Accreditation Of Higher Education Institutions Research Articles

ASSESSMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION: CRITERIA AND EFFICIENCY INDICATORS

The ongoing implementation of the Bologna Process in Europe prompts comparisons with international competitors and efforts to match their quality assurance standards. Higher education institutions must be effective to succeed in research, to provide best academic practices and high quality of studies. Terminological system of pedagogical science and practice of higher education reflects the goals, values and problems, structure and system of scientific knowledge of the XXI century. The process for content analysis is designed to achieve the objective analysis possible by defining the process of the qualities and characteristics to be measured in HE. The article provides definitions of basic concepts that describe the features of tools for measuring and assessing in higher education. A comparative analysis of the practice of applying criteria & indicators is made on materials of English-language publications. Starting from a conceptual discussion around commonly used terms, such as, «criterion» and «indicator», the author has shown that these terms do not have a single universal meaning. The analysis shows that there is no common understanding of what criteria-based means or what it implies for practice. Instead, they belong to a wide conceptual field, which covers various overlapping or closely related topics. This paper addresses the nature of the concept of criteria in relation to higher education. This paper provides examples of use different sets of criteria for the accreditation and external evaluation of Higher education institutions and study programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recognised by the EU as a «potential candidate country». In accordance with the constitutional structure of BiH, there are several regulations for external QA which are combined for each accreditation procedure. The project «Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Quality Assurance» (2013-2015) aims to support the full implementation of the ESG at all levels and to carry out accreditations of all HEIs in the country. In the process of analyzing the institutional practice of the country the problem of harmonizing national criteria with updated ESG2015 for licensing, conducting accreditation of higher education institutions and educational programs has been raised. The author analyses ways of thinking about the practice of applying the indicators for the sphere of higher education. It is stated, that the concepts of «effectiveness» and «efficiency» are often confused. The peculiarities of using the indicator panels (OECD, World Bank, European Union) are described for measuring the quality at the level of the education system.

NAAC: Assurance of Quality to Assurance of Accreditation

This paper describes the role of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) towards quality assurance and accreditation of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the context of rapid growth of HEIs and changing scenario of higher education of India. The objective of the NAAC accreditation process is to develop a quality conscious system for HEIs where excellence, relevance to market needs and participation by all stakeholders are ensured. After passing from various phases, NAAC has now completed more than 20 years of its establishment and accredited more than 9,278 HEIs including re-accredited institutions. However, the figure of accredited HEIs is not satisfactory looking to the existence of total HEIs in the country. NAAC has, so far, accredited 256 universities and 6,281 colleges which is 34% of the total universities and 18% of the total colleges of the country as on 31 March 2016. As the University Grants Commission and the Ministry of Human Resource Development have mandated that all HEIs should undergo the process of assessment and accreditation, there would be a tremendous pressure on NAAC to accredit all HEIs of the country. There are many challenges before the NAAC to ensure 100% accreditation of HEIs of the country. However, through its consistent and conscious efforts, NAAC has assumed the role of a quality facilitator in spite of extreme hardship. The paper attempts to theoretically conceptualise the role of NAAC in present context of higher education.

Students’ Participation in Accreditation: The Experience of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Globalization requires appropriate level of quality in higher education, which could be reached by accreditation of higher education institutions and programs. This procedure includes involvement of the students. During a decade a big deal of progress was taken place. However, this area is less studied, especially on Kazakhstani context. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to reveal the role of students involved in accreditation by one of Kazakhstani accreditation agencies. Even though, the accreditation was launched in 2001, the actual its implementation started only few years ago, which is followed by series of reforms in this area. One of the main aspects was the engagement of students, which was not considered widely. Thus, the results of this study are unique in some extent. Current research is based on empirical research of 2013, conducted in 1 out of 2 national accreditation agencies of Kazakhstan. The results of the study show that students, involved in accreditation, experience difficulties with lack of guidance, provided by agency, appropriate knowledge and skills of the students. Nevertheless, students are perceived as full partners during the accreditation process. Moreover, they consider the practice of student-experts as a useful life and professional experience.

Regulating Higher Education through Accreditation: The Chilean Case

This article comprehensively examines the Chilean system of accreditation of higher education institutions. The analysis begins with the liberal policies introduced by the military government that effectively promoted the market that accreditation came to regulate. This article then describes the debate surrounding accreditation and the compromises and innovations that the accreditation process suffered in the name of consensus. After a review of the background and history of its normative framework, the article assesses how accreditation has been applied and exposes some of its weaknesses, linking them to the regulations that accreditation had to overcome, the dynamics of market and the system’s own design flaws. Regarding the latter, it argues that the incentives chosen to induce institutions to seek accreditation, accreditation’s grading system, and the public body entrusted with the overview of the system conflated to displace quality assurance in favor of maintaining or increasing the access of disadvantaged students to higher education. This was evidenced by the existence of sham accreditations in which policy considerations regarding disadvantaged groups weighted more than the quality of underperforming institutions. In view of this and other failures, this article ends by advancing some proposals for reform that could help situate accreditation as a process for assuring and enhancing quality, without losing its regulatory impetus and its concerns regarding the use of public funds.

