In this chapter we argue that in Open and Distance e-Learning (ODeL), assessment is at the core and of primary consideration. Assessment is taken as a valuation process that constructs not just the learner’s but also the educational institution’s identity. The principles of quality and credibility of assessment in an ODeL environment are explored in developing an assessment system at the course and at the program levels of the ASEAN Studies Graduate Program, the framework of which was collaboratively developed by five Open Universities in the ASEAN region. At the course level, the learning outcome, which is a research proposal, shall be assessed through the use of three markers to establish reliability of the valuation process; at the program level, an essay test shall be used to assess completion of three program objectives, and it shall be evaluated by a panel coming from the four other Open Universities. The chapter also addresses two issues related to ODeL: authentic learner identification and scalability of the conceptualized assessment system.

Open and distance e-Learning (ODeL) draws from the philosophy of openness, inclusion, resource sharing, access and equity of open learning and learner-centeredness, flexibility, active learning, interactivity, ubiquity, connectivity, and constructivist view of e-learning. These affordances and features are infused with values that underpin the universitas – excellence, academic freedom, humanism, intellectual pluralism, democracy, and service to society. These ethos create the spirit of the university.

Together, all these elements are embedded and facilitated by networked information and communication technologies and make up what is referred to as ODeL. The interweaving of these components can bring about social transformation by producing learners who have the ability to seek new information from different sources, translate this information into applicable knowledge, and communicate this knowledge in various forms and situations. They should be able to work in different cultural contexts as well. ODeL with its affordances can help address the challenges of education in the 21st century, more particularly ubiquitous learning. The emergence of e-mobile culture has enhanced the ubiquitous nature of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based on the ODeL framework.

Today, industries and communities of practice are turning to the higher education sector for massive, yet more specific and tailor-made courses and programs in their fields. These learners prefer to study part-time and acquire the knowledge necessary to advance themselves in their careers. Likewise, there is a need to recognize the changing learning styles of students. Each year, more and more digital natives are joining the higher education sector. Even digital migrants are constantly being put in a position where they have to adapt to a new technology.

Despite the preponderance of educational resources on the internet and the growing number of privately run e-learning providers, universities in general, and open universities in particular, will always play a central role in the accreditation of student learning particularly for transnational education. Universities can only continue to perform this accreditation role if their ways of assessing their students’ learning remain appropriate and credible in the eyes of our stakeholders.

The growth of the internet users and mobile applications in the virtual environment has created the need for authentic assessment addressing the realities brought about by a web-based, technology-driven, and potentially massive teaching and learning situation. To a certain extent, the stage is set for the ODeL framework to work and be maximized.

Assessment of learning outcome is a valuation process where the learner’s value is judged by the educator. Assessment, as we know, is a process of collecting information and making a judgment, identifying the strengths and weaknesses, the good and the bad, and the right and the wrong, in some cases. It is more than simply giving marks or grades (Rust, 2002); rather, assessment must address all learning objectives, be fair to every learner, and must be transparent to those who will be assessed. Moreover, the quality of measuring instruments to collect the information must be established through reliability and validity measures. Validity is the extent to which a test or instrument measures what it is supposed to measure and reliability is the degree to which an assessment tool consistently measures whatever it measures (Gay, 1987). The more educators provide good assessment, the more students receive good judgment.

While the principles involved in assessment of learning remain the same, there are unique challenges in assessment for ODeL. In addition to the given assessment features, the nature of and potential massive reach of online learning has to be taken into consideration, thus requiring appropriate administration processes. It is recognized that while technology provides us with a huge advantage in reaching our intended learners, it also has vulnerabilities associated with establishing the identity of the person undergoing assessment.

Online exam is a process that allows learners to take the examination from a distance. With today’s technology, examinations could be administered through the internet. In the case of Sukhothai Thammatirat Open University (STOU) in Thailand, computer rooms for e-exam are set up in remote campuses where learners take their exams in testing centers nearest them. A system has been put in place where transmission of test answers to the main campus is done instantaneously through the internet (Jeotee, 2014). In Cambridge Towards an Assessment System for Open and Distance e-Learning: The Case of the ASEAN Studies Graduate Program University, the exam is uploaded to ‘Cloud system’ and each station downloads the exam for their examinees. When the exams have been done, they will immediately be transmitted to Cambridge University (Lebus, 2011). Meanwhile, in the UP Open University, the learners are allowed to take online exams at designated Learning/ Testing Centers, Philippine embassies for those who are abroad, and in special cases, in their own homes. Monitoring from UP Open University campus is done through a computer camera installed by the exam taker and approved by the UP Open University proctor.

On one hand, these examples show the advantage of technology; on the other, the online nature of learning environment predisposes the assessment system to some weaknesses such as: learners can easily violate exam rules, save the test for other purposes, allow someone to help them answer the test through the internet system, or cheat in some way. Even as efforts are exerted to ensure credibility of the assessment procedure as seen in the examples cited, there remain serious challenges related to the authentication of the learner’s identity in the context of ODeL.

To maximize the affordances provided by the web, the UP Open University started to adopt online student support in 2001, went fully online in 2007 turning its courses into resource-based packages, and made online teaching as the main approach to instruction. UP Open University grew together with the internet phenomenon allowing access all over the world of online digitized academic texts.

Given these considerations and realities, this chapter considers an online assessment system for a program that requires an innovative approach to capture the nuances of ODeL applied to a new Master of Asean Studies graduate program (MAS) collaboratively developed by a consortium of five open universities in the ASEAN region and offered beginning August 2014. The five universities collaborating in this program are: Universitas Terbuka (Indonesia), Open University of Malaysia, the UP Open University (Philippines), Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (Thailand), and the Hanoi Open University (Vietnam).

The Master of ASEAN Studies (MAS) aims to promote regional and global understanding about ASEAN countries from the perspective of ASEAN. With the ASEAN integration in 2015, it is expected to attract students from diverse groups worldwide making ODeL relevant. The unique terms of the collaborative nature of the development and delivery of the program suggest that assessment should consider quality and credibility of online assessment and scalability issues.