INQAAHE-2011 CONFERENCE
Madrid, Spain
Presented by
Dr. Sok Uttara
Accreditation Committee of Cambodia
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Outline of the Presentation
• An Overview of INQAAHE
• Introduction to the INQAAHE-2011 Conference
• Theme and subthemes
- Subtheme 1: Globalizing forces and national/regional goals
in higher education: emerging issues
- Subtheme 2: Professionalization of quality assurance
- Subtheme 3: Effective quality processes for diversity,
development and sustainability
- Subtheme 4: Independence of quality assurance vis-à-vis
different stakeholders.
• Summary and concluding remarks
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An Overview of INQAAHE
• What is INQAAHE?
- International Network for Quality Assurance
Agencies of Higher Education
• When was INQAAHE established?
- It was established in 1991.
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• How many members were there when it was
established in 1991?
- There were only 8 members.
• How many members are there now?
- There are more than 200 members.
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• Where is the INQAAHE Secretariat located?
- It is located in the Netherlands.
• What is its role?
- Its main role is to collect and disseminate
information on the current and developing theory
and practice in the assessment, improvement and
maintenance of quality in higher education.
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Mission/Vision
• To promote good practices in the maintenance and
improvement of quality in higher education;
• To facilitate research into the practice of quality
management in higher education and
its effectiveness;
• To provide advice and expertise to assist the
development of new quality assurance agencies
• To facilitate links between accrediting bodies,
especially insofar as they operate across national
borders;
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• To assist members in determining the standards of
institutions operating across national borders;
• To permit better-informed international recognition
of qualifications;
• To be able to assist in the development and use of
credit transfer schemes in order to enhance the
mobility of students between institutions within and
across national borders;
• To enable members to be alert to dubious
accrediting practices and organizations.
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Introduction to the INQAAHE-2011
Conference
• When was the conference organized?
- April 4 - 7, 2011 in Madrid, Spain.
• Was organized by the National Agency for Quality
Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA).
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• Theme:
Quality Assurance: Foundation for the Future
• Subthemes:
(1) Globalizing forces and national/regional goals in
higher education: emerging issues
(2) Professionalization of quality assurance
(3) Effective quality processes for diversity,
development and sustainability
(4) Independence of quality assurance vis-à-vis
different stakeholders.
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THEME 1: Globalizing forces and national/regional
goals in higher education: emerging issues
• “QA of internationalization of HE is defined as the process
of extending quality assurance procedures to cover
international aspects.” (Woodhouse, 2007). (Resp. of QAA)
• “Internationalization of QA in HE is defined as the process
of integrating an international, intercultural, or global
dimension into the purpose, functions or implementation of
QA systems and processes.” (Knight, 2003) (Resp. of HE/QAA)
• Where QA of internationalization is about the scope of QA
activities, internationalization of QA is about methods,
somehow going beyond QA’s usual national base.
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Benefits of Internationalization
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Obstacles to Internationalization
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lack of financial support
Lack of policy/strategy to facilitate the process
Competing priorities
Insufficiently trained or qualified staff to guide the
process
Administrative inertia or difficulties
Issue of non-recognition of work done abroad
Lack of opportunities
Lack of reliable and comprehensive information
Lack of understanding of what is involved
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Bar chart: Obstacles to Internationalization
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Pursuit of International Standards of HEIs and QAAs
• Learning outcomes = fitness for purpose
• Accountability = responsiveness to the money spent
• Inclusiveness = regionalizing and globalizing QA with
respect to diversity
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Global Networks of QAAs
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Mutual Recognition of EQAs
• “Recognition of an EQA means an acceptance by
another body or agency that the agency’s decisions
and judgments are valid. Such recognition may mean
that the other body or agency trusts the first
agency’s decisions for some purposes of its own”
(Woodhouse, 2007).
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• “Mutual recognition by two or more EQAs is an
affirmation by each that it accepts the decisions and
judgments of the other (either entirely or for some
defined purposes). Such recognition may be based
on the agencies having comparable aims and
procedures, so it is likely that they would reach the
same conclusion in reviewing and passing a
judgment on an institution, program or qualification”
(The Washington Accord).
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• The aim of mutual recognition of EQAs is not
primarily to benefit the agencies themselves, but to
achieve beneficial results for institutions and their
students and graduates in terms of mobility, credit
transfer, acceptance of qualifications, etc.
