The Triggers for Internationalization and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education of France

International Projects ◽

Internationalization Strategies ◽

The article analyzes the internationalization strategies and the quality assurance systems of France and Université de Lorraine. It has been found out that the goals, proposed in the national and institutional internationalization strategies, include strengthening policies to improve the reception of international students, young researchers and staff. It has been noted that Haut Conseil de l'évaluation de la recherche et de l'enseignement supérieur and Université de Lorraine are partners in the project «Implementation of Education Quality Assurance System via Cooperation of University-Business-Government in Higher Education Institutions» (EDUQAS Project), aiming at improving education quality assurance systems through the development of efficient internal quality standards leading to graduates’ better employability in partner countries. Haut Conseil de l'évaluation de la recherche et de l'enseignement supérieur and Commission des Titres d’Ingénieur are authorized to conduct international accreditations of study programs. Université de Lorraine Délégation à l’Aide au Pilotage et à la Qualité promotes a culture of continuous improvement and organizational development based on the tools of quality management and process control. It has been noted that participation in EDUQAS Project stimulates further development of QA systems at the national and institutional levels; wider participation of stakeholders in higher education quality enhancement and internationalization; higher education quality monitoring through stakeholders’ surveys; monitoring graduates’ career paths in partner countries. The legislative basis, internationalization strategies and quality assurance institutions at the national and institutional levels, networks of stakeholders involved in internationalization and quality assurance processes, participation in the international projects have been identified to be triggers for internationalization and quality enhancement in higher education of France.

Conceptualising External and Internal Quality Assurance in Higher Education: A Pragmatist Perspective

International Journal of African Higher Education ◽

10.6017/ijahe.v2i1.9261 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Francis Ansah

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Quality Assurance ◽

Current Understanding ◽

Education Quality ◽

Internal Quality ◽

Practical Relevance ◽

Internal Quality Assurance ◽

The Relationship ◽

The traditional tension between external and internal quality assurance implementation in higher education appears to be declining, based on a rethinking of the relationship between the two concepts. Although there are quality assurance agencies that still consider external and internal quality assurance as separate entities, most quality assurance agencies now regard the two concepts as complementary. In this paper, a case is put that the present rethinking of external and internal quality assurance in most higher education settings is guided by pragmatism, but not explicitly acknowledged in the literature. For a better appreciation of pragmatists’ influence on the current understanding of the relationship between external and internal quality assurance in higher education, this paper provides a further pragmatist conceptualisation of the two concepts to enhance stakeholders’ appreciation of employing a pragmatist approach to quality assurance practices in higher education. The conceptualisation is done through a pragmatist analysis of selected international accounts on higher education quality assurance. The paper concludes that pragmatism helps to understand external and internal quality assurance as nested concepts with reciprocities of accountability and improvement roles, and influences which call for alignment of perspectives through negotiations and settlements in order to focus on their practical relevance for implementation in higher education. La tension traditionnelle entre l’implémentation de systèmes d’assurance qualité interne et externe dans l’enseignement supérieur semble s’affaiblir grâce à la reconsidération de la relation entre ces deux concepts. Bien qu’il existe des agences d’assurance qualité qui continuent à considérer les assurances qualité interne et externe comme deux entités distinctes, la plupart des agences considèrent désormais qu’elles sont complémentaires. Cet article soutient que la nouvelle manière de penser les assurances qualité interne et externe dans l’enseignement supérieur est guidée par un souci de pragmatisme mais est encore peu reconnue dans la littérature. Pour mieux apprécier l’influence des pragmatistes sur la compréhension actuelle de la relation entre les assurances qualité interne et externe, cet article offre une conceptualisation pragmatique approfondie de ces deux concepts dans le but d’augmenter l’appréciation des parties prenantes pour l’utilisation d’une telle approche. La conceptualisation proposée provient d’une analyse pragmatique d’un choix d’expériences internationales en matière d’assurance qualité pour l’enseignement supérieur. En conclusion, cet article affirme que le pragmatisme aide à comprendre les assurances qualité interne et externe comme des concepts imbriqués qui ont des rôles réciproques en ce qui concerne la responsabilisation du système et son amélioration. Ces rôles ainsi que l’influence exercée par ces deux types d’assurance qualité requièrent des négociations et accords, pour s’accorder sur les perspectives et pouvoir ensuite se concentrer pleinement sur la pertinence pratique de leur implémentation dans les systèmes d’enseignement supérieur.

