The importance of understanding independence to manage the performance of quality assurance agencies in higher education

ПРОФЕСІОНАЛІЗМ ВИКЛАДАЧІВ ВВНЗ ЯК СКЛАДОВА ВНУТРІШНЬОЇ СИСТЕМИ ГАРАНТУВАННЯ ЯКОСТІ ВИЩОЇ ВІЙСЬКОВІЙ ОСВІТИ

Developing regions like Pakistan have been facing various challenges to ensure the quality of education. Poor governance and ignorance of merit in different decisions have emerged as key hurdles for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) towards promoting quality education. In this context, Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has established Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders concerning the HEIs. Quality Enhancement Cells (QECs) created across various HEIs of Pakistan to meet the objectives of QAA. Notably, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET) Jamshoro, being the pioneering Institute, itself initiated the task of adoption of quality assurance practices way before QECs established across various HEIs in Pakistan. MUET acquired ISO 9000 certification in 2003, whereas, QAA created QECs around 2006. Primarily, this paper highlights the impact of MUET's quest in ensuring the provision of quality in higher education by discussing the effectiveness of ISO system in the education sector concerning developing regions, where education systems are facing downfall and how it help in betterfunctioning of QEC of MUET. This paper will highlight the vision and performance of MUET in maintaining its quality standards while facing various pressures from different stakeholders of the society.

Since the 1950s, the Council of Europe has established conventions and information networks to enhance student mobility and qualification recognition in Europe. In contrast, Asia did not take this issue into consideration until 1983, when the UNESCO Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific (the ‘1983 Convention’) was adopted. The recognition of a joint degree when the schools are in two different countries is even more challenging than for a conventional degree, because they do not belong to any single national higher education system. The first purpose of this study is to describe the current situation in the recognition of foreign qualifications in higher education institutions in Europe and Asia. Next, schemes, procedures and challenges for recognizing a joint degree will be analyzed. The role of recognition bodies and quality assurance agencies in qualification recognition will be discussed at the end of the paper.

The International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education’s Guidelines of Good Practice by higher education quality assurance agencies need substantial revision before they can be considered adequate by stakeholders in any national higher education system. Various revisions are proposed in this article. But the International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education also argues that adoption of its Guidelines of Good Practice has international significance in that the decisions about higher education quality made by agencies which comply with them can be accepted at face value universally. This conclusion, however, cannot be accepted until the Guidelines of Good Practice are amended to address the processes whereby each agency can become comfortable with the criteria and standards which the others impose in their respective jurisdictions. This article also maintains that, even if the Guidelines of Good Practice were technically perfect, agencies and/or governments ought to subject any proposals for their implementation to the discipline of rigorous risk management processes.

PurposeThe Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education in the UK focuses on maintaining, enhancing and standardising the quality of higher education. Of significant impact are the development of subject benchmark statements (SBS) by the QAA, which describe the type and content of study along with the academic standards expected of graduates in specific disciplines. Prior to 2022, the QAA did not have a SBS to which higher education policing programmes could be directly aligned.Design/methodology/approachOver 12-months, a SBS advisory group with representatives from higher education across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, The College of Policing, QAA, Police Federation of England and Wales and policing, worked in partnership to harness their collective professional experience and knowledge to create the first UK SBS for policing. Post publication of the SBS, permission was sought and granted from both the College of Policing and QAA for members of the advisory group to reflect in an article on their experiences of collaborating and working in partnership to achieve the SBS.FindingsThere is great importance of creating a shared vision and mutual trust, developed through open facilitated discussions, with representatives championing their cause and developing a collaborative and partnership approach to completing the SBS.Practical implicationsA collaborative and partnership approach is essential in developing and recognising the academic discipline of policing. This necessarily requires the joint development of initiatives, one of which is the coming together of higher education institutions, PSRBs and practitioner groups to collaborate and design QAA benchmark statements.Social implicationsThe SBS advisory group has further driven forward the emergence of policing as a recognised academic discipline to benefit multiple stakeholders.Originality/valueThe SBS for policing is the first across the UK. The authors experiences can be used to assist others in their developments of similar subject specific benchmarking or academic quality standards.

This article explores the relationship between quality assurance (QA) agencies, international bodies and higher education institutions (HEIs) through institutional theory, focusing on coercive, mimetic and normative isomorphism. Using the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (CYQAA) as a case study, it illustrates how external pressures like compliance with European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) and best practices from leading QA agencies shape QA operations and promote continuous improvement and quality enhancement (QE) in HEIs. The article concludes that compliance and legitimacy do not necessarily equate to genuine quality. Integrating QE into QA processes marks a strategic evolution in higher education, emphasising continuous improvement, innovation and reflective practices.

