Workshop Improving Quality in Schools

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Workshop Improving Quality in Schools
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Contents

• Introduction
• European Association for Quality Assurance in
  Higher Education
• Standards Guidelines for Quality Assurance in
  the European Higher Education Area
• Internal Quality Assurance
• FEDE Quality Assurance Projects

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Introduction

• Why be concerned with quality in schools?
• The better the level of quality of educational
  programs the better trained students become
  which, in turn, better serves society both
  socially and economically.
• Quality has become a very important criteria
  for customers choosing schools.
• Who are our customers/constituents
• Students
• Teaching Staff
• School Personnel
• Businesses / Employers
• Partners
• Local and National Policy makers
• Distinguishing your institution in the market
  place

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European Association for Quality Assurance in
Higher Education

• If Europe is to achieve its aspiration to be
  
• the most dynamic and knowledge-based
• economy in the world, then European higher
• education will need to demonstrate that it takes
• the quality of its programmes seriously and is
• willing to put into place the means of assuring
• and demonstrating that quality.
• (Lisbon Strategy)

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Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in
the European Higher Education Area

• Background
• Results from 2003 Berlin Communiqué two goals
• develop an agreed set of standards and procedures
  guidelines on quality assurance
• to ensure adequate peer review systems for
  quality assurance/or accreditation agencies.
• Designed for ALL higher education institutions,
  irrespective of their structure, function, size,
  and the national system
• To help institutions in developing their own
  quality assurance systems, they should not be
  prescriptive or unchangeable

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Seven Basic Principles

• Providers of higher education have the primary
  responsibility for the quality of their training
  programs and quality assurance
• The interest of society in the quality and
  standards of higher education need to be
  safeguarded
• The quality of programmes need to be developed
  and improved for students and other stakeholders
  across Europe
• Transparency and external expertise in quality
  assurance is important
• There should be encouragement of a culture of
  quality within institutions
• Institutions should be able to demonstrate their
  quality at home and internationally
• Processes should not stifle diversity and
  innovation.

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Objectives of the Standards and Guidelines

• to encourage the development of higher education
  institutions which foster vibrant intellectual
  and educational achievement
• to provide a source of assistance and guidance to
  higher education institutions in developing their
  own culture of quality assurance
• to inform and raise the expectation of higher
  education institutions, students, employers and
  other stakeholders about the processes and
  outcomes of higher education
• to contribute to a common frame of reference of
  quality within in the European Higher Education
  Area

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Seven Standards and Guidelines

• 1- Policy and Procedures for Quality Assurance
• 2- Approval, Monitoring and Periodic Review of
  Programs
• 3- Assessment of Students
• 4- Quality of Teaching Staff
• 5- Learning Resources and Student Support
• 6- Information Systems
• 7- Public Information

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1 - Policy and Procedures for Quality Assurance

• Standard
• Institutions should have policy and procedures
  for the assurance of the quality and standards of
  their programmes.
• They should be committed to the development of a
  culture that recognizes the importance quality
  assurance in their work develop and implement a
  strategy of the continuous enhancement of
  quality have a formal strategy, policy and
  procedures publically available include a role
  for students and other stakeholders.

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1- Policy and Procedures for Quality Assurance

• Guidelines
• The policy statement is expected to include
• the institutions strategy for quality and
  standards
• the organization of a quality assurance system
• the responsibilities of departments, schools
  faculties and individuals for the assurance of
  quality
• the ways in which the policy is implemented,
  monitored and revised.

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2- Approval, Monitoring and Periodic Review of
Programs

• Standard Institutions should have formal
  mechanisms for the approval, periodic review and
  monitoring of their programmes.
• Guidelines The quality assurance of programmes
  are expected to include
• development and publication of explicit intended
  learning outcomes
• careful attention to curriculum and programme
  design and content
• specific needs of different modes of delivery
  (e.g. full-time, part-time, distance- or
  e-learning and types of higher education (e.g.,
  academic, vocational, professional)
• monitoring and the progress and achievement of
  students
• regular periodic reviews of programs (including
  external panel members)
• regular feedback from employers, labor market
  representative, etc.

