Outsourcing Due Diligence Through

Robust Accreditation

About the BritishAccreditation Council

◦Established by the British Council and Department of Education in 1984

◦Non Profit Making Organisation

◦Full ENQA* members and listed on the EQAR** register

*European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education** European Quality Assurance Register for Higher education

Where we work◦The majority of our institutions are in the United Kingdom

◦Currently operating in 14 countries

What Does BAC Do?◦Accredits more than 200 institutions in the UK

◦Accredits overseas institutions

◦Fastest growing area of demand is in HEI

◦Almost all overseas International HEI’s have partnership agreements with UK HEI’s

◦ International Consultancy – Albania, Kosovo, Bahrain.

◦ In discussion with two other governments

Who is Responsible for QA?

◦Programme Accreditation – Responsibility of the UK partner?

◦Institution Accreditation?

◦What is institution accreditation and does it matter?

Who are the Stakeholders?◦UK institutions

◦Partner institutions

◦Students

◦Governments

◦Local non partner institutions

◦The British Education Brand

Embedding QA◦Establishing a common understanding

◦QA needs to be contextual within a common framework

◦Costs – who pays and how much?

◦QA needs to be part of the institutional DNA

◦QA must recognise all stakeholder interests

Due Diligence – The Case for Outsourcing

Current Practice

◦ University collects documents ◦ Visit to institution◦ Annual visit with a focus on partnership program

ISSUES◦ Ongoing whole institution oversight?◦ Teaching and learning standards?◦ Guidance for students?◦ Governance?◦ Transparency for stakeholders?◦ Do other partners have the same standards?

Outsourced Due Diligence◦Professional scrutiny ◦Inspection of whole institution◦Assesses the sustainability of quality assurance systems◦Institution measured against a consistent and transparent set of standards◦Inspection reports are public so giving confidence to all stakeholders◦Built in complaints procedure◦Ability to launch spot checks◦Cost carried by accredited institution

Benefits for Accredited Institutions

◦ Inspected and accredits to one set of internationally recognised standards◦Provides transparency for internal management ◦Promotes sharing of good practice◦Encourages institutional improvement◦BAC accreditation has an international profile and the ENQA membership and EQAR listing

gives accreditation added prominence – promotion of partnership◦One accreditation standard for all partners◦Allows institutions to gain a competitive advantage in local an international market◦Allows access to BAC training, webinars, Knowledge Hub and International Newsletter

Partnership page

Costs

◦Costs are related to the size of the institution

◦The larger and more complex the institution the more inspectors and inspection days are required

◦For an institution with 2000 students the estimated costs of inspections and accreditation fees will be £24 000 over a four year cycle (note this does not include flight, hotel and UK travel costs)

◦For an institution with 20 000+ students the estimated costs of inspection and accreditation fees will be £40 000 over a 4 year cycle (note this does not include flight, hotel and UK travel costs)

BAC AccreditationSix key inspection areas

-Governance, strategy and Financial management-Academic Management and Administration-Teaching, Learning and assessment-Student Recruitment, Support, Guidance and Progression-Premises, Facilities and Learning resources-Quality Management, assurance and Enhancement

◦166 standards◦Staff interviews◦Senior management

interviews◦Student Interviews◦Documentation scrutiny◦Requirement for teaching

assessment◦Senior management

interviews

The Inspection and Accreditation Process

Application accompanied by documentation scrutiny and legal checks

Inspection Team visit institution for a minimum of two days

Report is sent for factual checking and then submitted to the Accreditation Committee

Accreditation awarded for four years with an Interim Inspection either in first or second year

• Professional inspectorate• All HE inspections include

a student representative• All accreditation reports

are published• Reports are designed to

be accessible to public as well as professionals

• Successful institutions receive the BAC logo