The article reveals development and essential changes of higher education in Great Britain in XX–XXI centuries.
 During last century Great Britain higher education system has changed dramatically – from elite higher education in the beginning of XX century, which was available for very small part of society, to mass higher education with variety of institutions and education programs. Nowadays there is almost half of Great Britain population (of certain age group) obtaining higher education certificate or diploma.
 The junction of XX and XXI centuries was signed with significant shift in the gender structure of higher education students: more women obtained fist university degree than men. Ten years later the same was recorded in higher degrees.
 The intense change of Great Britain higher education from elite to mass inevitably influenced the higher education finance sector. Great Britain used to cover all expenses of higher education from the budget. However, the financial crises occurred in the last decade of XX century, and the government was forced to seek for new financing models of higher education. First time in Great Britain higher education history the tuition fee was introduced. Striving to ensure the higher education accessibility for all social groups in Great Britain, the tuition fees were complemented with the grants and loans with special repayment (or without) conditions. Nevertheless, the financial reform, started in 1998, already was changed several times and has raised lots of critics.
 Along with the financial reform Great Britain deals with the higher education quality issues. There was no essential discussions about higher education quality in the beginning of the XX century as it was elite higher education. Moving to the mass higher education with variety of institutions and dramatically growing student number, the quality question becomes relevant. Despite the owning the largest number of worldwide level elite universities in Europe, Great Britain seeks to ensure the quality in all higher education institutions in the country. Therefore the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education was established. The Agency puts students and the public interest at the center of everything they do. Great Britain higher education quality policy is implemented basing on the Quality Code for Higher Education.

Introduction The article deals with the tendencies of further development of the higher military education system and peculiarities educational activity in the higher military educational institutions and military educational units of higher education institutions in the context of the evolution of perspectives on education quality ensuring and changes made to the definitions in the new edition of the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education” concerning essence of the concept of “quality of higher education” and its main components, namely “education standards”, “competence”, “learning outcomes”.Purpose. The purpose of the paper is to define tendencies of further development of higher military education in the context of the evolution of perspectives on education quality ensuring and changes made to the definitions of Ukrainian legislation in the educational sphere.Methods. The study was conducted using the following theoretical methods: analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparison, classification, generalization and systematization.Results. The concept of “quality of higher education” and its main components, namely “education standards”, “competence”, “learning outcomes” are determined in the article, its interrelations and interdependencies in the educational system of the HMEI are observed.Originality. According to the purpose of the paper, tendencies of further development of higher military education in the context of the evolution of perspectives on education quality ensuring and changes made to the definitions of Ukrainian legislation in the educational sphere are defined. Conclusion. The article presents the view of the tendencies of further development of higher military education in the context of the evolution of perspectives on the problem of education quality ensuring, guaranteeing quality of higher military education and changes made to the definitions in the new edition of the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education” concerning essence of the concept of “quality of higher education” and its main components, namely “education standards”, “competence”, “learning outcomes”. The directions for future research are study off education quality and change management monitoring in the system of higher military education.

The higher education and training sector focus on lifelong learning, world of work and the future. With regard to this, the current focus of higher education sector is on quality assurance procedures that emphasise accountability, compliance and standards which could be acquired through quality assurance of student’s assessment. This paper demystifies the quality of students learning in further education training college and higher education sector. Quality assurance of student’s assessment is the most important activity and further education and training college is also the specialisation that needs to be natured for economic development of any global community. But in contrary quality assurance of student’s assessment is the most overlooked activity further education training college sector within the holistic higher education paradigm – the academic culture that has endangered and alienated students and staff to the detriment of the system as a whole. If quality assurance system as pertained to higher education assessment of students learning parameter of further education and training college are to be recognized, the increasing diverse nature of higher technical and vocational education institutions, in the millennium, accountability, high standards and compliance will need to be balanced by a greater emphasis on encouraging and promoting innovation, self-improvement and credentials of higher calibre of individual student’s ability and competence in combating local and regional poverty. It is of salient phenomena for both quality assurance agencies and institutions themselves to operationalise viable mechanism and adapt their policies, procedures and culture if higher education and training system is to respond positively to student’s quality assurance assessment and be provided with essential required skills in lifelong learning, work and the future framework for the new millennium. This paper argues that whilst quality assurance of student learning assessment is understandable within the theoretical and practical academic framework in higher education institutions, there have erupted heuristic issues that deserve immediate and particular attention in the 21 century. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n14p447

