QUALITY- A CHANGE GENERATOR FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Transcription

1 QUALITY- A CHANGE GENERATOR FOR HIGHER EDUCATION Gabriela M. ATANASIU Professor, PhD. Vice Dean Head of Department of European Integration Gh. Asachi Technical University of Iasi

2 The Art of Poetry Paul Valery Quality of Higher Education a valuable concept for KN Europe

3 Outline Introduction internal and external context for a 21st century university Concepts on Quality Knowledge Transfer on Quality within EUA QC Project Some final remarks

4 Context for 21st Century University European, global and intern context Bologna Process- integrated within the Knowledge based Europe_2010 Spreading a structure BA-MA-Ph.D. throughout Europe IS this sufficient for the moment? Globalisation HE a public good Competition in academia and outside of universities Global consortia eg Universitas 21, WUN Global academic and student community Information Technology based Society Which should be the LEVEL of Quality Culture to implement CHANGE? Lesson learned _EUA Quality Culture Round III

5 HE actors in QA- Who is more important? European Level -EP, EC, EUA, ESIB, ENQA, EURASHE - Employers Prof. Associations - Non-governmental organisations - and others National level - Stakeholders - Universities - Families - Students - employers - Local communities a.s.o

6 Backround of NW3- EUA QC Project - NW3 Network a challenging and diverse team from ALL Europe - A difficult and broad subject - A short time and reduced number of face to face meetings - A good timing before Bergen Conference

7 Questions? What is Quality? What means Quality Culture in an university? How should be build Quality Culture? Which are the stages of Quality development in our network? Which are the ways to improve existing Quality Culture? How could Quality instruments generate CHANGE?

8 What could generate CHANGE? finnancial imperatives changing social needs technology drivers market forces Competition, competition, competition... Quality a generator for change?

9 Finnancial imperatives From state sponsored to student contributions Decrease in the unit of resources with increase in student numbers Lead to demands for efficiency, diversity of funding inputs, and a new QUALITY perception among the clients Project identified a widespread of changes in HE sector in all Europe

10 Lesson learned in QC Project About Definition of Quality- it is NOT UNIQUE Quality Culture - part of the intellectual capital of an university. It refers on the set of values, norms, standards for behavior, and shared expectations that influence the way in which individuals, groups and teams interact with each other and cooperate to achieve organizational goals. (Gareth and Jones, 2003, p.98).

11 Which paths should be used for transferring Knowledge on QC?

12 What kind of knowledge should be transferred? Is Quality Culture a part of tacit knowledge of an university? Rational mind Explicit knowledge Knowledge transfer process Non-rational mind Tacit knowledge Direct experience

13 University of 21st Century Quality integrated in Strategic Policies T = tasks R = responsibilities A = authorities

14 and the reality Introduction of fees and the removal of maintenance grant Debt increasing More students taking work and for longer hours Introduction of top up fees More HE/FE students Uncertainties concerning the demands for BA on LB Needed an European Framework of Qualification Deregulation through QA Education still granted in some parts of Europe Big differences in financing the universities Lack of motivation in some fields Uncoherence between LM development and HE policies Decrease in QUALITY through massification of HE Application of QA as an instrument of control instead of accountability

15 Lessons learned- Change in universities Structural changes: need of increased flexibility for study programmes and their openess to community needs, in terms of mission, core content, syllabus, work load, courses content, etc. regarding to program duration it is suggested to allow 3-4 years for Bachelor, 2 years for Master, and 4-5 years for PhD programs, adopted function of field specificity. in fields of engineering, a flexible scheme is suggested as: (BA plus M/30 credit additional with job experience) Idenitifcation of flexible schemes of study programme duration within life long learning education. Role of Quality CULTURE?

16 Lessons learned- Content Change Body of Knowledge for Study Programs Competences based Planning of Study Programmes assisted by Professional Bodies and alumni organisations, employer organisations (eq. For technical areas: Defining outcomes in terms of Knowledge, Skills, Abbilities divided in technical and professional groups) Planning versus accreditation criteria and or evaluation criteria Linked to market demands- increased role of employers Measures for a dynamic integration of graduates: eq: In- house technical seminars, especially for cutting edge fields Increased input from former students classes that prepared for dynamic change in job

17 Lesson learned- generating Change Quality Management System - instrument of CHANGE? Set - up of Quality Office, needed but not sufficient Enhancing Quality Culture by in house training programs or even MA programs on Quality in public institution for academia and administration Adopting at institutional level an adequate Quality Model and involvement of knowledgeble people in Evaluation and not in Reporting Enhancing the involvement of own /external students in evaluation Enhancing good practices identified especially by students during their European mobility stages Sharing expertise based on EU Database Europe wide Empowering leadership but increasing Accountability of university leaders

18 ...finnaly an important lesson! Communicate, Inform, Communicate,.....Inform... Communicate! KEY MESSAGE Sharing Information and communications and... of course experienced people in QA increases the organisational Quality Culture in our universities

19

20 Instead of conclusions Excellent opportunities of learning from QC diversity in Europe New opportunities for building bilateral cooperation in QC aspects and not only! Strengthening the own team at TU Iasi and became more knowledgeable Meeting and making new European friends among NW3 universities Enhancing own experience Experiencing great satisfaction of being chose as coordination institution in EUA Quality Culture III, PM.

21