Alexander SpiteriNational expert in quality assurance for further and higher

education, Malta

QA Islamic Workshop, North Cyprus

28,29th May 2015

2,000 years of colonisation 1964: Independence 1974: Republic within the Commonwealth 2004: Membership in EU

1930s: construction of school inspection system as ‘big brother’ centralised control due to poor teacher status

1990s: rejection of inspection as colonialist legacy, in parallel with increased teacher status

2000: education discourse moves from massification to quality of provision

2006: Education Act amended to foster quality culture throughout education system, including HE.

Accreditation

Enhanced quality, numbers, personal and national well-being

Three self-accrediting institutional providers◦ University of Malta: EQF 5-8 for 11,000 students ◦ MCAST, national vocational college: EQF 1-6 for 11,000 students◦ ITS, national hospitality institute: EQF 1-5 for 800 students

3 foreign university campuses or affiliate centres, with more applications in line

30 other private providers of foreign courses, from short FE courses to Ph.D.s

10 state entities and departments that develop courses and outsource provision

55 other providers, mostly micro. Increased demand for accreditation of distance and

digital learning

One Ministry of Education from pre-primary to vocational, adult and tertiary provision

National Qualifications Framework that gave parity of esteem to vocational and tertiary provision

Parity of esteem and same mechanism for ECTS and ECVET learning credit systems

Same licensing and accreditation mechanisms Vocational providers aspired to status of tertiary

providers Very close working collaboration between key

stakeholders

Col RIM

BureauVeritas

ISO 9001

Total Quality Management

Common Assessment Framework

EQAVET

ESG

• c.75% of license holders at the time were visited• Almost all had explicit or implicit IQA procedures in place. •Discussions brought these to consciousness and identified gaps• Providers approved of an overarching F&HE QA Framework based on ESG and enriched with EQAVET

Developing a national QA framework for F&H education that:Fosters enhanced quality cultures in providersIncreases the agency, satisfaction and numbers of usersEnhances the international profile and credibility of F&H providers in MaltaContributes towards Malta becoming a regional provider of excellence in F&H education

1. A Framework based on the ESG and enriched by the EQAVET perspective + focus on financial and institutional fitness for purpose

2. A Framework that contributes to a National Quality Culture

3. IQA that is Fit for Purpose4. EQA that is a tool for both Development and

Accountability5. The Quality Cycle is at the Heart of the

Framework6. Integrity and Independence of the

EQA Process

1. Policy for quality assurance.2. Institutional and financial fitness for purpose.3. Design and approval of programmes.4. Student-centred learning, teaching and assessment.5. Student admission, progression, recognition and

certification.6. Teaching staff.7. Learning resources and student support.8. Information management.9. Public information.10. Ongoing monitoring and periodic review of programmes.11.  Cyclical External Quality Review

First stage: implements the provisions on internal quality assurance and periodic external quality audits in Legal Notice 296 of 2012. It refers to further, higher and adult formal education provision in both state and non-state sectors. Third and final version in July 2015.

Second stage: review of accreditation procedures, including for elearning and digital learning

Third stage: incorporating QA requirements for informal and non-formal learning and

work-based learning.

1. Setting up of Net-QAPE Unique training opportunities Constant dialogue at all stages

2. Strengthening Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) systems by providers with NCFHE support, through Net-QAPE

3. Developing together the External Quality Audit (EQA) objectives, procedures and tools. • There was full agreement on the QA Framework,

external audit objectives and procedures

4. Piloting the IQA and EQA in the three major state institutions

• Maltese stakeholders and service providers• ENQA - the European Association for Quality Assurance

in Higher Education • CEDEFOP – the  European Centre for the Development of

Vocational Training• AQA - the Austrian Agency for Quality Assurance• OAQ - the Swiss Center of Accreditation and Quality

Assurance in Higher Education• QAA – the UK Quality Assurance Agency • RAQAPE - the Romanian Agency for Quality

Assurance in Pre-University Education• ASIIN – German QA Agency• AQUIN – German QA Agency

Based on ESG+EQAVET, External review by peers, that include student

evaluators Entity informed 6 months before Desk analysis of documentation for initial

research questions Entity has 6 weeks in which to give response to

draft report Full report is published, including response by

entity on way forward

IQAs: ◦ work needed to bring to consciousness good practices; ◦ work needed to change mentality from provider of educational

service to an educational entity with intrinsic quality culture IQA Reporting: how to ensure that report not just descriptive

but truly self-reflective, identifying needs and proposing sustainable action plan

Peers experts: independent academic peers are more perceptive and demanding than QA agencies

Student evaluators: a valuable contribution Judgments: need to standardize their interpretations, BUT

judgments cannot be compared across different categories of entities

F&H Framework: having one set of standards and interpreting them flexibly for different types of providers WORKS.