Presented by Sandra Gift Senior Programme Officer Quality Assurance Unit

1. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Toward a student centeredUniversity of the West Indies –Meeting the challenges for a highquality learning experience Presented by Sandra Gift Senior Programme Officer Quality Assurance Unit University of the West Indies

2. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Content of Presentation • Perspectives of reviewers on the quality of the learning experience • Some principles for high quality learning • Understanding student learning • Teaching and learning for employability, and • Students as stakeholders in the assessment of learning • General quality assurance issues

3. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Factors underlying concernsabout quality • Rising costs • Efficient use of resources • Relevance of programmes offered • Educational achievements vs. programme objectives • Desire for international recognition • Assurance of employability

4. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Conditions favouring a high qualitylearning experience (1998-2000) • Modern facilities (laboratories etc.) • Modern, well stocked library • Competent and helpful academic staff • Industry links and employers’ satisfaction • Vocationally oriented education • Courses met stated aims and objectives

5. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Conditions favouring a high qualitylearning experience (1998-2000) Cont’d • Assessment by coursework in addition to written examinations • Quality assurance and enhancement process established • Innovative teaching methods employed • Significant improvement in quality of students’ intellects, skills of expression, argumentation and analysis

6. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Conditions militating against a high quality learning experience (1998-2000) • Pedagogical problems • Bunching of assignments • Insufficient time for reflection • Lectures as the principal mode of teaching • Some out-dated laboratory equipment • Inadequate stock for some library items • Insufficient computer resources

7. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Conditions militating against a high quality learning experience (1998-2000) cont’d • Lack of adequate linkages to the World of Work • Lack of guidance in course selection viz-a-viz career development • Passive attitude of students toward learning • Non-utilization of advice of external examiners • Lack of staff development to support better quality student learning

8. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Towards a high quality learning experience • UWI’s strategic plan 2002-2007 focus: • Student-driven and supportive learning environment • Increases in service quality • Expansion and enhanced resourcing of Quality Assurance System to encourage and facilitate, inter alia • A comprehensive curriculum review

9. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Towards a high quality learning experience (cont’d) • Analysis of examination results and teaching, learning and assessment methods • Assisting students in developing entrepreneurial attitudes and skills • Devoting greater attention to pedagogy • Excellence in teaching, scholarship and research • Aligning degree options with emerging career options

10. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Implications for higher educationadministrators • Critical inputs: • Exercise the greatest care in the recruitment of teaching staff • Continuously maintain and upgrade the physical environment and range of general resources • Create a healthy emotional environment for student learning

11. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Understanding student learning • Managers of students’ learning must: • Be concerned about the acquisition and application of knowledge of pedagogy and learning styles • Ensure staff development for better understanding of student learning • Take into consideration the needs of mature students in higher education • Recognize that less mature students may not be adult learners

12. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ How students learn- some precepts • Students assimilate the same experience differently • Teachers may need to extend/modify the approach of many students • Students have to be made to “engage” the subject matter so that transformation and internalization can occur

13. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ How students learn- some precepts (cont’d) • Students new to a discipline may require conceptual orientation • Teachers need to assess students to effectively address underlying misconceptions or knowledge gaps • Teachers and students are both responsible for managing the learning process

14. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ How students learn- some precepts (cont’d) • Feedback is important • Prior knowledge needs to be activated • Learning best takes place in a relevant context • The environment is a critical determinant of the learning outcome • Reduce the amount of didactic teaching

15. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ How students learn- some precepts (cont’d) • Avoid content overload, too much material will encourage a surface approach • Assessment has a powerful impact on student behaviour (Fry, Ketteridge and Marshall, 2001)

16. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Teaching and learning foremployability • Emerging elements of employability: • Emphasis on learning to learn • Effective communication • Competent numeracy • Computer literacy and special competencies • Interpersonal skills • Problem-solving skills • Ability to manage transitions • Personal attitudes and attributes

17. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Teaching and learning foremployability • Other elements of employability: • Critical evaluation of the transfer of theory to practice; • Personal attributes such as self-reliance and flexibility; • Knowledge of organizational theory and behaviour

18. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Factors for effective skills provision • Students must be active learners • Skills provision must be: • Time-tabled • Assigned academic credit • Relevant to syllabuses and assignments • Realistic and related to students’ interests • Properly integrated – either through subject units or through specially designed units

19. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Factors for effective skills provision • Skills provision must be: (cont’d) • Assessed • Graded • Interesting • Supported by relevant staff • Goal-driven • flexible • Greater emphasis need to be placed on team-based approach

20. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Challenges for higher education administrators • Bringing into the classroom elements of the world of work • Transformation of the curricula to achieve worthwhile skills development • Recognition of extra-curricula activities • Use of specialist support for delivering skills • Developing the role played by career services • Legitimizing employability attributes through credit and assessment

21. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Assessment of learning- students as stakeholders - • Assessment provides an indication of educational effectiveness • Students’ perspectives have been marginalized • Students value assessment when: • The marking can be trusted • True capabilities are measured, and, accurately • Provides effective feedback and recommendations for improvement

22. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Assessment of learning- students as stakeholders - • Students are critical of conventional examinations: • Examinations largely test memory as poor learning, • Examinations are inappropriate ways of assessing genuine capabilities and knowledge” (Mc Dowell and Sambee, 1999) • Students found alternative assessment to be ‘stimulating and challenging’

23. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Assessment of learning- students as stakeholders - • Increase in the use of alternative assessment signals a trend to involve students in assessment. • True nature of the student experience is often different from what curriculum objectives target. • Explore ways to incorporate students’ views on assessment.

24. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Quality assurance and qualitymonitoring • Quality enhancement can be sustained only if it is premised on the energies and initiatives of frontline academics. • The work situation and the motivational well-being of staff at ground level are important

25. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Quality assurance and qualitymonitoring – some issues Key Questions: • Is there staff ownership of procedures? • Is there a fully embedded quality culture? • Is the Quality focus leading to real improvement? • Are staff members committed to UWI? • Is teaching sufficiently recognized and rewarded?

26. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Quality assurance and qualitymonitoring – some issues • As administrators of the quality assurance system we need to: • Take full account of the constraints and any particular circumstances of the context which can impact negatively on the implementation of policy for enhancing the quality of the student learning experience. • Understand how academics perceive the effort to enhance quality; what they actually do and the ways in which they adapt policy or work around it.

27. ACHEA Conference July 2002 ‘The Challenge Of Quality for the Higher Education Administrative Professional.’ Quality assurance and qualitymonitoring – some issues • Individuals make the difference: • It is important to note that individuals make the difference in ensuring quality and standards. • The dedication, care, competence and imagination of individuals affect the experience and achievement of the students.