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An update on the wonderful world of quality assurance!. Fiona Crozier f.crozier@qaa.ac.uk. Introduction. Progress report on quality assurance from the European Commission The E4 Quality Assurance Forum: “Creativity and Diversity: challenges for QA beyond 2010,” Copenhagen, November 2009
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An update on the wonderful world of quality assurance! Fiona Crozier f.crozier@qaa.ac.uk
Introduction • Progress report on quality assurance from the European Commission • The E4 Quality Assurance Forum: “Creativity and Diversity: challenges for QA beyond 2010,” Copenhagen, November 2009 • Some thoughts and outcomes
Progress report on QA in HE from the European Commission • Report goes to the Council of Europe and the European Parliament • Need for recognition of qualifications outside the country that awards them • Main responsibility for QA lies with HEIs but the role of agencies is to inform stakeholders about quality • Strong growth in QA culture in HEIs and in agency awareness of principles governing QA…
…BUT… • More effort will be needed before the EHEA has an easily readable and user-friendly QA system • QA still has only a limited European dimension
What does the report propose? • More quality “seals” (what is the benefit of these as opposed to work such as that which LANQUA is doing?) • A feasibility study to develop “a multi-dimensional & customised approach to the global ranking of universities” • Revisit the ESG to make QA more coherent with the development of the EHEA (e.g. compliance with the 3 cycles, in line with the mobility and employability action lines, require internal QA to address student services, encourage stronger European dimension, e.g., by encouraging agencies to carry out cross-border evaluation outside their national jurisdiction)
What has the report ignored? • The framework for higher education qualifications in the EHEA • Diploma supplements • EUA’s work on quality culture/EQAF-E4 • The impact of the ESG on both HEIs and agencies • EUA’s report on joint masters programmes • The OECD guidelines on cross-border education • Tuning (funded by the EC) • Project work such as TEEP/LANQUA (funded by the EC)
E4 European Quality Assurance Forum: Creativity & Diversity: challenges for QA beyond 2010 • Title of conference throws into relief debates raised by the EC report • LANQUA’s part in a workshop on reference points
Outcomes/thoughts • Are “quality” and “quality assurance” interchangeable terms? (I don’t think so…) • The agency view: that it is not the job of the agencies to create or stifle innovation and creativity, but to “check” quality • The links between internal “quality”, the institutional quality policy/culture & external quality assurance requirements (LANQUA has the potential to impact on all three levels)