Transcript Quality Assurance in Higher Education – its Global Future Richard Lewis OECD/France International Conference 8 – 9 December 2008 Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers Paris.

Quality Assurance in Higher Education – its
Global Future
Richard Lewis
OECD/France International Conference
8 – 9 December 2008
Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
Paris
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Outline of Presentation
• Where we are
• Where we are going
• Where we might be going
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Where we were
Historically Higher Education (or rather
Universities) were very special. No external
QA (checks on whether a good job was being
done) or internal QA (other than at the original
appointment of teaching staff). Why
• Protection of academic freedom
• Who is knowledgeable enough to monitor an
academic - quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
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Growth since 1991
The International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher
Education (INQAAHE) or the Network, was established in 1991.
Its core membership are the regional and national quality assurance
and accreditation agencies.
When it was founded INQAAHE had members from only 11 countries
which, more or less, represented all the countries that had at that
time systems, in some cases partial systems, of external quality
assurance in higher education.
In July 2008 it had 154 full members from 78 countries with a few more
still to come.
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Factors contributing to the growth of external
quality assurance 1
• The recognition in many countries of the need for greater
accountability for the use of scarce national resources.
• The growth in higher education that has occurred in
many countries.
• The increased diversity in HE provision including the
establishment of binary systems, and the growth in
distance learning.
• In some countries there was a trade off between the
reduction of direct governmental control of higher
educational institutions and the introduction of external
quality assurance arrangements.
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Factors contributing to the growth of external
quality assurance 2
• The increase in some countries in the number of
private, including “for profit”, providers.
• Regional developments, for example in Europe
and South America, aimed at creating a higher
education space which encourages student
mobility and the mutual recognition of
qualifications.
• The ever increasing internationalisation of higher
education including the growth in cross -border
providers and the need for the mutual
recognition of qualifications and higher
education credits
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The “traditional” five stage quality
assurance model
A survey of the INQAAHE data base (www.inqaahe.org)
revealed that virtually all agencies stated that used the
following approach
• Sets of regulations and guidelines formulated
• A self evaluation prepared by the institution
• The appointment of a peer group whose review of the
institution or programme would start with a review of the
self evaluation
• Site visits by the peer group.
• The publication of a report or, in some cases, only the
decision
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But there are Differences -The Hard/Soft
Divide
• Format of the self-study
• Conduct of the review including direct
observation
• Grading
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Emerging Trends - 1
QA for enhancement
• Greater emphasis on Internal QA and the
encouragement of an institutional “Quality
Culture”
Much greater use of Explicit Statements of
Requirements
• Qualification Frameworks
• Subject Benchmarks
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Emerging Trends - 2
Greater Focus on Outputs
• Direct – What a student has learnt
• Indirect – Where a graduate has gone
The breaking down of national boundaries
Hard to soft or is it hard to harder?
• In some countries increasing government
involvement
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Possible Future Developments - 1
The emergence of a Global External Quality
Assurance Agency
• Emergence of Regional Meta-Accreditors
• Related developments in the world of
Professional Accreditation
Consequences
• Increased conformity and standardisation –
improved mutual recognition of qualifications
and the elimination of very poor provision.
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Possible Future Developments - 2
The death of HE as we know it.
• Massification of HE and growth of HE
outside traditional Universities – more
teaching done by non researchers.
• Will, overtime, the barrier between
“specially treated HE” and the rest of the
education sector shift to the PG level?
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My thanks for your attention
Richard Lewis
[email protected]
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