ENQA Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 1 ENQA Strategic Plan ENQA s Strategic Framewrk VISION Eurpean higher educatin cmmitted t a culture f quality MISSION T cntribute significantly t the maintenance and enhancement f the quality f Eurpean higher educatin at a high level, and t act as a majr driving frce fr the develpment f quality assurance thrughut the Eurpean Higher Educatin Area PURPOSES T represent its members T functin as a think tank T functin as a cmmunicatin platfrm CORPORATE FUNCTIONS Apprpriate gvernance and management structures A develped strategic planning framewrk Effective internal and external cmmunicatins Effective internal quality assurance prcedures and prcesses GOALS Assciatin and membership issues ENQA aims at cmprising quality assurance agencies frm all cuntries in the EHEA in rder t be as inclusive as pssible ENQA aims at an intensive invlvement f members in internal discussin and decisin-making prcesses ENQA aims at ffering services fr members that help them t develp further Plicy-making rle ENQA aims at being a main plitical actr with material influence n decisin-making prcesses at the Eurpean level t deliver n the cre values f quality assurance as enunciated in the ESG Develpment f Quality Assurance in Eurpe ENQA aims at develping quality assurance prcesses as cre instruments fr bth enhancement and accuntability purpses ENQA aims t be recgnised as the cre surce f expertise and

2 2 infrmatin in the field f quality assurance at the Eurpean level C-peratin with ther rganisatins ENQA aims at being recgnised as the preferred partner in all matters relating t the develpment f quality assurance at the Eurpean level MEASURING AND REVIEWING SUCCESS Indicatrs shwing that ENQA is successfully achieving its missin and visin are: Stakehlders have a greater understanding f and cnfidence in the quality assurance prcesses in Eurpean higher educatin Stakehlders have greater access t clear infrmatin n the quality f Eurpean higher educatin Eurpean quality assurance agencies and higher educatin institutins are perating in a manner cnsistent with the Standards and Guidelines fr Quality Assurance in the Eurpean Higher Educatin Area A majrity f the feedback frm members agencies and stakehlders n ENQA s activities is psitive Stakehlder satisfactin with ENQA increases

3 3 Frewrd frm the President... 3 I. Visin... 4 II. Missin... 4 III. Values... 4 IV. Purpses... 4 V. Crprate functins... 5 VI. Gals, activities, and expected utcmes Assciatin and membership issues Plicy making rle Develpment f QA in Eurpe C-peratin with ther rganisatins... 9 VII. Measuring and reviewing Success Frewrd frm the President *** The future f the Eurpean Higher Educatin Area The EHEA (...) is characterised by its diversity f plitical systems, higher educatin systems, sci-cultural and educatinal traditins, languages, aspiratins and expectatins. 1 ENQA cnsiders this diversity as an imprtant value fr higher educatin in Eurpe and regards it as a basic principle fr its activities in the future, t. 2 Higher educatin is a driving frce fr the future ecnmic and scial well being f Eurpe. In a challenging ecnmic envirnment, Eurpean higher educatin needs t be internatinally cmpetitive. The autnmy f Eurpean higher educatin institutins will enable them t capitalise n areas f cmpetitive advantage and retain the flexibility t adapt prgrammes t external demands. This autnmy relies, in turn, n the public s cnfidence in the capacity f higher educatin institutins t deliver quality educatin utcmes. The primary means f achieving this cnfidence is by prmting a culture f quality within the higher educatin sectr that is cmmitted t cntinuus quality imprvement. ENQA is cmmitted t cntinuing the develpment f quality assurance systems that enable a culture f quality t underwrite the cntributin f its member agencies t the ecnmic, cultural and scial well being f Eurpe. ENQA Strategy This Strategic Plan presents ENQA s visin, missin and purpses. It sets ut themajr strategic gals, pririties and derived activities f the Assciatin fr the perid , as well as hw the attainment f the gals will be measured. 1 Standards and Guidelines fr Quality Assurance int he Eurpean Higher Educatin Area. 3 rd editin, Helsinki, p ENQA Psitin Paper n Quality Assurance in the EHEA. Helsinki, p.3.

