Santos, ArnaldoSão Mamede, HenriqueMorgado, LeonelKoulaouzidis, GiorgosIlcheva, MariaKuijpers, ChrisGuasch, TeresaEuropean Association of Distance Teaching Universities2025-12-112025-12-112025http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/20529We present a nine-dimension institutional framework that guides traditional universities in transitioning to high-quality hybrid and online provision. Building on EADTU’s E-xcellence manual, we bring to the fore enterprise architecture/interoperability, service digitisation, change-and-incentive systems, and governance/decision rights, by combining expert individual and panel contributions. We then operationalise this into a facilitation-ready checklist (Areas, Sub-areas, Topics, and Diagnostic questions), and add an institution-level maturity model to support prioritisation and roadmap design. We report on qualitative field validation through three one-week expert engagements (March-April 2025), which combined leadership briefings, semi-structured interviews, artifact reviews, and synthesis reports. The framework proved usable for cross-unit dialogue, was diagnostically sensitive to system-level blockers (interoperability and operations, digitization of academic/administrative services, change management, and incentives), and was actiongenerative, informing roadmaps for 12-24 months. We propose testable propositions linking governance/platform readiness to pedagogy, services, and outcomes. The full checklist and facilitation materials are released in an open repository to enable institutional self-assessment and comparative research.engDigital transformationUniversitiesOnline open educatione-learningLearning organizationLearning managementMaturity modelInteroperabilityQuality assuranceHigher educationconference object2025-12-09cv-prod-461938910.5281/zenodo.17813119