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Assessment and Self-Study
1. Establish Goals and Learning Objectives
8. Host Visit from External Reviewer
2. Develop Assessment Plan
7. Conduct Self-Study
3. Conduct Ongoing Assessment of Student Outcomes
6. Revise Goals and Assessment Plans
4. Use Results to Improve Student Learning
5. Prepare Annual Report of Results
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3- Assessment of Students

• Standard Institutions should assess students
  using published criteria, regulations and
  procedures which are applied consistently.
• Guidelines Student assessment procedures are
  expected to include
• be designed to measure the achievement of the
  intended learning outcomes
• have clear and published criteria for marking
• where possible, not rely on the judgments of
  single examiners
• take account of all the possible consequences of
  examination regulations
• have clear regulations covering student absence,
  illness and other mitigating circumstances
• Students should know about the assessment
  strategy, what examinations methods will be used,
  what is expected of them, and the criteria that
  will be applied to the assessment of their
  performance.

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• Student Learning Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes (or student learning
objectives) Statements of what students are
expected to know and be able to do by the time
they complete the degree. They may be stated in
terms of expected knowledge, skills or attitudes.
These outcomes must be consistent with the
mission of the department, college, and
university. Learning Outcomes are "assessable"
or "measurable" to the degree that student
mastery of these skills and knowledge can be
gauged by careful review of student performances
and student work, and the results of this review
can be used to improve the course or the
curriculum.
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4- Quality of Teaching Staff

• Standard Institutions should have be satisfied
  that teaching staff are qualified and competent.
  Teachers should be available to external
  reviewers and commented upon in reports.
• Guidelines Teachers are the single most
  important learning resource available to most
  students, institutions should
• have teachers who have a full knowledge and
  understanding of the subject they are teaching
• have the necessary skills and experience to
  transmit their knowledge effectively in students
  in a range of contexts
• be able to access feedback on their own
  performance
• make certain that all new staff have a least the
  minimum necessary level of competence
• make certain that teaching staff be given
  opportunities to develop and extend their
  teaching capacity
• provide poor teachers with opportunities to
  improve their skills
• should have the means to remove teachers if they
  continue to be demonstrably ineffective.

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5- Learning Resources and Student Support

• Standard Institutions should ensure that the
  resources available for the support of student
  learning are adequate and appropriate for each
  programme offered.
• Guidelines In addition to their teachers,
  students rely on a range of resource to assist
  their learning, to accomplish this, institutions
  should
• provide adequate physical resources such as
  libraries and computing facilities
• make available human support in the form of
  tutors, counselors, and other advisors
• have learning resources and other support
  mechanisms readily accessible to students
• design and improve resources based on feedback
  from those who use them
• routinely monitor, review and improve the
  effectiveness of student support services.

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Improving Learning Resources
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Improving Learning Resources
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Improving Student Resources
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6- Information Systems

• Standard Institutions should ensure that they
  collect, analyse and use relevant information for
  the effective management of their programs of
  study and other activities.
• Guidelines Institutions self-knowledge is the
  starting point for effective quality assurance.
  Institutions should have the means to collect and
  analyse information about their own activities.
  Without this they will not know what is working
  well and what needs attention. Quality-related
  information systems are expected to cover
• student progression and success rates
• employability of graduates
• students satisfaction with their programmes
• effectiveness of teachers
• profile of the student population
• learning resources available and their costs.

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7- Public Information

• Standard Institutions should regularly publish
  up-to-date, impartial and objective information,
  both quantitative and qualitative, about the
  programs they are offering.
• Guidelines In fulfillment of their public
  role, higher education institution have a
  responsibility to provide information about the
  programmes they are offering and should make
  public
• the intended learning outcomes
• the qualifications they award
• the teaching and learning assessment procedures
  
• the learning opportunities available to
  students
• the employment destinations of past students and
  profile of current student population.

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FEDEs Commitment to Quality Assurance

• Fitness of Purpose
• FEDE schools are serving very different
  populations with different objectives
• Quality Assurance projects to be undertaken by
  FEDE in the future will focus on whether the
  institutions programs fit the stated purpose
  and not an elitist notion of one set of
  academic standard to be applied to all
  institutions
• Does the institution, through its mission,
  strategy, goals and objectives meet the needs of
  the population of students it is intending to
  serve.