On Standards of Budget Funding and Adjusting the Fees in State Universities

The paper analyzes the implications of the financial regulations implementing a state order (standards of budget financing based on one student) in the higher education system and the use of them to regulate fees in the universities. It is demonstrated that the establishment of standards in the field of budgetary financing (field of study) does not allow to pay attention to differences in historical property complexes, schools, differences in socio-economic position of the Russian Federation where universities are located affecting the wages of faculty in relation to the average for the economy of the region, raises the question of the adequacy of the state accreditation of higher education institutions. Purely economic approach in the allocation of budget funds obscures difficult political decisions on restructuring the higher education network: the elimination of schools that do not meet the requirements for licensing and accreditation of universities, uniting weak with strong ones, opening of new schools on the basis of material liquidation, the implementation of programs to support the weak, but necessary institutions, replacing weak management in universities, etc. Accordingly, the regulation of fees would have a negative economic and social consequences.

O ensino a distância e os avanços para a pesquisa em enfermagem

O ensino a distância e os avanços para a pesquisa em enfermagem

O NOVO SISTEMA DE AVALIAÇÃO E ACREDITAÇÃO DO ENSINO SUPERIOR: IMPACTO, REPERCUSSÕES E BENEFÍCIOS

The creation of a quality assurance system capable of international recognition is among the designs of the recent approval of the higher education legal system of evaluation. With this scheme, the Government intends to establish parameters for assessing quality, which include education, the qualifications of the faculty, the strategy adopted to ensure the quality of education, the scientific, technological and artistic activity, appropriated to the mission of the institution and international cooperation. The adoption of these measures aimed at achieving improved quality of higher education institutions, to provide information to the company founded on the performance of institutions, as well as the development of an internal institutional culture of quality assurance. This evaluation is mandatory and takes place in the European system of quality assurance in higher education. The agent of such assessment are the self-assessment, which is performed by each institution of higher education, and the external assessment, serving as basis for the process of accreditation, which is performed by the assessment and accreditation agency to assure the quality in higher education. The Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education was legally established in November 2007. The accreditation of higher education institutions and their courses is mandatory and can be an initiative of the Agency or of the higher education institutions themselves, which show interest. It is proposed in this paper to present develop the recent challenges faced by higher education institutions, giving special focus to the stage where the implementation of those government’s measures are.

A Litmus Test of Academic Quality

The paper discusses the major issues connected with the accreditation procedures in higher education system in the U.S. The questions raised are as follows: what are the reliable and credible indicators of quality instruction that could be measured in the process of accreditation of higher education institutions? How does greater transparency in the accreditation process serve students and the public? What is the role that accreditors on federal and state levels can play in improving institutional accountability or changing institutional behaviour; and hence, what are the standards and implications of federal vs. state involvement in the accreditation process? What is accreditation’s role in addressing problems raised by arbitrary denial of transfer of credit? And what role does accreditation play in assessing distance education? The paper supports the idea that high quality instruction, academic freedom, accountability and transparency should go hand in hand. Agreement should be reached between different parties involved on what to consider as reliable and credible indicators of quality instruction and how to best measure them for the purposes of accreditation. The evaluation data should be made a public knowledge to increase transparency and serve student interests. And finally, preserving the unique balanced relationship and golden medium that exists between peer review and appropriate levels of government involvement in the process of accreditation would be the best option for further development of higher education in the U.S.

Aceptación de la diversidad institucional en los procesos de acreditación: la posición del evaluador.

The paper analyzes the role of peer evaluators in the accreditation of higher education institutions and programs, in a context marked by diversity. The discussion addresses four different aspects of this subject: the context in which evaluations take place, the types and levels of differences among institutions, institutional culture, and the relative objectivity of peer evaluators. The paper emphasizes aspects of the dynamics of evaluation and the personal characteristics of peer evaluators. It suggests conclusions on the tensions and challenges involved in the accreditation of higher education institutions, particularly in the impending scenario in Chile, which is changing its system tending to the privatization of accreditation agencies.

New Challenges and Opportunities for Institutional Researchers in Assessment and Accreditation

Increased focus on assessment of student learning in the accreditation of higher education institutions offers new, challenging opportunities for institutional researchers. This article explores how institutional researchers can maximize these opportunities by offering methodological guidance in the assessment process and by designing new studies to produce assessment results. The article discusses the importance of methodological expertise, highlights the relevance of lessons learned from assessment literature, and provides a model for designing studies relevant for assessment.

Public and Private Higher Education Institutions--Joint or Separate Evaluation and Ranking: The Polish Perspective

Since 1989, Polish higher education has been characterized by the emergence of a private sector of higher education as well as by the development of procedures and institutions for the evaluation and accreditation of higher education institutions and programmes in both sectors. Currently, the two sectors are evaluated separately by separate institutions. The authors call for the convergence of the two higher education sectors. Not only would evaluations of Polish higher education institutions thus be made more accurate and comprehensive, but the two sectors would learn from one another, and the private institutions and their students would become eligible to receive state grants.

Acreditación de Escuelas de Medicina.: Trabajando para la calidad y la confiabilidad pública

Important advances in the accreditation of higher education institutions and programs have occurred in Chile. A definite step forward had been the accreditation of three of the six Medical Schools, considered in the agreement subscribed between the Chilean Medical Faculties Association and the National Committee for Undergraduate Program Accreditation (CNAP). According to this understanding, educational quality was evaluated using international standards and its improvement was encouraged. The accreditation procedure carried out at the University of Chile Medical School is described. Its observation has revealed the difficulties of accreditation procedures and the early benefits obtained after they have been completed. The careful observation of the evaluation procedure will help to improve the used model and to design an effective accreditation instrument that will ultimately improve undergraduate teaching programs.