Trends in Internal Quality Assurance in 2015

Tia Loukkola Director for Institutional Development

September 2015

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Overview of the presentation

•  QA in context •  European QA frameworks •  Challenges related to QA

•  Two recent EUA publications ü  Trends 2015: Learning and Teaching in European Universities ü  ESG Part 1: Are Universities Ready?

Trends 2015: state of higher education

•  What is common? ü  Increasingly strategic institutions ü  Consistent approaches to supporting the learning and teaching

function across Europe

•  What is different? ü  The national economic and demographic contexts ü  National policy making

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QA as one key reform of recent years

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European quality assurance framework

•  QA: one action line in the Bologna Process •  2005: Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in

the EHEA (ESG) ü  Proposed by the E4 Group (ENQA, ESU, EUA, EURASHE)

•  2006: 1st European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) •  2008: European Quality Assurance Register for Higher

Education (EQAR) •  2015: Revised ESG adopted

ü  Proposed by the E4 Group, EQAR, Education International and BUSINESSEUROPE

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The revised ESG: basics

•  Three parts covering ü  Internal QA within HEIs ü  External QA carried by QAAs ü  Internal QA within QAAs

•  Focus on learning and teaching in HE, including ü  Learning environment ü  Links to research and innovation

•  The ESG are applicable to all types of HEIs and programmes, irrespective of mode of provision

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The revised ESG: Part 1

1.1 Policy for quality assurance 1.2 Design and approval of programmes 1.3 Student-centred learning, teaching and assessment 1.4 Student admission, progression, recognition and certification 1.5 Teaching staff 1.6 Learning resources and student support 1.7 Information management 1.8 Public information 1.9 On-going monitoring and periodic review of programmes 1.10 Cyclical external quality assurance

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1.1 Policy for QA

Trends 2015, Q51: N= 419

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Key challenges remaining (1)

•  The need to link quality assurance to institutional strategic management ü  Analyse how this happens in its own context and whether the link could be

strengthened through a re-design of the QA system

•  The ability of the QA system to generate information that is valuable for both internal decision-making and external stakeholders ü  Collect the information that is useful and makes sense for their own context and

purposes ü  Do this through a variety of information sources and methods in order to ensure

a comprehensive and objective view of institutional activities

•  Ensuring the quality of student experience and success ü  Measures such as student tracking, supporting teaching staff in improving their

skills and acknowledging good teaching, and student services and learning support need continuous attention

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Key challenges remaining (2)

•  A strong link between quality assurance and the academic quality of learning and teaching ü  Look at how they design and deliver their programmes and how they will

demonstrate to external reviewers and stakeholders that they take into account the many aspects covered by these standards.

ü  Require expertise that typically located outside the QA unit; important to strengthen co-operation among different institutional actors

•  Learning outcomes •  Student-centred learning and teaching

•  Demonstrate that institutions have put in place robust measures to review their programmes ü  Lack of data at European level on how this is done in practice ü  Put in place clear mechanisms for linking programme review to strategic

management and decision-making

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Conclusions

•  National implementation and interpretation: impact of the context

•  Stay true to institutional mission and develop stategic capacity

•  Aim for quality culture not compliance

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