QUALITY MANAGEMENT AS A TOOL FOR QUALITY CULTURE EMBEDMENT: VILNIUS UNIVERSITY APPROACH

Inga Milisiunaite, Roma Adomaitiene, Juozas Galginatis Vilnius University 31st Annual EAIR Forum in Vilnius, Lithuania 23 to 26 August 2009

Quality as Eenhancement or Improvement

• Stress on the education

responsibility institution

of the higher to make the best use of its institutional autonomy and freedom; • Achieving

ethos; quality is central

to

the academic

•

Academics

is.

themselves

know best

what quality

Quality Assurance and Accreditation (2007). A Glossary of Basic Terms and Definitions. UNESCO-CEPES.

25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Students' numbers 1989 - 2008 m.

Faculties

Religious Studies and Research Centre Faculty of Medicine Centre of Oriental Studies Faculty of Philology Faculty of Natural Sciences Faculty of Chemistry Faculty of Physics Faculty of Philosophy Faculty of Humanities in Kaunas Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics Faculty of Law Institute of International Relations and Political Science Faculty of History Faculty of Economics Faculty of Communication

Total: Teacher Student Ratio

4,31 6,35 9,54 9,89 11,70 13,99 14,98 17,78 17,99 19,42 19,62 22,20 22,94 27,63 31,25

15,42 General Satisfaction, %

85,7 60,4 78,9 67,8 66,6 65,2 63,4 69,7 65,2 61,1 63,7 76,5 69,9 46,8 54,2

61,4 Teaching Satisfaction, %

85,7 38,0 68,4 56,1 44,5 50,4 48,8 45,8 40,8 38,6 38,5 50,6 47,8 27,2 31,9

40,2

Some Elements of Quality Assurance System (1)

Documentation Procedures Tools

• Regulations of the studies process • Regulations for Study programmes • Students’ assessment regulations • Final thesis preparation guidlines, defence and storage rules • Credits’ transformation rules

Some Elements of Quality Assurance System (2)

Documentation Procedures Tools

• Approval, monitoring of study programmes • Electronic study programme catalogue • Student satisfaction survey • Academic consultancy services • Career councelling • Distance Study Education Center • Students’ research societies • Students’ sports societies (annual rector’s cup tournament • Students’ cultural societies

Some Elements of Quality Assurance System (3)

Procedures Structures

•

Student s’ introduction programme (since 2001)

– Students’ mentoring programme – Student’s manual – Camps for the first year students (47 in 2001......1600 in 2008

)

•

Examination center

– Computer examination (11451 students from 2007 to 2009; 73% computer examination is more objective; 44% - suitable for test type exams; 47% - suitable for test type and other types of exams) – Plagiarism prevention and control tool (since 2005 to 2009 data base of 18 633 students’ papers: 5975 Bachelor course papers, 7896 Bachelor thesis; 738 Master research paper; 4024 Master thesis).

Quality Management Center (February, 2008)

The mission of the established office is the promotion of quality culture while initiating, supporting and coordinating the development and implementation of the quality management system.

The Ingredients of a Quality Culture

• • •

A set

of

quality shared, accepted, and integrated patterns of

(often called principles of quality) to be found in the organizational systems of institutions

;

cultures and the management

Awareness

of and

commitment to the quality

education, in conjunction with a of higher

solid culture of evidence; Efficient management

assurance procedures).

of this quality (through quality

Quality Assurance and Accreditation (2007). A Glossary of Basic Terms and Definitions. UNESCO-CEPES.

VU Continuous Performance Improvement Model

•

Quality culture

concept; •

Learning

organisation theory; • Main

principles of quality management

; • Principles of

system

.

management information

Culture of Learning

Higher education is about the “transforming person”, not simply about transforming his or her skills or domain of understanding. A commitment to life-long learning, critical thinking and

continuous flow of change

are the main characteristics of transformation.

Consortium for Excellence in Higher Education. (2003b). Organisational Learning and the Future of Higher Education. Sheffield Hallam University

ANONYMITY TRANSPARENCY PUBLICITY Continuous Improvement of Studies Process (Corrections and Prevention Activities) 1 Formulation of Studies Quality Policy and Aims; Planning of Studies Quality Student Admission Administration of Studies Process Analysis at Managerial Level Student Support 1 Development and Improvement of Study Programmes Delivery of Study Programmes (study process) Internal Evaluation of Study Programmes 3 Evaluation of Shareholders’ Needs Satisfaction 3 Evaluation of Learning Outcomes 2 2 Management of Financial Resources Management of Information Technologies Studies Processes Management of Human Resources Management of Material Resources Acquisition of Services/Products Supportive Processes Research Performance Managerial Processes Process Feedback

• • • • •

Quality management system implementation stages

analysis, updating and/or development processes of studies quality monitoring; of the documents that regulate development of the system of studies quality criteria and indicators, and their calculation methods; piloting of the criteria and indicators system while monitoring input, process and output indicators of the studies process quality; approval of the system of studies quality criteria and indicators, and their calculation methods as a framework for studies quality assurance and improvement; development and implementation of management information system.

Conclusion

The assurance and improvement of academic structures.

quality is inseparable from nurturance of quality and learning culture supported by effective managerial Successful quality management supported systems.

by principles effective should be information