A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

53

March 2011

ENQA periodically carries out analytical surveys aimed at providing an up-to-date overview of the mechanisms of external quality assurance used in higher education in Europe. The first analysis carried out in 2002 served to identify the actors (agencies) and the methodologies used at the European level. The second analysis in 2007 updated the figures from the previous study and gauged the position of the agencies in relation to the European standards for quality assurance (ESG).

ENQA is carrying out a third analysis in 2011, the objective of which is to promote talks on the impact of quality assurance methods and their potential development in the future.

Following the efforts made so far in the design and implementation of instruments and policies for quality assurance in higher education, it would appear that it is now time for the mechanisms to be fine tuned so they are more efficient and effective. It is no longer a question of looking at what procedures are being applied in Europe, but of venturing into recognition of the best practices and the benefits they produce.

The ENQA study in 2011 will search for new ways that contribute, for example, to the positioning of the universities as being primarily responsible for the quality assurance of their services; the identification of procedures that bring into focus the quality of teaching and learning; and provide insight into experiences with quality assurance where new indicators are used.

There is also the intention to explore good practices whereby national and international quality standards are appropriately connected; how processes to enhance public information and self-regulation of the system are best structured; and the operational structures of universities in relation to the introduction of enhancements.

Together with this vision of the impacts and potential benefits of quality assurance processes, the activity of QA agencies in fields considered by ENQA to be of high priority or special attention will be explored:

• The connection between review processes and mechanisms for implementing enhancements.
• Quality assurance and transnational programmes.
• What quality assurance processes are appropriate within a context spearheaded by lifelong learning?
• The quality assurance of education provided through virtual systems.
• The relationships between quality assurance and the setting up of qualification frameworks.
• Quality assurance in a setting in which the learning outcomes of degree courses are well defined.
• How do quality assurance systems interpret the concept of excellence?
• The relation between the influence of degree programmes on graduate employability and quality assurance.
• The dialogue between public information and quality assurance.

The objective of the third ENQA analysis is therefore very ambitious in that it raises a series of important questions and challenges for QA agencies in Europe. The results of the survey should provide a picture of ways in which quality assurance in Europe may develop in the coming years. The detail and degree to which this picture, or snapshot, is in focus will depend on how much QA agencies have been active in exploring new territories. However it will in any case need to be a key factor in the design of actions to be undertaken over the next few years and for proposals being made in the field of quality assurance in the universities, in policy making and for stakeholders, student representatives, professional sectors and employers.

The group managing the project is coordinated by AQU Catalunya and includes representatives from the following agencies: the Foundation for the Accreditation of Study Programmes in Germany, FINHEEC (Finland), the Hungarian Accreditation Committee and the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (Bulgaria). The latter two agencies also act as representatives for the Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance in Higher Education, which brings together the twenty-four 24 agencies operating in Central and Eastern Europe.

For information on the previous surveys:

"Quality Procedures in the European Higher Education Area and Beyond – Second ENQA Survey". European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education 2008, Helsinki
http://www.enqa.eu/projectitem.lasso?id=208&cont=pastprojDetail  

"Quality Procedures in European Higher Education: An ENQA Survey". European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, 2003, Helsinki
http://www.enqa.eu/projectitem.lasso?id=109&cont=pastprojDetail

"Quality procedures in European higher education: Visions for the future".
http://www.enqa.eu/projectitem.lasso?id=359&cont=projDetail