CUBRIK Workshop IVBeograd,

13 March, 2012

Prof. György BAZSA, former president

Hungarian Accreditation Committee (HAC)

QUALITY ASSURANCE

some subjective remarks

Messages of the presentation

QA is a general social must in the competitive word of the 21th century

QA is not a l’art pour l’art entertainment, it is an outcomes oriented never ending permanent activity

QA is the primary interest and primary responsibility of higher education institutions (HEIs)

QA is the task of the full HEI from top to bottom

The interest and information of the broad public should be served in all respects

QA should developed into a quality culture at personal, institutional and (inter)national level

Glossary

quality assurance: sum of regulations, structures, processes and outcomes for improving quality

evaluation: (of subject, programme or institution) a well defined process carried out internal (self-evaluation) or external (by QA agencies)

accreditation: (independent) professional evaluation with yes/no judgement – for a fixed period

licensing: giving permission of … by a state authority

audit: evaluation of strengths and weaknesses quality label (of excellence) in different fields

and activity (Euro-Inf, Euro-Ingeneur, Euro-Chem, etc.)

http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary/

Why accreditation?

First half of 20th century in US: a university initiative for protection of good reputation and degrees of excellent HE institutions against low level education and degrees (against „diploma mills”).

Second half of 20th century: increasing importance of quality, therefore developing systematic quality assurance systems (models) and quality culture.

In higher education: to ensure and improve quality of education and training in interest of all stakeholders (students, labour market, government).

For (the knowledge based) society: declaring safe-guarded and evaluated quality of programs and/or HE institutions, transparency, informing the public.

5

USA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation, CHEA)

Accreditation in the US is about quality assurance and quality improvement.

The federal government relies on accreditation to assure the quality of institutions and programs for which it provides federal funds and aid to students.

Accreditation is the primary means by which colleges, universities and programs assure quality to students and the public.

Accreditation status of an institution or program is important to employers when evaluating credentials of job applicants (in a competitive world).

CHEA: Council for Higher Education Accreditation →

United States

A national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation, CHEA is an association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities and recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations.

It is a bottom up and state-independent system.

+ Accreditation of non-United States institutions and programs →

National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation (NCFMEA)

The Purpose of NCFMEA is to review the standards used by foreign countries to accredit medical schools and determine whether those standards are comparable to standards used to accredit medical schools in the United States.

The NCFMEA does not review or accredit individual foreign medical schools. The NCFMEA only reviews the standards that a foreign country uses to accredit its medical schools. The request by a foreign country for review by the NCFMEA is voluntary.

This is a so called meta-accreditation.

8

Great Britain (audit):

The Quality Assurance Agency for HE (QAA) is • to safeguard the public interest in sound standards of HE qualifications, • to provide public information about the maintenance of academic standards and assurance of quality of learning opportunities provided for students,• to enhance the quality of educational provision, particularly by building on information gained through monitoring, internal and external reviews, and feed- back from stakeholders.

The American-English universities are society oriented!

9

Europe (continental)

The European university was during centuries an institution of excellent quality based on invited professors and on selected students.

In the 20th century the mass education appeared in Europe which required standardisation, professional evaluation and publicity of quality, i. e. accreditation.

This was and is mainly top down organised. States have stronger or weaker influence.

The Bologna process, ENQA, ESG, EQAR are products and catalysts of quality (assurance) – and tools of transfer from chaotic diversity to harmonised diversity.

10

EUA: key principles of university quality assurance

i. Primary responsibility for quality assurance lies with universities themselves. The role of external quality evaluation is to review internal processes while respec-ting and promoting the primary responsibility of HEIs.

ii. Institutional quality management requires a comprehensive, all-encompassing approach. This covers all activities of a university: research, teaching and learning, service to society and support services. Quality management should be derived from the mission statement and strategic goals of each institution and constitutes a fundamental part of an overarching institutional quality culture that aims at continuous enhancement of the quality.

11

iii. Quality is contextual. The diversity of institutional missions and profiles, as well as of national contexts and traditions, including national quality assurance procedures.

iv. The ultimate goal of all quality assurance – both internal and external – is to enhance quality thus promoting trust among stakeholders. Regardless of how quality is defined, the ultimate aim of all quality assurance processes – whether they are internal or external and related to research, teaching and learning or other activities – is to enhance quality.

Europe: good balance between internal academic values and external society needs

ENQA (2000): European (Network) Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education

„ENQA considers the autonomy of institutions and independence of quality assurance agencies within national HE systems as a necessary condition to ensure the full exercise of their responsibilities, notably with regard to the provision of accurate and consistent information to the general public.”

Recently in Europe the governments tend to increase their influence on accreditation although they have the right of licensing.

13

European University Association:Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP)

http://www.eua.be/iep/Home.aspx

• What is the institution trying to do? → mission

• How is the institution trying to do it? → implementation policies

• How does it know it works? → self evaluation

• How does the institution change in order to improve?→ strategic planning

It’s an audit type evaluation with no legal consequences but valuable proposals of an international team.

