Quality Assurance in Bachelor and Master Programmes in Public Administration. A Comparative Study

The article analyzes the place of quality culture in the process of educational programs accreditation of the higher education establishments of Ukraine. This topic is revealed in the context of the interaction of the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (NAQA) experts with representatives of higher education establishments and stakeholders interested in improving the quality of educational services. It is considered the first steps and problems faced by NAQA in the process of its development, selection of experts, performing the first accreditations in the context of public resonance. It is revealed the process of experts’ selection and training. It is outlined the characteristic qualities and skills of applicants. It is defined the concept of «quality culture» at the official level, considering the views on this structural element by experts, NAQA management, stakeholders, and international agencies, including the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education and European standards and principles for quality assurance in the European Higher Education. Four types of «quality culture» according to the ENQA classification are described in detail: type A, type B, type C, and type D; their description and characteristics are also determined. It is defined by communication skills and forms of interaction with other participants in the process, which should demonstrate all experts: effectively interact, listen, perceive and express an opinion; be able to speak publicly in front of an audience; be able to persuade others with arguments (laws, regulations, international acts, etc.) and consistent communication; to share experiences and ideas, to be open in the exchange of information; focus on team results. It is noted that the effective reform of the educational process requires that all participants be motivated to improve the quality of provision and receipt of the educational services and to improve the level of key elements development such as quality culture, academic integrity, competitiveness and, etc.

An aim of considerations is to present the selected determinants of functioning of internal systems of ensuring the quality of education related to Polish universities. The author’s attention is focused on the international standards and guidelines concerning elements of the system of quality ensuring connected with the Bologna Process and the selected legal regulations in this respect in force in Poland. The Standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) were adopted by the Ministers responsible for higher education in 2005 following a proposal prepared by the European Association for Quality Assurance in High-er Education (ENQA) in cooperation with the European Students’ Union (ESU)1, the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE) and the European University Association (EUA). Since 2005, considerable progress has been made in quality assurance as well as in other Bologna action lines such as qualification frameworks, recognition and the promotion of the use of learning outcomes, all these contributing to a paradigm shift towards student-centred learning and teaching. Student-centred learning and teaching plays an important role in stimulating students’ motivation, self-reflection and engagement in the learning process. This means careful consideration of the design and delivery of study programmes and the assess-ment of outcomes. The teacher’s role is essential in creating a high quality student experience and enabling the acquisition of knowledge, competences and skills. The diversifying student population and stronger focus on learning outcomes require student-centred learningand teaching and the role of the teacher is, there-fore, also changing. Providing conditions and support that are necessary for students to make progress in their academic career is in the best interest of the individual students, programmes, institutions and systems. It is vital to have fit-for-purpose admission, recognition and completion procedures, particularly when students are mobile within and across higher education systems. It should be noted that the results of this article can be used to compare the Polish and Ukrainian systems of quality assurance in higher education, as well as the domestic quality assurance procedures It is important that access policies, admission processes and criteria are implemented consistently and in a transparent manner. Induction to the institution and the programme is provided. Institutions need to put in place both processes and tools to collect, monitor and act on information on student progression

The evolution of the systems of quality assurance (QA) in higher education has taken various shapes, forms and sizes in the global context. Yet, at the core, each of these QA design ideals invokes the logic of institutional, external accountability aiming for quality assessment, improvement and enhancement. The current chapter argues that reality of QA in a specific context is not subject to the analytical categories drawn upon by the scholars as well as by the policy makers. Reality of QA at the implementation level, involves, in varying degrees, influence of global, national, regional and local dimensions. Relying on a critical realist philosophical standpoint and taking cue from the concept of Glonacal Agency Heuristic, the current chapter delivers threefold objectives. First, at a conceptual level, it explains the stratified reality of QA in higher education in the global, national, regional, local and everydayness dimensions. Second, it discusses the recent trends in QA in HE in the global context. Third, given the degree of global influence of QA movement, the national, regional and local dimensions of QA in Africa are discussed. The layered approach adopted in the chapter highlighted that within the global context, the African concern for quality in higher education and its effort to assure it should follow an indigenous route, emanating from its ground reality, organically.

Since the 1980s, quality assurance in higher education has grown dramatically, has come to affect every level of the sector and has become an accepted and integral part of academic life. Saarinen (2010, p. 55) has observed that ‘quality has turned from a debatable and controversial concept to an everyday issue in higher education’. Concomitantly, quality assurance has become, as Rosa and Amaral (2014, p. 9) describe it, a ‘professionalized’ and internationally networked activity. However, as higher education faces increasingly difficult challenges of globalization and marketization, so too quality assurance becomes increasingly complex. At the same time, the literature on quality assurance has also increased in scale and complexity. How are we to make sense of it all? This chapter reviews the key research relating to quality assurance in higher education. The focus of the chapter will be research conducted since the early 1990s, when quality became a key concern of the sector, what Newton has referred to (2002) as the ‘quality revolution’. However, earlier work, will be cited where relevant.

