to cover a legal void and to define the general quality criteria that should be used for the assessment and accreditation of degree-awarding study cycles in distance education, and by doing so, promoting this type of offer by Portuguese Higher Education Institutions(HEI).

The need for a regulatory framework for distance learning in higher education has been demanded for several years by various HEIs. The recent approval, in the Council of Ministers, of the Decree-Law No. 83/2019 foresaw the answer to this need. However, a careful examination of the document raised several concerns to the national scientific and academic community as well as experts in the field of E-learning and Distance Education.

On April 4th, 2019, this community met at the University of Lisbon to analyze and discuss the said Decree Law. Now , Polytechnic of Porto, under the 1st National Convention of Distance Learning, joined national experts, universities and polytechnic institutes, both public and private institutions in order to discuss and actively contribute to this topic.

The main points of concern to the academic community are the accreditation and evaluation of degree-awarding distance education courses; the pedagogical models of distance education, suitable for higher education; qualification of distance learning faculty and funding. The convention, the first of its kind, took place on May 6th, 2019, was designed in a mixed typology (in-person and online), and brought together over a hundred participants and speakers (in person and online).

Given the relevance of the event and the discussion in question, the dissemination and sharing of conclusions becomes relevant. In this sense, the Practica e-Learning Journal has joined this event and publishes a special issue dedicated exclusively to the reports of the different panels of this convention.