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Possible benefits of mutual recognition include:
•
•
•
•
•
understanding and knowledge of and by each agency
collaboration between agencies
authorization of agencies to operate across country boundaries
enrichment of agencies’ activities
appreciation of the quality parameters underpinning
institutions and programs
• basis for judgments on the quality of institutions and programs
in other jurisdictions, by employers and prospective students
• understanding of curricula, standards and criteria across
country boundaries
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Methods for establishing MR
• Scope : comparison of criteria for the award on the
basis of outcomes
• Quality: independent certification or recognition of
an EQAA against a widely agreed code of practice.
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THEME 2: Professionalization of quality assurance
1. Professionalization starts with an adequate
business plan and policy statement
- Object of assessment
- Aims of assessment
- Independence of EQA
- Quality concept and criteria
- Decision making process
- Financial and human resources
- Internal quality assurance
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2. Professionalization asks for a clear process of
assessment. The process:
- is based on self-assessment and external review.
- is based on clear documentation
- is well known and made public
- respects the internal quality assurance activities of
an HEI; the requirements for self-assessment are in
line with it.
- assures equal treatment and consistency of the
judgments
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3. Professionalization asks for professional staff
• Selection criteria
- From HE or outside?
- Discipline experts or generalists?
- With experience in management or teaching only?
• Competencies
- Generic skills: analytical skills; skill for synthesizing;
communication skills
- Training skills, etc.
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• Responsibility
- Organizer
- Facilitator
- Secretary/report writer
- Track keeper, etc.
• Personality
- Impartiality
- Meticulousness
- Espri de corps, etc.
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4. Professionalization asks for external experts
• Knowledge about the QAA’s educational system and
standards
• Being able to provide an independent evaluation of
the standards
• Relevant expertise and extensive experience in both
academic and administrative affairs, particularly in
internal and external quality assurance
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THEME 3: Effective quality processes for diversity,
development and sustainability
Quality Assurance
(QA)
Autonomy
Internal
QA
Self-Analysis
Quality Plan
External
QA
External
Assessment
Accountability
Accreditation
Deregulation
Improvement
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Guidelines of Good Practice of an EQAA
• SECTION I: ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND
RESOURCES
1. The Governance of the EQAA
2. Resources
3. Quality Assurance of the EQAA
4. Reporting Public Information
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• SECTION II. INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
AND THE EQAA: RELATIONSHIP, STANDARDS, AND
INTERNAL REVIEWS
1. The Relationship Between the EQAA and Higher
Education Institutions
2. The EQAA's Requirements for Institutional/
Program Performance
3. The EQAA’s Requirements Institutional SelfEvaluation and Reporting to the EQAA
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• SECTION III. EQAA REVIEW OF INSTITUTIONS:
EVALUATION, DECISION, AND APPEALS
1. The EQAA's Evaluation of the Institution and/or
Program
2. Decisions
3. Appeals
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• SECTION IV. EXTERNAL ACTIVITIES: COLLABORATION
WITH OTHER AGENCIES AND TRANSNATIONAL/
CROSS-BORDER EDUCATION
1. Collaboration
2. Transnational/Cross-Border Higher Education
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Indicators for Assessing the Quality of HEIs
1. Integrity and mission
• Honesty and transparency in policies and procedures
• Interaction with the community and stakeholders
• Clarity in mission
• Understanding of aims and objectives by all
constituents of the institution
• Equity and reservation for the disadvantaged groups
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2. Governance and management
• Autonomy of governance
• Clarity in organizational structure
• Delegation of powers
• Institutional effectiveness
• Comprehensive Strategic plan
• Effective Documentation
• Modernization of administration
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3. Human resources
• Transparent recruitment procedures
• Adequacy, qualification and competence of staff
• Awards, honours, membership, prizes, medals of learned
societies of staff
• Effective retention strategies
• Support for staff development
• Recognition and reward
• Appropriate staff workloads
• Welfare schemes
• Transparent grievance redress
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4. Learning resources and infrastructure
• Ownership of land and buildings
• Availability, access and sustainability of laboratories,
lecture halls, library and information technology
facilities
• Resources spent on the library and computing
facilities matching demands
• Adequate health services, sports and physical
education and halls of residence
• Effective campus maintenance
• Optimum utilization
• Community use of institutional facilities
• Commercial use of institutional facilities
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5. Financial management
• Transparency, and integrity in the following:
• Funding sources
• Ownership of resources
• Sustainability of funding
• Resource mobilization
• Resource allocation
• Accountability
• Liquidity
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•
•
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Budget for academic and developmental plans
Unit cost of education
Strategic asset management
Matching of receipts and expenditure
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6. Student profile and support services
• Transparent admission procedures