PurposeIn 2022, the International Network for Quality Assurance (QA) Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) published the new guidelines by adding three QA modules in response to the changing higher education landscape. The paper aims to investigate the transformative focus of quality assurance in higher education globally as well as Asian response to three new QA modules according to the INQAAHE ISGs.Design/methodology/approachThe research conducted a quantitative approach for data collection. An on-line survey was conducted to perceive QA practices, perceptions toward new emerging QA modules and challenges encountered. In total, there were 26 responses from 18 territories with 22 QA agencies. A total of 13 out of them have a national qualifications framework in place.FindingsThree are three major findings in the study. First, national policy and criteria and standards in distance education have been developed in the majority of Asian nations. Second, non-signatories of the Tokyo Convention had a higher proportion of having related policies, regulations and criteria in CBHE and distance education. Third, national policies and regulations; and lack of professional staff are two common challenges implementing QA in new types of providers.Originality/valueThe findings are of value for policymakers, QA agencies and universities to advocate the new QA model as a systematic approach in response to changing higher education landscape in the post pandemic era.

Quality of higher education and self-determination for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Saudi Arabia.

The purpose of the article is to determine the vectors of building an effective interaction with employers in the system of higher library and information education. The methodology. Socio-communicative and system-structural approaches were applied, which made it possible to determine the directions and functions of communication links in the system of gradual library and information education, to prove the importance of strengthening the communication interaction in the “higher education institution — employer”, “student of higher education — employer”, “graduate of a higher education institution — employer” subsystems. Based on the application of sociological research methods (questionnaires and surveys, monitoring of the employment of graduates), the necessity of establishing comprehensive relations in the “student of higher library education program — employer-director of the library” system has been proved in order to form the general and professional competencies in applicants that are in demand at the labor market. The results. Based on the analysis of the modern pedagogical idea and the own years-long teaching experience, the issue of building an effective cooperation between higher education institutions and employers was considered for the first time. Emphasis is placed on the translation of “student-teacher” academic communication into future professional relations of “graduate — employer”. A systematic approach to the organization of communication interaction between the graduate departments of KSAC in the specialty 029 “Information, library and archival affairs” and employers is highlighted, which involves various formats, methods, ways and technologies of communication interaction of all stakeholders in the quality training of library personnel (students of higher library education, scientific — pedagogical staff, graduates, heads of library institutions), aimed at the requirements of the modern labor market. Based on the results of a survey within the directors of libraries of Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, the qualities of graduates of KSAC prioritized by employers were determined, and their rating was the following: professional knowledge (89%), mastery of modern ICT (87%), reader orientation (56%), sociability (55%), creativity (46%), responsibility and reliability (35%), leadership (34%), organizational skills (32%), speech culture (26%), appearance (21%). The effectiveness of the implementation of employment monitoring, involvement of employers into teaching, review of educational programs and qualification works of students, participation in final assessment, has been proven. The scientific topicality. The sociological study “A graduate in the eyes of an employer” carried out by the Department of Digital Communications and Information Research of KSAC revealed two key problems that affect the effectiveness of communication interaction in the “graduate — employer” system: 1) graduates easily use digital technologies — digital skills, but have weaker communication technologies (communication skills), standards of business communication, which inhibits their professional adaptation; 2) the culture of academic communication “student — teacher” is translated into professional interaction “graduate — employer”, which forms behavioral models of future librarians already at the student desk. This requires the strengthening of systematic cooperation between higher education institutions and leading employees of information structures, libraries, archives, museums and other document and communication institutions of society. The ways of improving of the communication patterns of students, teachers and employers, strengthening of their interaction, partnership and responsibility have been determined. It was revealed that all stakeholders involved into the training and refresher course of the new generation of library and information personnel look toward to close communication in order to improve the professional and personal qualities of graduates, their competitiveness at the modern labor market, and quick adaptation to the requirements of the library industry and to a specific workplace. The practical significance. The results of the study can be used by Ukrainian institutions of higher education in the process of improving educational programs for training specialists in the specialty 029 Information, library and archival affairs, as well as to increase the effectiveness of cooperation with employers in all possible areas of communication interaction in the system of training of library specialists of all educational degrees, which will contribute to increasing their competitiveness at the global information market.

One of the main aims of the so-called common ‘European Higher Education Area’ is the creation of a European framework for higher education (HE) qualifications and a network of ‘quality assurance agencies’. In the light of the above processes, recent legislation in Greece on quality assurance in HE and the operation and financing of HE institutions is being increasingly linked to the connection of HE to the labour market needs. This paper examines how and to what degree the new ‘high-stakes’ accountability system, which will evaluate HE institutes according to pre-determined and nationally standardized criteria of efficiency and/or effectiveness, raises issues of validity, academic freedom and evaluation of scientific knowledge, as well as sheds light on the power-balance between the state and the — hitherto highly autonomous — faculty. This analysis also stresses issues arising from the globalization of educational policymaking and of the homogenization of assessment practices in HE.

