introduction to internal quality assurance · improvement in the quality of institutional...

INTRODUCTION TO INTERNAL

QUALITY ASSURANCE

Anca Prisacariu, Adviser to the Minister of

Education, Romania

Workshop for higher education institutions, 30 November 2016, Prishtina

CONTENTS

Conceptualization of terms;

Building an institutional Quality

Management System;

Key components;

Basic instruments;

Conclusions.


HOW DO YOU DEFINE QUALITY

OF EDUCATION?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?

DE

FIN

ING

QU

AL

ITY

1

1. Gibson, 1986; Neave, 1986; Scott, 994; Pfeffer and Coot, 1991; Bairt, 1998; Harvey

and Green, 1993; Middlehurst, 1992; Vroeijenstijn, 1992; Westerheijden, 1990; Boyle

and Bowden, 1997; Camphell and Rozsnyai, 2002; Green, 1994; Westerheijden, 1999)

DEFINING QUALITY2

Preparation for Sustainable Employment

Preparation for life as active citizens in democratic

states

Personal development

The development

and maintenance,

through teaching,

learning and research, of a

broad, advanced knowledge

base

2. Council of Europe, 2013; Bergan, 2005.

DEFINING QUALITY

Preparation for Sustainable Employment

Preparation for life as active citizens in democratic

states

Personal development

The development

and maintenance,

through teaching,

learning and research, of a

broad, advanced knowledge

base

“The right to education can be fully exercised if the

education is of adequate quality and if the learning

opportunities and arrangements enable pupils and

students to complete their education in reasonable time

and under conditions conductive to quality

education”3

Paragraph 7, Council of Europe, 2013

DEFINING QUALITY ASSURANCE

A process of establishing stakeholder confidencethat provision (input, process, and outcomes) fulfillsexpectations or measures up to threshold minimumrequirements (Harvey, 2002);

The totality of the policies, values/attitudes,procedures, structures, resources and actions devotedto ensure continuous improvement of quality ofthe educational processes (Kahsay, 2012);

A systematic, structured and continuous attention toquality in terms of quality maintenance andimprovement (Vroeijenstijn, 1995);

A collective process by which a university ensuresthat the quality of educational process ismaintained to the standards it has set itself(Wilger, 1997).

Quality Assurance is the way in which an

institution can guarantee with confidence and

certainty, that the standards and quality of its

educational provision are being maintained and

improved.

Quality Enhancement is the process of positively

changing activities in order to provide for continuous

improvement in the quality of institutional

provision.

Quality Culture can be seen as the ability of the

institution, program etc. to develop quality

assurance implicitly in the day to day work of the

institution.

Quality - ?


Feedback as an essential element; Demonstrating quality culture through

the actions of the institutional management and leadership; it is not merely a strategic concept;

Quality as an aspect of the overall strategy;

Accepting and constructively dealing with transparency;

Ownership over quality of the entire academic community;

Common quality values.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A QUALITY

CULTURE

Role

to ensure a centralized, comprehensive and

systematic quality assurance and enhancement.

Principles

Producing useful information;

The system covers the whole range of institutions’

activities and units;

Institutions use the information to improve its

activities;

Involvement of all stakeholders: faculty, students,

administrative staff, alumni, representatives of the

labor market;

Demonstrating quality.

BUILDING AN INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM I

Quality assurance/management – key support for

the strategic management of the institution

Four key questions (© IEP-EUA):

What is the institution trying to do? What are its

norms and values, the mission and goals?

How is the institution trying to do it? What are the

organizational characteristics of the institution, i.e.

governance structures, and its key activities and to

what extent are these in line with the norms and

values?

How does the institution know it works? To what

extent does the institution know whether its activities

and organizational structures meet the institution’s

objectives?

How does the institution change in order to improve?


MANAGEMENT SYSTEM II

Copyright: Fahd Bin Sultan University


MANAGEMENT SYSTEM;

Copyright: Graz University

The quality cycle ensures the systematic

approach of “analyzing the situation –

setting goals – implementation –

monitoring – checking – analyzing

outcomes”;

All areas of activity are included;

The quality system and related structures

are set on a long-term basis;

The quality system is a dynamic concept

rather than a static target;


MANAGEMENT SYSTEM V


PRACTICAL EXERCISE

How are you building your internal

quality assurance/ management

system?

What are the key components?

Strategic – individual at leadership level;

– formal prioritization.

Decision making – committee;

– policy and regulations.

Administrative – office/department.

KEY COMPONENTS

ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL


BASIC INSTRUMENTS

A centralized and unitary system forinformation management:

Core policies and procedures for qualityassurance;

Regulations;

Different surveys;

Minutes of meetings;

Focus groups;

Self-evaluation reports (including ofeffectiveness);

Activity reports.


CONCLUSIONS

Institutional common ownership for the QM;

Continuous enhancement and evaluation of

the effectiveness of the QM system itself;

Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle of crucial

importance;

Data driven QMS that supports the decision

making process with evidence;

Formal processes preserve the best continuity

and institutional memory;

Ensure full engagement of all stakeholders,

as well as transparency all along the process.Workshop for higher education institutions, 30 November 2016, Prishtina

THANK YOU

Anca Prisăcariu, Adviser to the Minister of

Education, Romania

[email protected]

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