scholarly journals How the Triangle of Bologna Quality Assurance, a National Legal Framework and Internal Quality Enhancement Supports Institutional Improvement

SEEU Review ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-124
Author(s):  
Kareva Veronika ◽  
Dika Zamir ◽  
Henshaw Heather ◽  
Memedi Xhevair
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
International Trends ◽  
Standards And Guidelines ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The Republic of Macedonia (RM) has been a part of the Bologna process since 2003. The Ministry of Education, law and policy makers and higher education institutions have actively engaged with its main concepts. In parallel with this, since the adoption of the law on higher education in 2008 and the reform of the Accreditation and Evaluation Board, there have been numerous changes and amendments culminating in the fast-tracked adoption of a new law at the beginning of 2015. Some of its solutions created a huge debate among the academic community, other intellectuals and students themselves, resulting in the postponement of that law and a kind of legal vacuum. In such turbulent circumstances, individual higher education institutions had to consider how and to what extent to adopt and develop relevant standards and guidelines, comply with the legal framework and promote good practice. The aim of this paper is to present how these three aspects, Bologna standards and guidelines for Quality Assurance (QA), a national legal framework and an institutional approach are being reflected, merged and implemented at a relatively young higher education institution. It questions the impact of these three elements on each other and how one institution’s drive for improvement is affected. This is done through a qualitative analysis of the three-fold perspectives. The conclusions and recommendations are expected to be of use to policy makers in the country and region as they evaluate how international trends and good practice fit into the socio-economic and political conditions of RM and similar countries. At the same time, it can demonstrate how far institutional quality assurance and progress can be implemented and recognized in the country itself and by some international stakeholders. It can also prove that the South East European University (SEEU) is a national leader in this field as RM has no functioning QA evaluation system, while SEEU has managed to create a well structured and operating one, based on international and institutional experiences.

scholarly journals Impact of External Quality Assurance Practices on Higher Education Institutions in Tanzania: A Review Paper

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-196
Author(s):  
Aloyce M. Nyamwesa ◽  
Evelyne F. Magambo ◽  
Daniel Oduor Onyango
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Private Universities ◽  
External Quality Assurance ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
External Quality ◽  
Quality Issues ◽  
The Impact

For the past two decades, quality issues in higher education have attracted many scholars. While scholars are trying to answer the question whether quality assurance both internal and external has an impact on the operations and output from higher education institutions, there is evidence that quality is still a problem in Tanzania. This can be established by a series of deregistration of universities due to non-conformity. In February 2016 TCU revoked the earlier approval that established two private universities and in January 2020 it deregistered six universities and three campuses for quality issues. This study examined previous empirical literature on higher education in order to establish the impact of external quality assurance practice on operations and output of higher education institutions. It focused on creating understanding of EQA and its concepts, identifying benefits of EQA in HEIs and determining ways of improving adherence to EQA. While focusing on impact of external quality assurance practices, this paper reviewed various literatures from previous studies published between 2010 and 2020 on the subject matter. Findings from the review suggest that external quality assurance has both positive and negative impacts on universities’ internal operations. Some of the negative effects include increased cost of operations and the positive are increased enrolment, quality output and good internal quality assurance practice). It is therefore important that higher learning institutions adhere to External Quality Assurance and go beyond its requirements for better results. It is also recommended that External Quality assurance practices should align with globalization pace and that the government should extend support to private universities for maximized quality.

scholarly journals Main Features and Challenges of Implementing Internal Quality Assurance Within African Higher Education Institutions: The Case of Eduardo Mondlane University

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson Casimiro Zavale ◽  
Luisa Alcantra Santos ◽  
Maria Da Conceição Dias
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Internal Quality Assurance ◽  
Reflection On Action ◽  
First Time ◽  
Eduardo Mondlane University

