Quality
Assurance
at Niagara College
Quality
Assurance
=
Student Success
Quality Assurance
is Everyone’s Business
excellence performance proficiency
relevance guidance
Program Quality
Assurance Process Audit
(PQAPA)
• Once every 5 years each college is externally
audited to ensure we have processes to
ensure program quality
• Our audit will be in Spring 2012
Program Quality
Assurance Process Audit
(PQAPA)
• PQAPA is not just “program review”. It is an
assessment of all the processes that
contribute to program quality
i.e. everything we do
Program Quality
Assurance Process Audit
(PQAPA)
• We have had a college-wide continuous
improvement plan since 2007, modified every
2-3 years, focusing on the areas where we
wish to improve
Quality Assurance
And Continuous Improvement
Since the last audit, we have made many changes that affect
quality.
IMPROVED OUR TEACHING
• Improved data and feedback from Program Reviews
• Implemented an eLearning Certification program
• Recorded and posted all Student Curriculum Meeting Minutes
• Completed curriculum mapping for most programs
• Reviewed and revised many college practices
• Trained all staff in AODA and Workplace Harassment
Quality Assurance
at Niagara College
IMPROVED STUDENTS’ LEARNING
• Created Program Manuals for all programs
• Created a Quality Assurance website
• Completed our $80m facilities Master Plan
• Implemented a new Career Planning and Advisement Centre
• Implemented a website automatic answering system
Six Quality Criteria
There are 6 criteria against which we compare our
college-wide systems. They focus on our:
1. Program learning outcomes
2. Communication of information to students
3. Program structure that conforms to provincial
policy
Six Quality Criteria
4. Program delivery and evaluation methods
5. Human, physical, financial and support
resources
6. Regular program quality assessment
involving stakeholders, and focused on
continuous improvement
Quality Assurance
at Niagara College
How does it happen?
• College Wide Self Study – December 2011
• Visit by Audit Panel – March/April 2012
• Audit Panel Report – May 2012
• Follow Up Report – November 2013
• Ongoing continuous improvement actions
Quality Assurance
at Niagara College
What you can do:
• Think about how you contribute to quality
assurance/student success
• Contribute ideas to the Self Study
• Talk about Quality Assurance with colleagues
and students
• Participate in the PQAPA focus group sessions
• Become more informed about QA
Quality Assurance
at Niagara College
For more information, check out the new Website:
www.niagaracollege.ca/ncqa
Your views on QA at Niagara
• Some improvements since 2007
• What are our strengths?
• Best Practices?
• Areas to work on?