The Commonwealth of Learning is proud to partner with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Higher Education and UNESCO to produce this "Quality Assurance Toolkit for Distance Higher Education Institutions and Programmes". The Toolkit has been prepared with three features. First, it is a generic document on quality assurance, complete with a glossary of terms used in distance learning, for use across the Commonwealth. It accommodates various institutional solutions to reflect range of delivery methods used by distance education providers. Second, it proposes performance indicators so that institutions can gauge their own performance trends, fostering continuous quality improvement in the spirit of a "culture of quality". Third, it provides "best practice" case studies from across the Commonwealth that can serve as exemplars as institutions consider their respective situations and options. Section I, Guidelines for the Use of the Toolkit, contains the following chapters: (1) Introduction; (2) Development of Performance Indicators (PIs); (3) Performance Indicators for Quality Assurance; (4) Using the PIs as a Tool for Quality Assessment; (5) Procedure for Self Assessment; and (6) Requirements for Successful Implementation. Section II, Standards & Performance Indicators, contains the following chapters: (1) Institutions; (2) Programmes; and (3) Contextualisation eg. "Agriculture". Section III, Case Studies, contains the following chapters: (1) Assuring Institutional Effectiveness through Good Governance at the UK Open University (Denise Kirkpatrick); (2) Best Practice Case Studies in Distance Higher Education: Mate (I) Programme: Transforming Teacher Educator Development (Chandra Gunawardena); (3) Harnessing Advances in Technology in Course Development to Enhance Learner Satisfaction in The Open University of Sri Lanka (Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke, Geetha Udayangani Kulasekera and Uma Coomaraswamy); (4) Course Design and Development at Open University Malaysia (Dr. Abtar Kaur and Professor Dr. Zoraini Wati); (5) The Use of Standard Development Guidelines in a Team-Based Approach to the Design and Development of ODL Courses at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada (Rob McTavish); (6) Developing E-Learning Programmes at The OUHK (K.S. Yuen, Eva Tsang and Caroline Leung); (7) Meeting National Manpower Development Needs through ODL at the Mauritius College of the Air (Kailash Allgoo); (8) Learner Support and Progression at the University of Technology, Jamaica (Jeannette M. Bartley); (9) The Use of Mobile Phone Technology in Student Support at the University of Pretoria (Johan Hendrikz); (10) Technology for Learner Support: Implementing a Learning Management System at Wawasan Open University (Madhulika Kaushik); (11) Introducing an Online Learning Course at The Open University of Sri Lanka (Shironica Karunanayaka); (12) Impact of Research on Quality Enhancement of Open Distance Learning in Dr. B.R.Ambedkar Open University V.Venkaiah); (13) Learning for Livelihood: The Role of a Knowledge Infomediary in a Lifelong Learning for Farmers Project in Rural India (K. Balasubramanian); (14) University-Centred Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3 Farmers)--A Pilot Project of COL (Uma Coomaraswamy, Kshanika Hirimburegama and Krishna Alluri); (15) Empowering Clusters of Small Scale Vegetable Planters to Move to the Production of High Value Agricultural Products through the COL Lifelong Learning for Farmers Project (Krishnalall Coonjan; Naren Sukurdeep and Dhanraj Ramjutton); and (16) Community Empowerment for Sustainable Livelihoods in Rural Papua New Guinea (A Ramakrishna). Section IV, Appendices, contains the following: (1) Glossary; (2) Contributors to Case Studies; and (3) Workshop Participants. Individual chapters contain references, tables, figures, and footnotes.