Founded in 1962, Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), Mozambique’s largest and most prestigious university, established an Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) system for the first time in 2013. Based on UEM’s case, this paper examines the features and challenges faced when implementing an IQA system within African higher education institutions. Literature on higher education quality assurance has widely examined the features of, and challenges faced by national QA systems, or by a QA system established across several higher education institutions (HEIs). However, this literature has rarely targeted single HEIs, particularly (African) HEIs that are establishing, for the first time, their IQA systems. Besides, even when IQA at a single HEI is targeted, this is often done by outsiders. Based on reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action, this paper addresses the perspectives of both insiders and outsiders. The authors analyse a system that they have been involved in establishing. The paper’s findings enable to conclude that the main challenges of implementing an IQA system in an African HEI are associated with linking QA to decision-making and to a funding strategy; training human resources and allocating funds for the system to operate and to be sustainable; enabling the system to be assimilated by the university community; and defining measurable and objective quality standards to enable unbiased performance classification. Fondée en 1962, l’Université Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), la plus grande et la plus prestigieuse université du Mozambique, a créé pour la première fois en 2013 un système interne d’assurance qualité (IAQ). A partir de l’étude du cas de l’UEM, cet article examine les caractéristiques et les défis qui attendent les institutions d’enseignement supérieur africaines qui désirent implémenter un IAQ. La littérature sur l’assurance qualité de l’enseignement supérieur a largement examiné les caractéristiques des systèmes nationaux d’AQ (ou de systèmes communs à plusieurs institutions), et les défis auxquels ils sont confrontés. Elle s ‘est cependant rarement concentrée sur des cas uniques d’institutions, notamment des institutions (africaines) qui ont créé pour la première fois leur propre IAQ. Par ailleurs, même quand elle s’attarde sur une institution en particulier, l’analyse est souvent effectuée par des personnes étrangères à l’institution. Fondé sur la réflexion dans l’action et la réflexion sur l’action, cet article présente les perspectives de personnes internes et étrangères à l’établissement. Il permet de conclure que les principaux défis à affronter lors de l’établissement d’un IAQ sont dus à la difficulté de lier l’AQ à la prise de décision et à une stratégie de financement ; à la formation des ressources humaines et l’allocation des fonds nécessaires pour que le système fonctionne et perdure ; à l’assimilation du système par la communauté universitaire ; et à la définition de standards de qualité mesurables et objectifs pour permettre une classification de la performance impartiale. 

Expanding the Application of EFQM model for Institutional Accreditation of Educational Organizations

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 289-295
Author(s):  
Nabi Yskak
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Educational Organizations ◽  
Institutional Accreditation ◽  
Efqm Model ◽  
Standards And Guidelines ◽  
European Foundation

Relevance of this article topic consists in the necessity to find some alternative to the existing practice of using of the 2015 Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (ESG-15) for accreditation of educational organizations in Kazakhstan. This study purpose is to develop the ways of expanding the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) use for institutional accreditation of universities. Methods: comparativ analysis, formalization method. Results: 1) the genesis, functions and levels of educational organizations’ accreditation in Kazakhstan are described; 2) existence of the link between EFQM and ESG-15 is proved, however, EFQM is more adapted to institutional accreditation of higher education institutions; and 3) it is shown if formalized data are used to prescribe the scores when filling in the RADAR matrix, then filling in the RADAR matrix will be easier, and subjectivity will decrease, and accuracy will increase.

Quality Assurance and Institutional Research for University Strategic Management

2020 ◽  
pp. 287-308
Author(s):  
Ngepathimo Kadhila ◽  
Gilbert Likando
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Strategic Management ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
The World ◽  
The University ◽  
Evidence Based Decision Making

Strategic management in higher education (HE) has become data-reliant. Most higher education institutions (HEIs) all over the world have implemented quality assurance (QA) and institutional research (IR) with the purpose of generating data that that would assist in evidence-based decision making for better strategic management. However, data generated through QA and IR processes have to be integrated and streamlined in order to successfully inform strategic management. One of the challenges facing higher education institutions is to integrate the data generated by QA and IR processes effectively. This chapter examines examples of good practice for integrating the data generated by these processes for use as tools to inform strategic management, using the University of Namibia as a reference point. The chapter offers suggestions on how higher education institutions may be assisted to overcome challenges when integrating the outcomes of QA and IR processes in order to close the quality loop through effective strategic management.

scholarly journals Challenges in Quality Assurance: A Ten-Year Journey

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 01016
Author(s):  
Jenny Mochtar ◽  
Gan Shu San
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Standards ◽  
External Quality Assurance ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
External Quality ◽  
Christian University ◽  
Internal Quality Assurance

Academic quality is defined as the equivalent to academic standards related to student learning outcomes, which consist of specific levels of knowledge, skills, and abilities achieved by students participating in a program. The achievement of academic standards is accommodated by implementing both internal and external quality assurance practices. Internal quality assurance refers to policies and practices used by the higher education institutions to monitor and improve the quality of their education, while external quality assurance refers to policies and practices set up by external parties to assure the quality of higher education institutions and programs. Petra Christian University has built and implemented its internal quality assurance since 2009 based on its unique quality culture. After its ten-year journey and the achievements that Petra Christian University has reached in 2019, the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Society 5.0 are challenges ahead that Petra Christian University has to face.