Program documents of the international, national and regional levels institutionalize the problem of ensuring the higher education quality at the level of one of the priority areas of ensuring social development. This significance of the issue of the higher education quality is due to its direct connection with both the increase in the level of competitiveness of higher education institutions and with the development of the human capital of the state. The vast majority of scientific research carried out in this direction is focused on solving purely theoretical issues of the functioning of the quality assurance system of higher education or issues of the quality assurance system of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance. This concentration of scientific attention leaves unexplored the issues of the practice of functioning of the quality assurance system of higher education in general and the practice of quality assurance of educational activities at the university level. Within the framework of this publication, the research attention was focused on the issues of structuring the system of ensuring the quality of educational activities and the quality of higher education by institutions of higher education, and on determining the conditions for the effective use of the circular model of building the structure of the internal quality assurance system. The relevant issues were considered through the prism of public administration of the competitiveness of higher education institutions and the development of the human capital of the state. In accordance with the results previously obtained by the authors of this publication on actualization of the content of the system of internal quality assurance at five main levels (the level of the academic council of higher education institutions and its commissions; the level of the administration of higher education institutions; the level of units directly involved in the implementation of educational programs; the level of scientific and pedagogical workers involved in the implementation of educational programs; the level of support of procedures and practices for ensuring the quality of educational activities and the quality of higher education) was considered the potential of using the of circular model for building the structure of the system of internal quality assurance in higher education institution. The article contains a justification for the appropriateness of using a circular model of structuring the system of internal quality assurance of educational activities and the higher education quality by the administration of higher education institutions. The article draws attention to the advantages and disadvantages of the circular structuring model, as well as defines the conditions for its effective use. In addition, the article contains a generalization regarding the limitations of the competence of public administration subjects in formation of the internal quality assurance system.

The standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), define, within the standard 1.1, that higher education institutions (HEIs) need to have public internal Quality Assurance (QA) policies that effectively support academic integrity and are battling academic fraud, among other points (ENQA et al., 2015). On a national level (standard 3.6), QA agencies need to assure the integrity of their activities, in that way assuring that the national higher education (HE) systems are reliable, resilient and fit for purpose. When it comes to student involvement in QA, students are becoming increasingly engaged in QA activities as equal partners (ESU, 2020); however, the extent of their involvement in the matters of academic integrity on a national level still varies based on the national legislation and the activities covered by national QA agencies. Some countries, such as Ireland and Croatia, do involve students in discussions about academic integrity, prevention of academic misconduct, and implementation of different methods to preserve academic values within the curricula. In this paper, we have described the differences between the two mentioned national systems in terms of legislation, practices in preserving academic integrity within the Quality Assurance (QA) of higher education, and students’ reflections based on the information available at the webpages of the respective NUSs (Union of Students in Ireland and Croatian Students’ Council). In Ireland, the national QA Agency, Quality and Qualifications Ireland, has formed a National Academic Integrity Network (NAIN), and is directly involved in monitoring academic integrity practices and preventing academic misconduct, with the possibility of persecuting said misconduct. NAIN’s members include students who engage through their NUS - Union of Students in Ireland (USI), and who actively contribute to co-creation of policies and practices related to academic integrity. The student members receive appropriate training and are able to train and organise capacity-building activities for other students. The students also organise different activities on their own, to raise awareness on the need for battling academic misconduct such as contract cheating. In Croatia, the national QA Agency, Agency for Science and Higher Education (ASHE), is monitoring academic integrity through institutional self-assessment reports within internal QA evaluations, while the Law on Students’ Council and Other Students’ Organisations defines the position of students’ ombudspersons at each HEI, independently from the QA system. Students’ ombuds are students who do not receive training, but are able to request institutional reports. They are selected for a period of 1 year by the institutional students’ representation body, and they can help other students in protection of their rights in disciplinary processes. QQI and ASHE were interviewed as part of this research, and the findings indicate that QQI was much more successful in terms of engaging students in academic integrity-related topics, while ASHE does not have a responsibility to independently work on this topic with students, although they periodically participate in activities related to academic integrity. Students involved in QQI’s NAIN Network are independent and they understand the academic integrity policy well. Both the agencies reiterated the importance of students’ involvement in academic integrity and the need for educating students on these topics within their study cycles. Students who are overall most engaged in academic integrity are already active students’ representatives, which means that additional efforts need to be made in order to ensure all students understand this topic.