The study aimed to examine the effect of monitoring and evaluation on quality assurance in higher education using Accra Technical University, Accra- Ghana. The study was guided by three research questions grounded in the literature of monitoring and evaluation and quality assurance in higher education. The mixed method research approach which involves both qualitative and quantitative approach was employed for the study. A convenience sampling technique was used to select 60 respondents. Questionnaire and interview were the main data collection instrument. Statistical Product for Service Solution (SPSS) was used in the analysis of the data. Pearson correlation coefficient tool (t-test), chi – square, frequencies, percentages and tables were used to present the data. The study revealed that distractions by colleagues, conflict of interests by superior officers, insufficient financial resources, lack of support from management and difficulties in accessing information are some of the challenges to effective monitoring and evaluation in higher education. It was also discovered that monitoring and evaluation helps to deliver good quality assurance results in terms of – content, professional development, leadership, academic results. It was recommended that there should be continued managerial support through resource allocation to address non-conformities in the quality assurance policies in the university. It was also recommended that there should be extensive examination of the nature of relationship that exists between the vice chancellor registrar, examination department and the quality assurance directorate in the university by focusing on the exact landscape of the relationship as this will help to understand the strengths and drawbacks of the existing relationship.

The misalignment between educational standards and the needs of students and the labor market often results in education that is underutilized. Thus, enhancing quality assurance in education to achieve learning outcomes that improve the value of life is essential for students to lead meaningful lives and attain true success. This study aims to: 1) examine the current and desirable states and priority needs, and 2) proposed development approach for quality assurance in higher education according to Area-Based and Community based on the concept of management of educational institution as the world of new learning to promote students’ living valuable lives. The respondents were 291 participants from 36 institutions. The results indicated that the overall current state is at a moderate level, the overall desirable state is at a high level, and the overall priority needs index (PNIModified=0.236). The proposed approaches are: 1) establishing policies and standards for data in various disciplines, considering societal trends, economy, environment, and other factors, with a focus on goal-orientation and regular updates both quantitatively and qualitatively; 1.1) developing a comprehensive database with national and international interlinks, 1.2) advancing technologies for teaching and learning management with an emphasis on outcomes, self-adaptation, discovery, and creativity, 1.3) fostering knowledge construction with innovative data; 2) formulating pedagogical policies and strategies that cater to students' potential and interests: 2.1) creating integrated trans-disciplinary courses that reflect learning outcomes, 2.2) developing modern learning resources, 2.3) establishing data collection methods for evaluating outcomes, including the progress and success of both teachers and students; 3) setting policies for supervision and monitoring of data management linked to instructional management and research, with a focus on academic integrity and national context: 3.1) developing an integrated data system for knowledge, innovation, and research that highlights the creation of new ideas for career development, 3.2) ensuring data access for discovering methods to improve instructional management, foster creative innovations, and develop positive career attitudes and societal security.

The article discusses the main approaches to quality assurance in higher education in Finland. The relevance of studying the experience for Ukraine is determined. Quality assurance in higher education is governed by the legal framework of the country. External evaluation is carried out by the Finnish Education Evaluation Center (FINEEC). The objectives of the FINEEC are: evaluation of education, teaching, teachers and activities of higher education institutions; development of educational evaluation; evaluation of the results of training in basic education, higher secondary education and training, basic education in the arts. Finnish higher education institutions are primarily responsible for the quality of education. Self-esteem is accomplished through a digital platform. Program accreditation aims to increase international recognition. The author notes that Higher Education Institutions are actively involved in external evaluations. The quality assurance mechanism of education is constantly being improved. The results of the external evaluation are used as a benchmark for internal evaluation. Higher education institutions select a national or international team to audit. Particular attention is paid to the accreditation of programs. The analysis of the quality assurance system of higher education gives grounds to claim that it is an effective organization, which provides the necessary resources (academic and administrative staff, students, scientific and administrative leaders, financial, material, information, scientific, educational resources, etc.); effective activity of relevant bodies that ensure the quality of higher education of the country; designation of audit teams; identifying audit objectives; undergoing appropriate procedure; defining clear evaluation criteria that demonstrate the effectiveness and quality of the evaluation. The outlined approaches and methods of quality assurance of education serve as an example of imitation for quality assurance of higher education of Ukraine and a guideline for its development.