The European standards and guidelines for internal quality assurance

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 342-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria J. Manatos ◽  
Cláudia S. Sarrico ◽  
Maria J. Rosa
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Management Model ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Management Model ◽  
Standards And Guidelines

Purpose The authors’ thesis statement is that the literature on quality management in higher education is evolving towards an idea of integration. Considering Part 1 of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) (ENQA, 2009) to be a framework for the implementation of quality management practices in universities, the purpose of this paper is to understand whether the ESG represent a truly integrated quality management model. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyse the content of the ESG taking into account three levels of analysis: the process level, the organisational level and the quality management principles level. Findings The analysis shows that the ESG are a quality management model, covering different processes, organisational levels and quality management principles. This is despite not being a truly integrated quality management model. Indeed, the ESG are mainly focussed on teaching and learning and on support processes, neglecting other processes of universities, such as research and scholarship and the third mission. In addition, they leave aside quality management principles more directly linked with a systemic and holistic approach to quality, such as the system approach principle. Originality/value The paper presents a new analysis of a much discussed quality management model for higher education. It explores the ESG in the light of the concept of integration, discussed according to a new framework of analysis. It also highlights the importance of a broader reflection on these standards and of their integration in the management systems of institutions.

scholarly journals Current Situation and Challenges of Internal Quality Assurance in Mongolian Higher Education Institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-604
Author(s):  
Ganbaatar Сhantsaldulam ◽  
Igor Koroduk ◽  
Galina Voynikova
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
Quality Assurance System ◽  
System Quality ◽  
Assurance System ◽  
Internal Quality Assurance

Quality assurance in higher education has become an endeavor of global proportions. With the increasing necessity of quality assurance system, the efforts have been initiated within the higher education sector in Mongolia to seek a feasible internal quality assurance system that is in line with the international standards. The main objective of this article is to identify the problems encountered Mongolian higher education system specifically to the implementation of internal quality assurance in HEIs and explore factors that are influential to the implementation of internal quality assurance system of Mongolia. Thus, this article is expected to give recommendations at institutional level by pinpointing the facts that should be taken into account in developing and implementing a workable and effective internal quality assurance system for Mongolian higher education institutions. This article reviewed literatures on the quality assurance systems in higher education area, and determined the current situation and challenges encountered in quality assurance of Mongolian higher education institutions. The findings of the article indicate that the four main issues — the factors influential to the establishment of effective IQA system, quality assurance structure, lack of understanding towards IQA activities and implementation as the view of preparing only for self-evaluation report, and the lack of transparent information system. The article finds that the participation of both external and internal stakeholders in quality assurance process and activities is the key to the development and implementation of an effective internal quality assurance system.

scholarly journals QUALITY ASSURANCE IN DEPARTMENTAL HEIs: THE INFLUENCE OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-191
Author(s):  
Natalia Salnikova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations

The development of the quality of higher education is a priority for the modern state policy of Ukraine. To implement the quality standards of higher education adopted in the European Higher Education Area, Ukrainian departmental universities are adapting the European experience, forming an internal quality assurance system. Departmental universities have been establishing an internal system of quality assurance since 2016. At this stage, the relevant provisions on the level of the universities have been developed to regulate the distribution of powers between different departments of the HEI. Another direction of quality assurance is cooperation with external stakeholders, in particular public organizations of various levels. Based on the analysis of examples of interaction between departmental higher education institutions of Ukraine and international non-governmental organizations available on the websites of relevant institutions, a conclusion was made about the discrete nature of cooperation and the lack of public information about the cooperation. According to information on the sites the universities and international NGOs cooperate in the form of joint public events of academic character, they organise training, conferences and round tables. International non-governmental organizations have great potential to ensure the quality of specialized higher education, in particular, in the joint development and revision of educational programs with universities, educational activities involving international experts, conducting international seminars and workshops, joint projects. Moreover, non-governmental organizations can provide educational services of non-formal education; to carry out projects addressed to local communities in partnership with higher education institutions. The author considers non-governmental organizations to be an important mechanism for articulating public interests and requests of citizens and local communities which is critically important for the departmental universities. To realize this potential of cooperation, it is necessary to establish additional documents (regulations, concepts), which will detail the mechanism of cooperation between the departmental university and the non-governmental organization

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