E-learning is essential in some instances and, with the right approach, can produce a high level of knowledge. With the growing demand for e-learning, the problem of online education quality assessment is becoming increasingly important. The paper singles out the advantages and disadvantages of online education for students, education institutions and employers, and analyses approaches to online education quality assessment in institutions of higher education. This assessment should be carried out based on a scientific methodology using modern tools of economic and mathematical modeling and information technology. The authors suggest that the quality of online education shall be evaluated from the standpoint of the project approach, with due regard to commercial, reputation, and strategic aspects, i. e. regarding an online education program (or a set of programs) as an investment project and assessing the efficiency of the given project for its core participants - the higher education institution and its students. The obtained performance indicators will constitute the objective assessment of the quality of e-learning in a particular higher education institution. These indicators are the response of the socio-economic system to the quality of online education. To estimate the values of the weight coefficients that define the importance of the opinions of target groups, the authors propose using a scheme based on Fishburn sequences. They also note that it is feasible to design a software application for assessing the quality of online education. © 2021 CEUR-WS. All rights reserved.