The collective monograph analyzes the current problems of quality assurance in higher education, raises questions about the role and social function of modern universities in society. The educational foundations for the development of university education at the current stage have been highlighted, an analysis of the challenges the modern university community is facing has been carried out, and attention is focused on the digitalization of the educational space. The authors’ team focuseson updating the legal framework and its compliance with the European standards of quality assurance in higher education. Besides, they raise issues of the European requirements implementation at the Ukrainian universities, as well as discuss the quality education impact on the labour market. The researchers pay significant attention to the culturological aspects of quality assurance in higher education: the university values, academic and information culture, and academic integrity.

The article provides an overview about the role of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and its relevance in the European Higher Education Area. After briefly describing the nature, composition and structure of the association, the main lines of action of ENQA in the horizon 2016-2020 are explained. The article ends with a description of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) and some personal reflections on the main challenges currently faced by ENQA and the quality assurance agencies.

Quality assurance in higher education has become an endeavor of global proportions. Leaders within institutions of higher education are required to make choices about what quality assurance and self-regulation mechanisms to implement and how to respond to external pressures in an environment of increased accountability and competition. University leaders also need to make choices about what standards of quality their institutions will follow. This paper outlines the changing environment of international quality assurance and its implications for management practice and further research. Critical engagements with quality assurance are necessary in order to make decisions that are not only effective but also consistent with the institutional mission and the purposes of higher education. While quality in higher education becomes global, university leaders encounter new opportunities to exercise institutional agency.

This chapter examines whether post-crisis regions can benefit from quality assurance in higher education. To this end, it defines what notions of quality exist and how quality can be improved. Special attention is given to the formalized process of accreditation of study programs. From the perspective of neo-institutionalism, it is argued that quality assurance as a rule-based process requires functioning state structures. For post-crisis regions, it is therefore of crucial importance whether or not crises and traumas have an impact on the existence of the state. It is postulated that without an effective administrative and legal system, accreditation or other forms of legally binding quality assurance are not useful. Rather, low-threshold procedures based on the principle of fitness for/of purpose would be recommended in such cases.

The intention with the current book has been to study the regulation, translation, and transformation of quality assurance from a number of perspectives and by different approaches. By doing so we have underlined the multifaceted nature of quality assurance and the many interests associated with the concept. Three common elements have, nevertheless, emerged from the different perspectives and approaches utilised to study and analyse quality assurance in higher education: This final chapter intends to further develop these common elements, by calling the reader’s attention to some of the most interesting ideas expressed by the authors during the 2005 Douro Seminar and that underlie all chapters in this volume. It is also our intention to go through unresolved issues and challenging questions that constitute interesting issues surrounding quality and quality assurance in higher education. We will start by reviewing the contributions to the book.

Starting from the year 2000, some Arab countries began focusing on quality assurance in the education field. Currently, 19 of the 22 Arab countries have developed good quality assurance systems in education. Most of these quality assurance organizations in the Arab world include higher education, pre-university education, and vocational education in their mandates. The idea of networking between quality assurance organizations started to develop and flourish in 2008 with the launch of the Global Initiative for Quality Assurance Capacities (GIQAC) project, managed by UNESCO, which was born out of an initiative created by the World Bank. The World Bank then corresponded with all the quality assurance organizations to develop networks and encouraged them to communicate among each other. At that time there were at least seven quality assurance networks engaged in this vital initiative. A part of this chapter is dedicated to the networks and initiatives that had remarkable influence on higher education in the Middle East and Arab region, with a focus on the Arab Network of Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ANQAHE). The relationship between quality standards and academic integrity is discussed in this chapter, with an analysis of the way quality standards are used by different Arab external quality assurance agencies (EQAAs) to promote academic integrity.

In higher education worldwide there has been a shift from quality control to quality assurance. Quality assurance in South Africa has been seen as an important element in the democratisation and transformation of education. The emphasis on quality assurance in education and training was seen as emancipatory because under apartheid the education which most of the population had access to was of very poor quality. The ‘quality’ discourse and quality assurance in higher education in South Africa shows that Quality Assurance (QA) is a focus area which is also relatively a new phenomenon and is still in its formative stages of development. This implies that educational institutions are required to establish their own quality management systems. A triangulation approach consisting of interviews, document exploitation and observations were used to collect the data from multiple sources in this qualitative study. To be able to develop a logical argument, the Social constructivist theory will be discussed first, then National Qualifications Framework (NQF)which is responsible for quality assurance, then Vaal University of technology, concepts like quality will first be discussed and this discussion will be followed by an interrogation of standards. Finally, last but not least, a discussion on relevance will be entered into. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed and limitations and future research directions are indicated. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n14p643

Chapter 4 - Quality Assurance in Higher Education—An Indian Experience