If international online courses are to play a significant role in the expansion of education they must be placed within a global framework of quality assurance and qualifications recognition that inspires confidence. We describe this evolving framework before exploring the special challenges facing small countries and giving the example of the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth, a collaborative venture in the production and use of online courses involving 30 countries. We end by emphasising the potential importance of open educational resources and drawing attention, through the Cape Town Open Education Declaration, to the various degrees of openness being practiced.