ENQA

1. Student involvement in the work of ENQA and of its member agenciesINQAAHE conference in Abu Dhabi, 31 March - 2 April 2009 Emmi HelleSecretary GeneralENQA

2. ENQA • network in 2000, association in 2004 • umbrella NGO for European QA agencies • 48 Members • 23 Associates and Affiliates • organisational structure: Board, General Assembly, Secretariat • first round of external reviews of ENQA member agencies by 2010

3. The ”ESG” • the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG, Helsinki, 2005) • ESU and the other E4 group partners (EUA, EURASHE) consulted during the drafting process • main framework for QA in the EHEA • membership criteria of ENQA • entry criteria for EQAR listing • students as a key stakeholder group • students’ interests at the forefront of the external QA

4. ESG continued… • Part 1: the HEIs should have a publicly available quality policy statement, which explains how the students are involved in the internal quality assurance of HEIs (policy & practice) • Part 2: involvement of students in the external QA procedures to which the HEIs are subject • Part 3: involvement of students in the external QA procedures to which the quality assurance agencies are subject

5. Bologna Process stocktaking on QA • five indicators on student involvement in all 46 signatory countries: • in govenance of the QA bodies • in external reviews of HEIs/programmes • in consultation during external reviews • in internal QA processes (of HEIs) • in preparation of SER’s (of HEIs)

6. Experiences from ENQA: reviews of members • a stakeholder approach, including a student member in the review team - a nomination is asked from ESU • student member has same responsibilities and expectations as the other team members • same briefing and fee as the other team members • students have not yet functioned as chairs or secretaries of the teams

7. Experiences from the ENQA member agencies (Quality Procedures Report 2008) • in 53% of cases students have a formal role in the specification of processes and criteria for the external QA by the HEIs • in 71.7% of cases students are members of the self-evaluation teams of the HEIs • in 93.3% of cases students are interviewed during the site visits to HEIs by the agencies • in 29% of cases students may suggest/ nominate potential members of the external expert panels used by the agency • in 49% of cases students’ have a role in the agencies’ decision-making processes

8. Benefits of Student Involvement for Students • a good way to use and develop critical thinking and analythical skills • a valuable addition to the CV especially when thinking about the university career • economical advantage (fee)

9. Benefits of Student Involvement for ENQA and its members • advantage of a partnership approach, also encouraged by the Bologna Process • student is at the heart of the of the learning process • transparency • new, fresh perspective • straightforwardness and critical thinking of the students

10. Challenges of student involvement from the perspective of the students • time constraints • workload

11. Challenges from the perspective of ENQA and the member agencies • in some countries, profound legal and cultural changes are required in order to allow student involvement • cultural aspects are the most difficult to change • training of students in a case where the time constraints for them are high • with ESU: the chairperson, the Board and the Committee on EHEA change on a yearly basis

12. In conclusion • student involvement in quality assurance in higher education has improved in a significant manner (recognised also by the ”Bologna with Students’ eyes”, 2007) • QA agencies have been satisfied with students that have been on the review panels of HEIs • satisfaction with the student members of the teams of agency reviews.