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Butlletí

A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya

91

October 2018

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EDITORIAL

Measuring student satisfaction

The National Students Survey (NSS) has been carried out since 2005 in the United Kingdom where it is one of the main instruments used to analyse the quality of higher education programmes of study. It is quite simply a survey made up of 27 specific questions, which captures feedback from final-year undergraduate students. With a participation of around 70% of final-year students, the data from the survey provide a determinate picture of a system that consists of more than 350 universities and colleges.

I stress the term "a determinate picture", because the data are clearly subjective, as in any survey, and there is also a margin or error, regardless of the high level of participation. Of course, this does not invalidate the data, and neither can they serve as an excuse for anyone who might not like the findings and say things like "they're not representative", "the only ones who respond are the ones who are discontent", or "It doesn't show what's actually going on in the classroom". Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that it is never possible to obtain an accurate picture of current reality, this is clearly an example of a system with much more accurate information than others that base their decision-making on vague opinions.


AQU NEWS

ARTICLES

  • What do recent graduates think about their student experience at university?
    Determining the level of student satisfaction with the quality of their experience at university is a necessary condition for improving programmes of study. In response to this need, AQU Catalunya has coordinated an annual satisfaction survey since 2015 aimed at graduates who have just completed an undergraduate degree. The survey captures their opinions on their experience and asks them to make honest comments about their degree studies and the university they studied at
    Dani Torrents - Senior advisor of Internationalisation and Knowledge Generation Department
  • Considerations for quality assurance of e-learning provision
    Universities and higher education institutions across Europe and in a large part of the world have rapidly incorporated new teaching and learning methods connected with information and communication technologies (ICT), in what is now referred to e-learning provision (which includes both distance learning and blended learning). While universities and higher education institutions have adapted rapidly to this new scenario, quality assurance agencies have in general been slow to deal with the specific aspects of quality assurance in e-learning.
    Esther Huertas - Senior advisor of Quality Assurance Department
  • TeSLA Project: the quality assurance of e-assessment
    Society is now in the digital age, a fact that is due mainly to globalisation and easy access to the Internet. These two factors have also had a direct impact on teaching and learning processes, as well as higher education institutions. In addition, various studies have shown that the vast majority of universities offer, or are planning to offer, e-learning courses (both distance learning and blended learning).
    Roger Roca - Senior advisor of Internationalisation and Knowledge Generation Department
 

OPINION

  • The Digital Future of Universities

    António Teixeira
    Professor at the Universidade Aberta de Portugal and president of the Head panel in the TeSLA project

    The global impact of technology and the consequent emergence of a new network society has led to an important shift in how higher education is perceived, organized and conducted. Economic globalization has generated a pressure for citizens to acquire and develop very different sets of skills and competences in order to swiftly adjust to changing work environments. Universities are now expected to prepare students for jobs which may not yet exist. At the same time, society's way of life today requires that educational delivery should be more open, flexible and ubiquitous, too.

    The rapid expansion of online learning across universities has been closely linked to this transformation. By allowing the dematerialization and unbundling of educational processes, for institutions it has become a highly efficient, sustainable and ubiquitous way of extending access to quality learning opportunities for all. However it has also entailed new possibilities for continuously innovating and diversifying teaching and learning methodologies. What's more, online learning has allowed universities to develop new forms of delivery which have a wide-ranging impact on society (for example, MOOCs).

 

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