E-learning is becoming an increasingly important teaching and learning mode in open and distance learning institutions. The evaluation of e-learning, however, is of great importance to the quality assurance of e-learning programmes. This paper constructs a four-phase evaluation model for e-learning courses, which includes planning evaluation, development evaluation, process evaluation, and product evaluation, called the PDPP evaluation model. Planning evaluation includes market demand, feasibility, target student group, course objectives, and finance. Development evaluation includes instructional design, course material design, course website design, flexibility, student-student interaction, teacher/tutor support, technical support, and assessment. Process evaluation includes technical support, website utilization, learning interaction, learning evaluation, learning support, and flexibility. Product evaluation includes student satisfaction, teaching effectiveness, learning effectiveness, and sustainability. Using the PDPP model as a research framework, a purely e-learning course on Research Methods in Distance Education was developed by School of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning at the University of Hong Kong (HKU SPACE) and jointly offered with the College of Online Education in Medicine at Peking University (PU COEM). Planning evaluation was conducted by HKU SPACE while development, process, and product evaluation were jointly conducted by HKU SPACE and PU COEM. One hundred and eighty students in three intakes from 15 provinces in mainland China (from most advantaged to most disadvantaged areas), Hong Kong, Macau, and Malaysia, were recruited for this course, all of whom were academic staff with at least two years work experience in open and distance learning. According to summative evaluation using 47-items in an eight-dimensional online questionnaire, the majority of students were very satisfied/ satisfied on all e-learning dimensions of this course. The majority of students thought that the learning effectiveness of this course was equivalent, even better, than face-to-face learning because of cross-border collaborative learning, student-centred learning, sufficient learning support, and learning flexibility. The good quality and high reputation of this course attracts more and more students from educational institutions, even ODL companies, to take this course, which could maintain this course’s sustainable development. This study shows that a high quality of teaching and learning could be assured by using the systematic PDPP evaluation procedure. It is hoped that the PDPP evaluation model and its application can provide a benchmark for establishing a wider e-learning quality assurance mechanism in open and distance learning institutions.