Transcript Challenges in Implementation of Standards for Licensure

Challenges for newly developed
agencies
Badr Aboul-Ela (Director – CAA)
Nadia Badrawi (President of ANQAHE)
Ian Cumbus (Commissioner – CAA)
Welcome to the workshop
Workshop program:
 Introduction of presenters and participants.
 Workshop aims.
 Steps in agency establishment.
 INQAAHE GGP in Quality Assurance.
 ECA Standards & Code of Good Practice
 Recent Trends in Global HE
 Concluding comments.
Workshop Aims:
To consider the steps required in
developing a quality assurance agency
 To appreciate the guidance available to
agencies in establishing good practices
 To share experience in dealing with
challenges facing agencies today
 To discuss the impact on agencies of
recent trends in Higher Education

Steps in the development of QA Agencies
Many elements to be put in place but some in
sequence, some in parallel, and some in need of
continuing development
Suggested Steps in Agency Development
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Assessment of scope of operation
Development of mission and objectives
Determination and establishment of
appropriate governance structure – authority,
reporting lines, resourcing
Agency self-evaluation systems – operational
effectiveness
Guidelines for institutions to be developed –
Standards for licensure & Accreditation
Assessment of scope of operation
Define Mission & Scope of operation
Through study of HE environment &
prevailing culture:

 Education
system (American-based, UKbased, …etc.)
 Type of institutions (TE, VET)
 Level of programs & QF, if available
 Type of review (institutional v. programmatic)
Assessment of scope of operation
(Continued)
 Inherited
Problems: Relationship with other
entities e.g. licensing & conflicting criteria.
 Role
(regulatory, advisory)
Example of agency mission and Goals
(Commission for Academic Accreditation UAE)
Mission
The mission of the CAA is to promote educational excellence across diverse
institutions of higher learning in the UAE. Through licensure of colleges and
universities, and accreditation of individual programs, the Commission
strives to assure high quality education, consistent with international
standards.
Goals
1. Ensuring Quality and Academic Standards
Maintain and implement a quality framework that assures that institutions of
higher education in the UAE operate in line with international academic,
administrative, managerial, and operational standards.
2. Diversifying Services
Offer a broad range of appropriate services and activities that further
enhances quality.
3. Ensuring an Effective Operation
Deliver efficient and effective quality-enhancing processes for a strongly
developing higher education sector.
4. International Profile
Play an active, cooperative and influential role in the international
community of quality assurance organizations for higher education.
Example of agency mission and objectives
AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES
QUALITY AGENCY
AUQA’s Mission
 AUQA is the principal national quality assurance agency in higher
education with the responsibility of providing public assurance of the
quality of Australia’s universities and other institutions of higher
education, and assisting in enhancing the academic quality of these
institutions.
AUQA’s Objectives
 AUQA is established to be the principal national quality assurance
agency in higher education, with responsibility for quality audits of
higher education institutions and accreditation authorities, reporting
on performance and outcomes, assisting in quality enhancement,
advising on quality assurance; and liaising internationally with
quality agencies in other jurisdictions, for the benefit of Australian
higher education.
Suggested Steps in Agency Development
(Continued)
5.
6.
7.
8.
Strategic plan development – with
operational plans, KPIs and targets.
Register of expert subject reviewers –
database maintenance and guidelines for
good practice.
Public accountability – transparency of
decisions and actions – website.
Capacity building – to fulfill all commitment
and objectives in timely manner.
Group Task:
In the context of your own country what are
the challenges that you face, or have faced,
in developing a QA agency and how will you
deal with them, or have dealt with them?
Select the five top challenges and actions to
report to the workshop as a whole. A
spokesperson should be appointed in each
group to feedback (Total 25 minutes).
ECA Code of Good Practice:
The Standards
The accreditation organisation:
1. Has an explicit mission statement.
2. Is recognised as a national accreditation body by the competent public
authorities.
3. Must be sufficiently independent from government, from higher
education institutions as well as from business, industry and
professional associations.
4. Must be rigorous, fair and consistent in decision-making.
5. Has adequate and credible resources, both human and financial.
6. Has its own internal quality assurance system that emphasises its
quality improvement.
7. Has to be evaluated externally on a cyclical basis.
8. Can demonstrate public accountability, has public and officially
available policies, procedures, guidelines and criteria.
9. Informs the public in an appropriate way about accreditation decisions.
10. A method for appeal against its decisions is provided.
11. Collaborates with other national, international and/or professional
accreditation organisations.
ECA Code of Good Practice:
The Standards
The accreditation procedures:
12. Accreditation procedures and methods must be defined
by the accreditation organisation itself.
13. Must be undertaken at institutional and/or programme
level on a regular basis.
14. Must include self-documentation/-evaluation by the
higher education institution and external review (as a
rule on site).
15. Must guarantee the independence and competence of
the external panels or teams.
16. Must be geared at enhancement of quality.
ECA Code of Good Practice:
The Standards
The accreditation standards:
17. Must be made public and be compatible with European
practices taking into account the development of agreed
sets of quality standards.
Trends in Global Higher Education:
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Global student population growth - forecast 120 million by 2020.
Currently around 36,000 HE institutions.
Student mobility – US, UK and Australia are the 3 big players with
45% of the foreign student market. Estimated 1.7 million in 2000
expanding to 8 million by 2025.
Alternative program delivery systems – online, through companies
and other entities.
Mobility of programs: Transnational access to programs through
branch campuses or franchise arrangements.
Q. How is the quality assured of branch campuses hosted
in your country?
Trends in Global Higher Education:
(continued)
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Greater diversity of qualifications – more entry & exit
points for students, training programs for credit.
Qualifications Framework needed!
Lifelong and experiential learning
Q. How is the value of experiential learning evaluated to
ensure student success in their forthcoming studies?
Group Task:
Groups to be allocated a particular
question/s from the ECA Code of Good
Practice to discuss and feed-back on
through a spokesperson after the
allotted time. The task will be to
consider how these questions should
be addressed in the most appropriate
and effective way to assure high quality
(25 minutes).
Thank You
For Your Participation