• Student profile – gender, age, social strata, geographical
distribution, foreign students, enrolment by levels of study,
age ratio, staff/student ratio, out-of-state enrolment,
distribution of entry grade
• Drop out and success rate
• Progression to employment and further studies
• Student achievement
• Student satisfaction
• Provision for personal and academic counseling
• Participation of staff in advising students
• Availability of merit-based scholarships
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• Other scholarships and fellowships
• Provision for informal and formal mechanisms for student
feedback
• Student representation in academic decision-making
• Provision for student complaints and academic appeals
• Support to student mobility
• Recreational activities for students
• Placement rate of graduates
• Employer satisfaction with graduates
• Graduate earning
• Alumni association and alumni profile
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7. Curricular aspects
• Conformity to the goals and objectives
• Relevance to societal needs
• Integration of local context
• Initiation, review and redesign of programs
• Range of program options
• Feedback mechanism on program quality
• Interaction with employers and academic peers
• Demand for various course combinations
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8. Teaching-learning and evaluation
• Teaching innovations
• Use of new media and methods
• Range of co-curricular activities
• Skill and competence development
• Projects and other avenues of learning
• Linkage with institutions, industries and commerce
for teaching
• Linkage for field training
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•
•
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Monitoring student progress
Continuous internal assessment
Use of external examiners
Timeliness of examination schedule, holding of
examinations, evaluation, declaration of results
• Remedial and enrichment programs
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9. Research, consultancy and extension
• Institutional support for research
• Staff active in research
• Research students by field of study
• Ph.D. awarded per academic staff
• Research project per academic staff
• Research projects sponsored by industry
• Public sector research funding
• Ratios of research expenditure and income
• Research assistantships and fellowships
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•
•
•
•
•
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Staff supported by external research grants
Existing research equipment
Usefulness of research results for education
Social merits of research
Interdisciplinary research
Student involvement in faculty research
Research quality - Citation of publications, Impact
factors, Patents and Licenses
• Benefits of consultancy to industry and the public
• Community-oriented activities
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10. Quality assurance
• Internal quality assurance
• Institutional research on quality management
• Coordination between the academic and
administrative functions
• Outcomes of external quality assessments
• Academic ambience
• Educational reforms
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THEME 4: Independence of quality assurance vis-à-vis
different stakeholders
• QAAs need to work closely with both governments and HEI
• QAAs need to maintain independence in carrying out their
roles
• QAAs often have different objectives and agendas from
those of governments and HEIs
• The common agenda is quality and quality assurance in HE
• The community expectation for QAAs to be independent –
but working in partnership with governments and HEIs
• Need for collaboration, compromise, negotiation, mutual
support and understanding…….
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• “The role of the EQA in autonomy is to exercise its
authority in such a way that the institution’s autonomy
is not unreasonably curtailed.”
• “The role of the institution in accountability is to
behave so conscientiously and with integrity in pursuit
of its purposes that the EQA’s validation of the
institution’s performance requires only a very simple
and inexpensive evaluation.”
• “The greater the adverse impact of failure, the more
oversight, checking and recording is necessary.”
(Woodhouse, 2011)
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Summary
THEME 1: Globalizing Forces & National Goals
The QA community as a whole needs to see the
symbiosis of both the global and the regional
approaches as being both desirable and possible and
work towards it as a common goal.
(Lemaitre, 2008)
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THEME 2: Professionalization of QA
1. Adequate plan and policy
2. Clear assessment process
3. Professional staff
4. Professional experts
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THEME 3: Effective Quality Assurance Process
Mission
Vision
Input
Management
Policy
Process
Output
Study
programs
Graduates
Realized
Mission/
Vision
Achieved
goals
Goals
Staff
Aims
Students
Research
projects
Scientific
production
Funding
Expected
Outcomes
Facilities
Community
services
Services
Achieved
Outcomes
Satisfied
stakeholders
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THEME 4: Independence of QA
QAA
QUALITY
ASSURAN
CE
Ed.
Gov’t
inst’ns
HEIs
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Concluding Remarks
Current Challenges:
• In Cambodia, the assessment is focused on input, while in
developed countries emphasis is on outputs and outcomes.
• While instruction is the primary concern in Cambodian HE,
research is a great emphasis in developed countries’ HE.
• Limited capacity of quality assurance officials remains a big
challenge for MoEYS, ACC, and HEIs.
• Organizational structures and facilities supporting QA
• Inter-institutional cooperation vs. competition in QA
• Financial support from the Government and other sources
necessary for promoting QA to adhere to international quality
education standards.
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• Cooperation between MoEYS, ACC, and HEIs
in promoting QUALITY CULTURE.
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