QUALITY ASSURANCE

1. QUALITY ASSURANCE 4th informal Conference of Ministers of Education from the Western Balkans: Strasbourg, 27-28 November 2006 Prof. Luc E. WEBER, Rector Emeritus, University of Geneva Chair CDESR, Council of Europe

2. Setting the European scene Statements of the ministers of education in the framework of the Bologna process • Bologna Declaration (1999): …”Promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance with a view to developing comparable criteria and methodologies”.. • Prague communiqué (2001): ….”Ministers called upon the universities and other higher education institutions (HEI), national agencies and ENQUA, in cooperation with corresponding bodies from countries which are not members of ENQUA, to collaborate in establishing a common framework of reference and to disseminate best practice”…. • Berlin communiqué (2003): …”At the European level, Ministers call upon ENQUA through its members, in co-operation with the EUA, EURASHE and ESIB, to develop an agreed set of standards, procedures and guidelines on quality assurance, to explore ways of ensuring an adequate peer review system for quality assurance and/or accreditation agencies or bodies, ……..”.

3. Bergen communiqué (2005) “….we urge HEI to continue their efforts to enhance the quality of their activities through the systematic introduction of internal mechanisms and their direct correlation to external quality assurance… • ….. We adopt the standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the EHEA as proposed by ENQA. …. • .. We welcome the principle of a European register of quality assurance agencies …. • …….We underline the importance of cooperation between nationally recognised agencies with a view to enhancing the mutual recognition of accreditation or quality assurance decisions.”

4. Two related statements Communication from the EU commission (2006): • “Universities will not become innovative and responsive to change unless they are given real autonomy …..” • “……In return for being freed from over-regulation and micro-management, universities should accept full institutional accountability to society at large for their results.” Recommendation 1762 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (30/06/2006) • Art 4. “…The Assembly reaffirm the right to academic freedom and University autonomy…” • Art 11 “Accountability, transparency and quality assurance are pre-conditions…..”

5. Outline Why quality assurance (QA)? How to organize QA? To conclude

6. WHY QUALITY ASSURANCE? The public responsibility The responsibility of HEI

7. THE PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY FOR QA Public responsibility for HE&R • Collective return • Equal opportunity Public responsibility for QA • HE&R is costly • Absence of a system of sanctions and rewards • Participation to the EHEA (Bologna process) Public responsibility for QA embraces: • Public institutions: direct control • Private institutions: indirect control (regulation)

8. The responsibility of HEI QA is an imperative for HEI • The environment is changing increasingly rapidly • Globalization, scientific and technological progress, Bologna process • Consequences: increasing competition and necessity to cooperate • European HEI are underfinanced The governance and leadership of HEI are not up to the autonomy they request and to the poor financial situation? • Limits of a decentralized decision system centered on professors • Decision process not favorable to decisions (to change) Conclusions • Public authorities: feel the need to intervene (danger or a vicious circle) • Institutions: it is in their own interest to promote a quality culture (quality improvement)

9. HOW TO ORGANIZE QA HEI are very specific institutions QA is in a state of adolescence Strategic choices re. QA

10. HEI are very specific institutions Missions • Keep the knowledge accumulated by society • Transfer knowledge • Create new knowledge • Use knowledge to solve societal problems Nature of services • Teaching: teach how to learn • Research: complex and unpredictable processes

11. QA is in a State of adolescence Origin: A couple of national agencies 20 years ago Multiple actors, strategies and designations • National or branch specific organizations • ENQUA, European Network of Quality Assurance • ECA, European Consortium for accreditation • EUA, European University Association Impact • Low efficiency (accreditation and evaluation) • Weak benefit-cost ratio • Promote strategic behaviors • Still to come: evaluation/accreditation becomes a business Cause: • Too little research; “re-invention” of the wheel • Political opportunism; “overactivity”, mistrust

12. A couple of definitions Accreditation • Authorization which applies to: • institutions and/or teaching programs • private or public, as well as LLL programs • Aims: • to protect the name “University” • to guarantee that an institution or a program satisfies a minimum quality standard • to protect the investment made by the students-consumers • Responsibility of the State (regulatory role of the State); • Could also serve to assess: • If a program has reached some specified quality level (business, engineering) • The internal quality assurance procedures of an institution • The final aim of accreditation is NOT the assessment of the relative quality level (therefore, it promotes quality only indirectly)

13. Quality assessment or evaluation • More ambitious and delicate: goal is to assess the relative quality of • an institution, • a teaching program, • a faculty or department • and/or a discipline in a country • research • Necessary for • The knowledge society (improving the quality of teaching and research) • The Bologna process (building trust; accreditation will not be sufficient to secure acceptance in good research universities)

14. Quality culture (quality improvement) • Extended ongoing effort on the part of an institution (and encouraged by the State) to develop the capacity for change through the development of: • Internal quality • Strategic leadership • This effort must be • supported by external evaluations • and monitored (evaluated) externally from time to time

15. Strategic choices re. QA Formative or summative? • Formative: encouragement and support • Summative: sanction (yes – no) • This choice greatly influences behavior (attitude) Fitness for purpose or evaluation according to pre-defined criteria? • Pre-defined criteria: positive for very broad general criteria; difficult to generalize in a very complex and diversified environment • Fitness for purpose: Evaluation based on what the institution wants to do

16. Qualitative or quantitative criteria? • Quantitative: seems to be ideal, but indicators are not sufficiently homogenous or relevant (ex. of rankings!) • Qualitative: “softer”, however, very flexible; result depends on transparency of institution and professionalism and independence of evaluators • Institution centered or agency centered? • Subsidiarity principle: responsibility of HEI! (Berlin 2003) • But, responsibility of the State to make it compulsory and to control

17. Other open questions? Link between evaluation and financial support? • promote transparency of institution (for its own sake)? • or reward performance? Independence of agency! • Basically, 4 possibilities: • State agency, • Universities’ agency • Joint Sate and universities’ agency • Private (for profit?) agency run by a profession or a foundation • None is fully independent from influence (political, universities’ or financial)

18. Independence of evaluators! • Highly desirable! • But difficult • Higher education is a small world • Increasing obligation to compensate evaluators for their work will make them more prudent (less disinterested) Publication of results? • At first sight, very desirable (transparency) • But danger that evaluation reports are self censored

19. TO CONCLUDE

20. ENQUA “Standard and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA”. Basic principles • Focus on HE institutions • Universities are responsible to develop an internal quality culture. It implies • Self-evaluation • Visit of peers • However, independent agencies (national or trans-national) should • Set the framework (general rules) • Control the process in each institution

21. HEI should be proactive that is develop a serious quality culture • Evaluation of teaching is good, but also an alibi not to do more • Quality improvement in academic and administrative affairs should be an essential element of the strategy of change Public authorities, on the contrary, are too pro-active (intervene too deeply); vicious circle! • Accreditation of programs goes too far; this should be the responsibility of well governed institutions • Accreditation of whole public institutions is an alibi (heavy and costly, superficial and it rarely changes anything)

22. THANK YOU I hope it is useful