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Regulatory Administrative InstitutionsMPA 517

Lecture-17

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Recap

– Higher Education Commission– Ministry of Environment• Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency

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Today’s Lecture

• QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM OF HEC

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Objectives of Today's Lecture

• Awareness regarding demands of globalization with respect to higher Education

• Quality Assurance System/ Mechanism in higher Education institutions

• HEC Self Assessment Manual- Guidelines for quality enhancement

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1. Globalization with respect to Higher Education

• Globalization i.e. the increasing inter-nation interaction affects standards, learning, import and export of education, recognition and mobility.

• Higher Education in Pakistan can not be isolated from the rest of the world.

• Education, especially, higher education provides the bedrock for reducing poverty and enhancing social development.

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Continued…

• We have been able to increase access to higher education. The number of higher education institutions has multiplied in the last couple of years.

• It is, however, not just the quantity but the quality of higher education which is important for the growth of a country.

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Continued…

• You must be aware of the fact that not a single university of the 57 Muslim countries is among the top 500 best universities of the world.

• Only recently four Pakistani universities including NUST, QAU, KU and PU of the Muslim World have found their place in the top 600 universities as compared to other developing countries. This is alarming.

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Continued…

• An education system of poor quality may be one of the most important reasons why poor countries like Pakistan do not grow.

• Without quality higher education, Pakistan will find it increasingly difficult to benefit from the global knowledge based economy.

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Globalization

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• Globalization i.e. the increasing inter-nation interaction affects standards, learning, import and export of education, recognition and mobility.

• Higher Education in Pakistan can not be isolated from the rest of the world.

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Paradigm Shift

There is a paradigm shift from old to new emphasizing outcomes i.e. what have the students achieved.

In other words, the competency of a graduate makes him/her useful to the society.

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Paradigm Shift

Old Paradigm• What we give to the students

• Inputs• Faculty Teaching• Curriculum• Educational activities as an

end• More quantitative (how

much)

New Paradigm• What the students can/are

able to do• Outcomes• Student learning• Education• Educational activities as

means to an end• More qualitative (how well)

as well as quantitative

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Continued…

• We often consider graduates as the end product/output of education. It is not about just the ”Output” but about the “Outcome” of higher education institutions that matters in today’s market economy.

• The number of graduating students is the output, while the QUALITY of graduates is the OUTCOME, in other words, the competency of a graduate makes him/her useful to the society.

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Continued…• Globalization has both direct and indirect

impact on higher education, its quality and quality assessment.

• Quality in higher education has assumed great significance in recent times in the context of “knowledge Society” or Knowledge driven Society.

• The youth of today are now global citizens, so it becomes obligatory to educate it according to international standards.

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2. Quality Assurance Mechanism of HEC

Definition of Quality

Quality can be defined as the means through which an institution can guarantee with confidence and certainty, that the standards of its educational provision are being maintained and enhanced.

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Continued…

• Quality assurance is used as common denomination for a variety of mechanisms intended to control, guarantee and promote quality in higher education institutions.

• It is a developmental aspect of higher education, and, therefore, will never be achieved in total.

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Continued…

• Quality Assurance is one of the following three pillars of education upon which the whole structure of Higher Education in Pakistan will be based.

- Access- Quality- Relevance

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Continued…

• Increasing access to higher education without enhancing its quality and relevance to the needs of the country can not be expected to achieve the goal of a knowledge based economy.

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Continued…

• It is a common belief/perception that majority of the Pakistani universities do not meet the international standards of higher education.

• We have to accept Quality assurance as a challenge, which can not be met without enhancing the quality on sustainable basis.

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Continued..• Quality Assurance is an activity carried out

at two levels i.e. External & Internal.

• External Quality Assurance (also called as accreditation) is carried out by regulatory/professional bodies at the national level to ensure the minimum performance level of educational programmes and institutions, in this case the HEC.

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Continued…

• Internal Quality Assurance is an internal and integral part of the institution’s administration and management systems.

• It implements a set of policies, programmes and procedures set-up by an institution.

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Continued..• In order to achieve these objectives, the

Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has established a Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) in 2004 at HEC Islamabad.

• The major function of Quality Assurance Agency is to integrate the concepts of quality in higher learning systems and to develop practical guidelines and policies for the uplift of education in Pakistan through a viable quality assurance mechanism.

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Continued…

• Under the umbrella of Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) a Quality Assurance Committee has been constituted which has developed guidelines for a viable system of quality assurance.

• The Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) is composed of Vice Chancellors of about 30 public sector universities. The Chairman of the Committee is Prof. Dr. Abdul Raouf of Institute of Management & Technology, Lahore and ex-Rector, GIK.

Quality Assurance System at HEC

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Continued…

• The Academic Quality Assurance concepts and practices are frequently being developed and adopted in several education systems across the world.

• A sample of universities which have adopted these practices include: MIT, University of Michigan, University of Illinois at Urbana, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Texas A & M University in USA, Al Ain University at UAE, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran and many others.

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Continued…

• The Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Pakistan is paying growing attention to the application and adoption of quality assurance mechanism in higher education system of Pakistan.

• Higher Education, it is often argued, can not be isolated from what precedes it i.e. quality of primary and secondary education. Improvement in quality at all levels of education are essential.

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Continued…

• Education in today’s global context is an importable and exportable commodity like any other manufactured good. It, therefore, must be checked against certain quality standards.

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Continued…

The Quality Assurance programme of the HEC essentially has three major components:

• Development of criteria and standards for various quality parameters in Higher Education

• Development of processes and capacity building to ensure implementation of these criteria

• Develop a system for arranging regular internal and external monitoring of the higher education institutions in respect of the status of implementation of the quality criteria and quality control processes.

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Continued…

The Quality Assurance Committee has developed a set of criteria for:

• Award of MPhil & PhD degrees• Affiliation of Colleges/Institutions• Ranking (Assessment) of Universities• Guidelines for Self Assessment by

Universities• Examination System (NTS etc.)

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Continued…

• The approach taken by HEC is that Quality Assurance is something which is the responsibility of the respective institutions.

• The HEC would facilitate the process of Quality Assurance by providing quality assessment guidelines.

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HEC-FAID

• Improved Financial Aid System for HEC & Partner Universities

• Create Financial Aid Offices at Universities and Build Staff Capacity

• Expanded Menu of Financial Aid Programs• Up-to-date Management Systems• Improved Communication Strategies• Enhanced Service to Public• Improved Accountability and Assessment

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• Fund Raising and Resource DevelopmentDevelop Capacity of HEC and Partner Universities to Raise Private Funds

• Create Development Offices at HEC and Universities and Build Staff Capacity

• Adapt International Best Practices to Pakistani Context

• Annual Goals for Fund Raising at HEC and Universities• Implement Specific Fund Raising Strategies• Management Systems to Support Fund Raising

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• Training and Study Tours Design In-country Training Programs for Staff

• Support International Study Tours for up to 75 Relevant Financial Aid and Development Staff

• Establish Productive Links Between HEC and Universities and Leading International Universities and Funding Sources

• Seek Capacity Development Support from International Professional Associations Dedicated to Financial Aid and Development

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Today’s Lecture

• Quality Assurance at HEC

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Next Lecture

• Pakistan Engineering Council• Pakistan Medical and Dental Council