Quality Assurance in Higher Education its Global Future

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• Quality Assurance in Higher Education its
  Global Future
• Richard Lewis
• OECD/France International Conference
• 8 9 December 2008
• Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
• Paris

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Outline of Presentation

• Where we are
• Where we are going
• Where we might be going

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Where we were

• Historically Higher Education (or rather
  Universities) were very special. No external QA
  (checks on whether a good job was being done) or
  internal QA (other than at the original
  appointment of teaching staff). Why
• Protection of academic freedom
• Who is knowledgeable enough to monitor an
  academic - quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

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Growth since 1991

• The International Network of Quality Assurance
  Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) or the
  Network, was established in 1991.
• Its core membership are the regional and
  national quality assurance and accreditation
  agencies.
• When it was founded INQAAHE had members from only
  11 countries which, more or less, represented all
  the countries that had at that time systems, in
  some cases partial systems, of external quality
  assurance in higher education.
• In July 2008 it had 154 full members from 78
  countries with a few more still to come.

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Factors contributing to the growth of external
quality assurance 1

• The recognition in many countries of the need for
  greater accountability for the use of scarce
  national resources.
• The growth in higher education that has occurred
  in many countries.
• The increased diversity in HE provision including
  the establishment of binary systems, and the
  growth in distance learning.
• In some countries there was a trade off between
  the reduction of direct governmental control of
  higher educational institutions and the
  introduction of external quality assurance
  arrangements.

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Factors contributing to the growth of external
quality assurance 2

• The increase in some countries in the number of
  private, including for profit, providers.
• Regional developments, for example in Europe and
  South America, aimed at creating a higher
  education space which encourages student mobility
  and the mutual recognition of qualifications.
• The ever increasing internationalisation of
  higher education including the growth in cross
  -border providers and the need for the mutual
  recognition of qualifications and higher
  education credits

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The traditional five stage quality assurance
model

• A survey of the INQAAHE data base
  (www.inqaahe.org) revealed that virtually all
  agencies stated that used the following approach
• Sets of regulations and guidelines formulated
• A self evaluation prepared by the institution
• The appointment of a peer group whose review of
  the institution or programme would start with a
  review of the self evaluation
• Site visits by the peer group.
• The publication of a report or, in some cases,
  only the decision

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But there are Differences -The Hard/Soft Divide

• Format of the self-study
• Conduct of the review including direct
  observation
• Grading

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Emerging Trends - 1

• QA for enhancement
• Greater emphasis on Internal QA and the
  encouragement of an institutional Quality
  Culture
• Much greater use of Explicit Statements of
  Requirements
• Qualification Frameworks
• Subject Benchmarks

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Emerging Trends - 2

• Greater Focus on Outputs
• Direct What a student has learnt
• Indirect Where a graduate has gone
• The breaking down of national boundaries
• Hard to soft or is it hard to harder?
• In some countries increasing government
  involvement

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Possible Future Developments - 1

• The emergence of a Global External Quality
  Assurance Agency
• Emergence of Regional Meta-Accreditors
• Related developments in the world of Professional
  Accreditation
• Consequences
• Increased conformity and standardisation
  improved mutual recognition of qualifications and
  the elimination of very poor provision.

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Possible Future Developments - 2

• The death of HE as we know it.
• Massification of HE and growth of HE outside
  traditional Universities more teaching done by
  non researchers.
• Will, overtime, the barrier between specially
  treated HE and the rest of the education sector
  shift to the PG level?

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• My thanks for your attention
• Richard Lewis
• rl_at_lewisuk.co.uk