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FEDEs Commitment to Quality Assurance

• Quality Culture
• FEDE believes that successful quality systems
  require
• An open and active commitment to quality at all
  levels
• A willingness to engage in self-evaluation
• Clarity and consistency of procedures
• Explicit responsibilities for quality control and
  quality assurance
• A clear commitment to identifying and
  disseminating good practice
• Everyone in the organization to understand the
  meaning of quality assurance

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PROJECT for FEDE Quality Carter
The European Federation of Schools, having the
position of representing private higher education
institution who are members, has established
educational curriculums and examination which
take into account norms and recommendations
published by the European Union and Council of
Europe and designed for student wishing to pursue
higher education in Europe. All students
following a program of study at a FEDE member
school should be assured a quality level of that
program. As such, member schools of FEDE are to
be committed to respecting quality assurance
requirements presented in the following charter.

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PROJECT for a FEDE Quality Carter
Article 1 Organizational Structure The
training organization will have formal functions
assigned to all personnel involved (i.e.,
teaching, administrative or management). Article
2 FEDE Liaison The institution must assign, for
each academic year, a FEDE Liaison who will serve
as a link between FEDE the school and students.
The FEDE Liaison will be responsible for managing
student registrations for FEDE exams, the
transmission of information provided by FEDE to
all concerned individuals and the organization of
all materials. Article 3 Academic dean The
establishment should designate an academic dean
in charge of supervision the of the training
programs and preparation for the FEDE
examinations, and the follow-up of the training
programs. The academic dean is to be available
for all and any pedagogical questions and must
have significant background in pedagogy.
Article 4 Information for Candidates The
establishment is committed to communicating to
all students all relevant information, not only
regarding the curriculum, but all information
concerning the FEDE examinations with respect to
diploma requirements.
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FEDEs Quality Carter
Article 5 Academic calendar The establishment
must organized, in advance, the educational
program, the semester course schedules, the
personnel and material requirements. Article 6
Teaching staff qualifications The teaching staff
must have a minimum level of qualifications in
order to guarantee the quality of their courses.
Article 7 Alumni follow-up The establishment
should collect data in order to verify the
appropriateness of the training programs with
employment market needs. Article 8 Applying
FEDE Carter All schools who prepare students for
FEDE examinations commit to putting in place the
requirement listed in the charter.
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Future FEDE ProjectEuropean Standards and
Guidelines for External Quality Assurance

• 1- Use of internal quality assurance procedures
• Standard
• External quality assurance procedures should take
  into account the effectiveness of the internal
  quality assurance processes described in Part 1
  of the European Standards and Guidelines.
• 2- Development of external quality assurance
  processes
• Standard
• The aims and objectives of quality assurance
  processes should be determined before the
  processes themselves are developed, by all those
  responsible and should be published with a
  description of the procedures to be used.
• 3- Criteria for decision
• Standard
• Any formal decisions made as a result of an
  external quality assurance activity should be
  based on explicit published criteria that are
  applied consistently.

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Future Project for FEDE

• 4- Processes fit for purpose
• Standard
• All external quality assurance processes should
  be designed specifically to ensure their fitness
  to achieve the aims and objectives set for them.
• 5- Reporting
• Standard
• Reports should be published and should be written
  in a style which is clear and readily accessible
  to its intended readership. Any decisions,
  commendations or recommendations contained in
  reports should be easy for the reader to find.
• 6- Follow-up procedures
• Standard
• Quality assurance processes which contain
  recommendations for action or which require a
  subsequent action plan, should have a
  predetermined follow-up procedure which is
  implemented consistently.

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Future Project for FEDE

• 7- Periodic reviews
• Standard
• External quality assurance of institutions and/or
  programmes should be undertaken on a cyclical
  basis. The length of the cycle and the review
  procedures to be used should be clearly defined
  and published in advance.
• 8- System-wide analyses
• Standard
• Quality assurance agencies should produce, from
  time to time, summary reports describing and
  analyzing the general findings of their reviews,
  evaluations, assessments, etc.

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• Questions ?