scholarly journals Quality assurance in Asian distance education: Diverse approaches and common culture

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Insung Jung ◽  
Tat Meng Wong ◽  
Chen Li ◽  
Sanjaa Baigaltugs ◽  
Tian Belawati
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Policy Integration ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Past ◽  
National Quality ◽  
Policy Frameworks

With the phenomenal expansion of distance education in Asia during the past three decades, there has been growing public demand for quality and accountability in distance education. This study investigates the national quality assurance systems for distance education at the higher education level in Asia with the aim of contributing to a better understanding of the current level of development of quality assurance in Asian distance education and to offer potential directions for policy makers when developing and elaborating quality assurance systems for distance education. The analysis of the existing quality assurance frameworks in the 11 countries/territories selected reveals that the level of quality assurance policy integration in the overall national quality assurance in higher education policy framework varies considerably. The purpose of quality assurance, policy frameworks, methods, and instruments in place are generally tailored to each country’s particular circumstances. There are, however, obvious commonalities that underpin these different quality assurance efforts. <br /><br />

Quality Assurance on the Road: Finland and Austria in Comparison

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bernhard
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Bologna Process ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Road ◽  
Assurance System ◽  
National Quality ◽  
Education Market ◽  
On The Road ◽  
Higher Education Market

The ongoing necessity for quality and quality assurance in the entire Bologna process remains one of the main issues for European policy makers. The aims of creating comparable systems and of guaranteeing quality within higher education systems are the reasons for national developments and the eagerness to reform. The situation in two relatively small European countries, Austria and Finland, is at the centre of this research and exemplifies different ways of coping with international developments and the need to establish a comprehensive quality assurance system. How do these countries cope with the pressure to compete in the global higher education market? Is their system of quality assurance in line with the European aim to create a European higher education area? The purpose of this study is to provide an overview on two national quality assurance systems and to figure out similarities and differences between these two countries, providing a clear picture of what has been done in the field of quality assurance, where the challenges to transform are and how to improve quality assurance systems.

Architectural Education and Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area: Design Research as a Plea for Academic Freedom

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-73
Author(s):  
Sigrid Pauwels ◽  
Johan De Walsche ◽  
Dra. Lies Declerck
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Architectural Education ◽  
Policy Frameworks

The authors reflect on the academic bachelor and master programs of architecture. From the perspective of higher education policy in Flanders, Belgium, they examine the intrinsic challenges of the academic educational setting, and the way architectural education can fit in and benefit from it, without losing its specific design oriented qualities. Therefore, they unravel the process of architectural design research, as a discipline-authentic way of knowledge production, leading to the identification of a number of implicit features of an academic architectural learning environment. The disquisition is based on educational arguments pointed out by literature and theory. Furthermore, the authors analyze whether this learning environment can comply with general standards of external quality assurance and accreditation systems. Doing so, they reveal the Achilles’ heel of architectural education: the incompatibility of the design jury with formalized assessment frameworks. Finally, the authors conclude with an advocacy for academic freedom. To assure the quality of academic architectural programs, it is necessary that universities maintain a critical attitude towards standardized policy frameworks.

ANAAC AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN, INDIA

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (26) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seema Singh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
National Quality ◽  
Education In India

Quality, as we know so far, was originally developed in the manufacturing industry. In the area of higher education, the adoption of quality control has been superficial and diluted by the exercise of academic . Further, the prevailing culture of universities is often based on individual autonomy, which is zealously guarded. Thus, it is usually difficult to apply the features of quality to higher education considering the fact that quality requires. However, the quality of higher education is very important for its stakeholders. Notably, providers (funding bodies and the community at large), students, staff and employers of graduates are. The most commonly grouped dimensions of quality are product, software and service. In the changing context marked by expansion of higher education and globalization of economic activities, education has become a national concern with an international dimension. To cope with this changing context, countries have been pressurized to ensure and assure quality of higher education at a nationally comparable and internationally acceptable standard. Consequently, many countries initiated “national quality assurance mechanisms” and many more are in the process of evolving a suitable strategy. Most of the quality assurance bodies were established in the nineties and after a few years of practical experience, they are rethinking many issues of quality assurance. At this juncture where countries look for experiences and practices elsewhere, the experience of India has many valuable lessons and this report is an attempt to share those developments..

