Abstract:

Introduction:
During the last months in Greece due to the conovarious Covid 19, education changed its form and from lifelong learning became Open and distance education because all schools stopped operating. Primary and secondary education were not ready for this change but higher education seemed to be able to respond satisfactorily. Open & Distance Higher Education has become more relevant than ever. That is why it is important to examine scientifically and with statistical methods and tools whether it corresponds to the Greek educational reality.

Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to present a complete bibliographic overview of the Quality Dimension in Open & Distance Higher Education and then a complete presentation of statistical quality control is made. The presentation of the ways of evaluating the quality dimension could be done with the help of quality statistical tools and Statistical Inference. The absence of corresponding research was the motivation of this work. In addition the research aims to investigate whether the policy & strategy of Open & Distance Higher Education reflects the reality as it is presented by students. Furthermore statistical Inference aims to highlight the positives and potentials. The study is seeking for ways with the help of Total Quality Management in Higher Education to minimize or even remove negative points and the weaknesses regarding Open & Distance Higher Education.

Methodology:
Multivariate Statistical analysis will be used I the study as well as Quality Control tolls such Pareto chart, Ishikawa and Failure Mode Effects Analysis.

The research sample:
The research sample consisted of 250 students attending postgraduate programs in Open & Distance Higher Education.

Results:
The majority of students argued that Open & Distance Higher Education neither meets its vision, nor its policy and strategy, nor the expectations nor students; needs. The problems are focused on the textbooks, the management of the moodle platform, and the lack of training of teachers in terms of Open & Distance Higher Education. Respondents stressed that Open & Distance Higher Education should focus on the needs of students, who are adults with work obligations and family responsibilities, and in addition I should focus on all those factors related to continuous improvement of its services that lead to student satisfaction. It must also focus on the needs and requirements of society and the labor market and all stakeholders in order to offer new innovative and competitive curricula. Finally, implication and suggestions for further research are made.

Keywords:

Quality, Management, Open & Distance Higher Education.