14

Hungary:

Act CCIV 2011 70. § (1) The Hungarian Accreditation Committee is a national expert body promoting the supervision, assurance, and evaluation of the quality of higher education, scientific research, and the scientific quality of artistic creation, which participates under this Act in procedures relating to higher education institutions, with special regard to doctorate schools.

There is nothing in the law about the interest of the public, stakeholders and society.

(HAC makes all its opinions public.)

Actors and factors in HE Quality (different missions, functions, rights, duties, effects …)

a) Government: HE Q policy, legal framework, licencing – HEI provider: ensuring financial conditions

b) QA agency: external Q Evaluation and Accreditation (ESG 2) – with advices, requests for development

c) HEIs: key performers in quality of the „products”,

responsible for internal Q Assurance (ESG 1)

d) Faculty: determines Q of teaching and research

e) Students: accept and reflect to Q of teaching

f) Labour market: confirms/questions Q of HE graduates

g) Media: reports Q and prepares HE ranking

h) Europe: Bologna, EHEA, ESG-3, ENQA, EQAR

a) Governments (Minister):

• QA and accreditation is part of state HE policy – if!

• Legal framework of QA (structures, standards etc.)

• Signature of Bologna declaration and ESG

Impact HE community accepts the need and benefit of

QA and accreditation. HEIs run QA system and process ordered by law

– if! State financing is or isn’t not connected to QA

and accreditation? Quality is independent of HEI provider (state,

church, private, foundations etc.)

b) QA agencies ESG – Part 2: European standards for the external

quality assurance of higher education

2.1 Use of internal quality assurance procedures

2.2 Development of external QA processes

2.3 Criteria for decisions

2.4 Processes fit for purpose

2.5 Reporting

2.6 Follow-up procedures

2.7 Periodic reviews

2.8 System-wide analyses

c) HEIESG - Part 1: European standards and guidelines for

internal quality assurance within higher education institutions

1.1 Policy and procedures for quality assurance

1.2 Approval, monitoring and periodic review of programs and awards

1.3 Assessment of students

1.4 Quality assurance of teaching staff

1.5 Learning resources and student support

1.6 Information systems

1.7 Public information

19

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

QUALITY ASSURANCE HANDBOOK

• Course design, approval, monitoring and review• Student feedback• Student complaints and appeals• External input• Quality enhancement in learning and teaching• Monitoring of teaching

http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/epsc/handbook/

20

http://www.sefi.be/wp-content/abstracts2009/Andersson.pdf

~1 year

~5 years

d) Faculty: In most cases selected on meritocracy

principle vs. HHE salary conditions. Quality based mentality dominates, organized

QA is slowly accepted. Formal and alibi Q actions hurt.

Realizes: Q is a winning factor in all competitions.

• Student evaluation of teaching is in progress, its ces are still moderate.

• Methods of earlier elite education must be replaced by mass education procedures.

• Student centered learning gradually replaces knowledge based teaching.

22

OXFORD LEARNING INSTITUTE

Postgraduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

A part-time professional degree programme for acade- mics teaching in higher education. A primary aim of the course is to enhance teaching, course design and the learning environment at Oxford. [Since 1999 > 120, mainly Oxford graduates.]

http://www.learning.ox.ac.uk/oli.php?page=48

e) Students: Quality, in principle, is their strong interest.• Quality of teaching can be achieved only with

their active participation.• At mass education students’ motivation,

participation and quality varies on a broad scale: from excellent performance to leisure school-days.

• Empowering required: students should influence their own transformation

• Credits (ECTS) are used and misused• Student associations in most cases are

partners in QA actions.

f) Stakeholders (employers, labor market): They demand general skills, like being

motivated, team working, critical thinking, management and IT skills, foreign languages, ready learn to adopt etc.

• Labour market moderately acknowledges Q of individual degrees, Q of HEI has bigger influence.

• Reputation of HEI and salaries (incomes) strongly influence pupils interest in choosing study programs.

Increasing recognition of HE excellence from private sector (awards, scholarships) stimulates Q in society

g) Media:• Shows reasonable balances between good

news (Q, excellence) and bad news (scandals).

• Ranking is now flourishing in domestic and international scale.

• Every HEI likes to find and does find good ranking position to glaze and advertise itself.

• Ranking, despite distortions, have more popular appeal than the accurate hard work of quality agencies.

HEIs and QAAs should take more care!

h) Europe QA is probably the most successful field of the

Bologna process.

ESG effects positively national QA policies and practices.

ENQA membership has significant importance.

EQAR list has more formal importance.

Both are preventing possible „accreditation mills”.

QA vs. qp:QA isn’t an art for art sake:

the main aim of Quality Assurance is good quality product: - high class graduates,

- excellent science and innovation, - efficient local/social services.

Thank you for the invitation and

for your kind attention!