Peter Williams Former Chief Executive, The Quality Assurance Agency for

Higher Education, UKFormer President, ENQA

There is widespread confusion about what quality assurance is and what it can, and cannot, be expected to achieve.

In particular, quality assurance is frequently expected to perform conflicting roles: self-management of quality and standards by the

academic communityprovision of a means of institutional and/or

governmental monitoring and control of higher education.

Does that matter? Are there any irreducible values or

principles, shared by all? If there are, does that require a single QA

approach?

A variety of definitions A variety of purposes A variety of methods A variety of organisational structures

A variety of outputs A variety of impacts

Academic standardsPre-defined levels of knowledge, skills and

understanding required for the award of a qualification

Academic quality The effectiveness of everything provided to enable

students to learn and to achieve the standards required for the award of a qualification

Accountability Government control Improvement/enhancement Increased professionalism of academic staff International reputation Public reassurance/confidence Public information Rankings Resource allocation System standardisation

Programmes or subjectsevaluationaccreditation assessmentreview

Institutions evaluationaccreditation audit review

Quality can only be assured by those who are involved in the teaching/learning activity: everything else is observation, commentary, facilitation (or interference)

Quality assurance must not get in the way of effective teaching and learning

Quality needs to be assured for the benefit of students, teachers, higher education institutions, employers and society more generally

Quality assurance is a means to an end, not an end in itself

QA procedures should be designed to meet specific purposes

What is the system intended to achieve? In what away will the world be a better place as a result of this

system?

What differences do you want to see to teaching and learning (‘improvement’ is not an acceptable answer)?

What changes do you not want to happen? How much time and money are you willing to commit (include

opportunity costs)? Have you got sufficient professional expertise to do the job? How long are you prepared to wait for the changes to be

effective? Are you more concerned with incentives or punishments?

Security of academic standards of qualifications (defence against ‘dumbingdown’)

Security of quality of learning opportunities Enhancement of students’ learning

opportunities and experience Accountability for public money Information for students and other key

stakeholders

1. Raise consciousness/develop quality culture (internal/external)

2. Develop quality assurance system (internal)3. Evaluate programmes (internal)4. Develop accreditation system (external)5. Accredit programmes (external)6. Accredit institutions (external)7. Transfer programme accreditation to institutions (self-

regulation)8. Reserve external programme accreditation for

internationally competitive subjects on a voluntary basis

PedagogyCurriculum design and development Student recruitmentStudent assessment: diagnostic, formative and summativeFeedback to studentsTeaching effectivenessLearning resources

Quality management Management information systemsProgramme approval and monitoring systemsStudent assessment: validity, reliability and consistencyFeedback from studentsStudent involvement in programme quality managementInternal quality assurance reviews

Must be clear about what it is trying to achieve

Should do no more than is necessary Should not overburden institutions Should be committed to improving quality

and quality management Should beware the sterility of repetition Should not claim more than it can deliver

A need for information about quality (rankings can’t provide this)

A need for public confidence in providers A need for reassurance about the value of

qualifications A need for providers’ confidence in what

they’re doing A need to encourage academic ownership of

quality and standards A framework for the improvement of quality

Common concepts Common language Shared understandings and values A recognisable MENA HE quality culture?

Streamlined qualifications recognition Comparable academic standards Useful information about quality for

stakeholders Improved academic professionalism

Better higher education