Towards Sustainable Development through Higher Education Quality Assurance

Education Sciences ◽

10.3390/educsci11110664 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 664

Author(s):

Nataliia Stukalo ◽

Maryna Lytvyn

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Sustainable Development ◽

Quality Assurance ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

Education Quality ◽

Internal Quality ◽

Development Goals ◽

This study aims to identify the role of higher education quality assurance in achieving sustainable development goals. To support this aim, the following objectives were formulated: to discuss and summarize the best practices of QA agencies in promoting SDGs, to identify how Ukrainian universities consider SDGs in their policies, to develop recommendations for internal, and external quality assurance systems regarding SDG achievement. This qualitative study is based on a case study, observation, and questionnaire methods. Ukrainian higher education quality assurance systems are taken as a case study for this article. Primary data are collected through an online questionnaire and observation of Ukrainian universities’ publicly available information regarding sustainable development activities at their official websites. Additionally, some publicly available documents, reports, and materials on the experience of foreign quality assurance agencies are also reviewed, compared, and contrasted. The results of the research can be used at national levels where higher education standards should include competence in sustainable development goals, at institutional level to improve HEIs’ quality assurance system, and at the study program level to include SDG consideration as one of the requirements during internal quality assurance procedures.

Analysis of students' views about the quality of higher education (based on the survey results)

International Scientific Journal of Universities and Leadership ◽

10.31874/2520-6702-2020-10-2-70-86 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 70-86

Author(s):

Olena Orzhel ◽

Kateryna Tryma

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Quality Assurance ◽

Education Quality ◽

Quality Enhancement ◽

Positive Finding ◽

Quality Of Higher Education ◽

Holistic Understanding ◽

The article is dedicated to the issue of student involvement in higher education quality assurance and evaluation – a vital and highly relevant issue in today’s higher education of Ukraine. Changes instigated by the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education» of 2014, foresee an active role of students in the formation and evaluation of higher education quality as 1) final beneficiaries, 2) interviewees and participants in accreditation of study programmes, 3) external evaluation experts during study programmes accreditation, as ruled by current legislation. Taking into account the significance of students’ role in quality assurance, it is necessary to find out: how university students interpret quality of higher education and higher education quality assurance; how students perceive their role in the formation and enhancement of higher education quality; to what extend they are ready and committed to influence and improve the quality of higher education. Accordingly, the aim of this article is to investigate students’ opinion on the quality of Ukraine’s higher education. To this end, students’ survey was conducted with the focus on the following: what is quality and quality assurance in students’ opinion; how respondents assess the quality of education in their HEI and in Ukraine in general; whether students can influence the quality of study programmes and quality of higher education; what hinders improvement of study programmes and enhancement of quality of higher education. The survey was conducted in May – October 2020; the respondents were 115 students of five Ukrainian universities (years three and four of bachelor programmes and master students) who volunteered to take part in the survey. The research resulted in the following conclusions: 1) There is no integral, holistic understanding of higher education quality among student community. Representatives of different HEIs interpret higher education quality differently, though in total 60% of respondents interpret quality as « new, relevant information and knowledge». 2) On the whole, respondents value the quality of higher education rather low: only 25% of students regard it as high. At the same time, most of surveyed students rate the quality of their study programme higher, than the quality of higher education in their university or the quality of educational services in Ukraine in general. 3) Students of different HEIs are rather diverse in their interpretation of quality assurance of higher education and choice of different means for quality enhancement. On the whole, respondents give preference to those tools that anticipate active students’ participation in quality assurance, like asking the teacher to change the manner of teaching, or leaving a complaint with student self-government, discussing the quality of teaching in a focus group, or filling in an evaluation questionnaire. 4) Students who participated in the survey demonstrated critical thinking and fair judgement of their negative impact on the quality of higher education by stating that low student motivation is the most significant factor that obstructs quality enhancement. Other factors cited by respondents include low teacher motivation, underdeveloped infrastructure at HEIs, teacher workload. 5) The positive finding of the survey is that the majority of students are confident in their capability to influence the quality of higher education in their HEI and only 21% responded they are deprived of the possibility improve higher education quality.