scholarly journals On ‘being first’: the case for first-generation status in Australian higher education equity policy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Patfield ◽  
Jennifer Gore ◽  
Natasha Weaver
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Government Schools ◽  
Generation Status ◽  
Educational Disadvantage ◽  
Equity Policy

AbstractFor more than three decades, Australian higher education policy has been guided by a national equity framework focussed on six underrepresented target groups: Indigenous Australians, people from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, people from regional and remote areas, people with disabilities, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, and women in non-traditional areas of study. Despite bringing equitable access to the forefront of university agendas, this policy framework has fostered a somewhat narrow conceptualisation of how educational disadvantage should be addressed. Responding to calls for reform, this paper draws on survey data from 6492 students in NSW government schools to examine the extent to which a new category warrants inclusion in the national framework: first-generation status. We illustrate how being the first in a family to attend university brings distinct equity status and argue for a revision of the national equity framework to recognise and support students who are ‘first’.

scholarly journals Charting a course to an emerging field of 'research engagement studies': A conceptual meta-synthesis

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jude Fransman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Development ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Research Engagement ◽  
The Past ◽  
Narrow Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Education Science

The past decades in the UK have witnessed renewed interest by policymakers, research funders and research institutions in the engagement of non-academic individuals, groups and organizations with research processes and products. There has been a broad consensus that better engagement leads to better impact, as well as significant learning around understanding engagement and improving practice. However, this sits in tension to a parallel trend in British higher education policy that reduces the field to a narrow definition of quantitatively measured impacts attributed to individual researchers, projects and institutions. In response, this article argues for the mobilization of an emerging field of 'research engagement studies' that brings together an extensive and diverse existing literature around understandings and experiences of engagement, and has the potential to contribute both strategically and conceptually to the broader impact debate. However, to inform this, some stocktaking is needed to trace the different traditions back to their conceptual roots and chart out a common set of themes, approaches and framings across the literature. In response, this article maps the literature by developing a genealogy of understandings of research engagement within five UK-based domains of policy and practice: higher education; science and technology; public policy (health, social care and education); international development; and community development. After identifying patterns and trends within and across these clusters, the article concludes by proposing a framework for comparing understandings of engagement, and uses this framework to highlight trends, gaps and ways forward for the emerging field.

scholarly journals What about Provincial Institutions in Higher Education Policy in India?

2018 ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Anamika Srivastava ◽  
Nandita Koshal
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Policy Makers

In this article, we take stock of provincial higher education institutions in India, which—advertently or not—have not yet caught the attention of policy makers. However, these institutions employ the majority of the teachers and cater to the needs of the majority of students in the country.

scholarly journals Legal Education in Pakistan: An Overview

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 401
Author(s):  
Sardar Ali Shah ◽  
Usharani Balasingam ◽  
Saroja Dhanapal
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
The Past ◽  
Education Commission ◽  
Quality Assurance Mechanism ◽  
Two Bodies

Legal education in Pakistan was initiated before independence and dates back to the 1800s. The first legal education institution was established under the name of ‘University Law College’ in 1868. Currently, there are more than 150 institutions offering law programs, which include universities and law colleges. These institutions are regulated by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Higher Education Commission (HEC). Over the past decades, there have been a lot of concerns raised on the quality assurance mechanism with regards to legal education in Pakistan. In line with this, the objectives of the current study is to identify and analyse the roles and responsibilities of the HEC and the PBC as regulators of legal education in the country as well as to identify the strengths and weaknesses within this regulatory system as a result of an overlapping of powers between the two bodies. The article ends with recommendations for improvement.

Drop-Outs at the Open University

1980 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desmond J. Keegan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Open University ◽  
The Past ◽  
Drop Outs

The year 1979 marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Open University. During this period it has come to be recognized as one of the major innovations in higher education in recent years. The Open University set out to attempt to solve the problem of drop-outs which had been a source of criticism for other distance education institutions in the past. To a large extent it has been successful in reducing drop-outs to an acceptable minimum. The importance of its success for other institutions which teach at a distance, both in Australia and overseas, is discussed. Caution is expressed about the lack of unanimity in terminology in studies of “drop-outs” and the danger of using “drop-outs” in comparing one institution with another.

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