4 4 The Strategic Plan was drafted by the Bard f ENQA, in cnsultatin with the membership f the Assciatin. It was apprved by the ENQA General Assembly in Helsinki, n 24 September I. Visin The visin f the Eurpean Assciatin fr Quality Assurance in Higher Educatin (ENQA) is a Eurpean Higher Educatin Area cmmitted t a culture f quality. II. Missin The gal f ENQA is t cntribute significantly t the maintenance and enhancement f the quality f Eurpean higher educatin at a high level, and t act as a majr driving frce fr the develpment f quality assurance thrughut the Eurpean Higher Educatin Area. III. Values ENQA is cmmitted t a culture f quality that meets internatinal best practice; is cmmitted t the delivery f high quality services t its member agencies; is transparent in all f its activities and is accuntable t its stakehlders; supprts the independence f its member agencies frm gvernments and higher educatin institutins; is cmmitted t maintaining and develping mechanisms ensuring the credibility f its member agencies; supprts the autnmy f Eurpe s higher educatin institutins and their individual traditins and missins; supprts the prvisin f clear and accessible infrmatin n the quality f Eurpean higher educatin t all stakehlders; values partnership and seeks t frm strng and durable relatinships with its partners in Eurpe and the wider internatinal sphere. IV. Purpses ENQA s purpses are essentially threefld: - t represent its members at Eurpean level and internatinally, especially in plitical decisin-making prcesses and in c-peratins with stakehlder rganisatins; - t functin as a think tank fr the further develpment f quality assurance prcesses and systems in the EHEA;

5 5 - t functin as a cmmunicatin platfrm fr sharing and disseminating infrmatin and expertise in quality assurance amng members and twards stakehlders. V. Crprate functins T achieve its purpses, ENQA must ensure that it has in place: apprpriate gvernance and management structures; a develped strategic planning framewrk; effective internal and external cmmunicatins; effective internal quality assurance prcedures and prcesses. ENQA s crprate functins must ensure the efficient and effective delivery f its quality assurance and crprate utputs. These functins include financial planning and reprting and human resurcing. ENQA must ensure that the assciatin: is suitably situated; has sufficient and sustainable financial resurces; has sufficient and suitable human resurces in its Secretariat. VI. Gals, activities, and expected utcmes 1. Assciatin and membership issues ENQA aims at cmprising quality assurance agencies frm all cuntries in the EHEA in rder t be as inclusive as pssible. T achieve this gal, ENQA will - While sustaining the principle f accrdance with ESG as a prerequisite fr full membership prvide ther agencies and rganisatins with different pprtunities t participate in the activities f the assciatin; - seek t ensure that all cuntries in the EHEA are represented in ENQA in sme frm and will prmte the active prgressin f candidate members t full membership f the Assciatin; - cntinue t prvide quality assurance advisry supprt. ENQA will actively seek applicatins frm nn-member agencies t full r candidate membership f the Assciatin. ENQA will explre the difficulties f ptential member agencies in meeting the membership requirements and will assist such agencies in vercming these difficulties. ENQA aims at an intensive invlvement f members in internal discussins and decisin-making prcesses. T achieve this gal, ENQA will

6 6 - frm 2011, rganise in additin t the General Assembly an annual Members Frum and establish standing wrking grups r ad hc wrking grups, as apprpriate, t share experience and develp new standards, appraches r plicy papers. Member agencies can thus becme mre active and be even mre intensively invlved in the activities f the Assciatin; - strengthen the rle f its website as a news and discussin frum. - cntinue t seek ther ways f invlving members. ENQA aims at ffering services fr members that help them t develp further. T achieve this gal, ENQA will - prmte staff develpment at member agencies by elabrating (tgether with members) and prviding training materials. It will act as a think tank and mediatr and will prvide, n its website, a platfrm fr staff exchange issues, where ffers and requests can be psted; - cntinue t c-rdinate agency reviews nt nly fr the purpse f granting membership but als fr giving advice fr further develpment f agencies. Fr the purpse f agency reviews, ENQA will cntinue the series f training seminars fr agency reviewers and will emply in review panels nly persns wh have participated in such training seminars; - draw cnclusins frm the analysis f reprts n reviews f agencies which may result in recmmendatins fr amending part III f the ESG and the ENQA membership criteria; - address the relevant issues in the field f quality assurance and rganise events like wrkshps and seminars, wrking grups etc. (see chapter 3 belw), t share expertise and knwledge amng members; - prmte c-peratin between quality assurance agencies; - prmte the independence f quality assurance agencies. Expected utcmes increased ENQA membership and grup f assciates/affiliates; mre intensive invlvement f member agencies in the activities f the Assciatin; wrkshp and seminar reprts; enhanced training materials develped by ENQA fr agency staff; better preparatin f members f the review panels t perfrm their task prperly and efficiently; cperatin agreements between agencies, jintly rganised evaluatin and accreditatin prcedures; access by quality assurance agencies t mre and imprved infrmatin.

7 7 2. Plicy making rle ENQA aims at being a main plitical actr with material influence n decisin-making prcesses at the Eurpean level t deliver n the cre values f quality assurance as enunciated in the ESG. T achieve this gal, ENQA will - cntinue t functin as a Eurpean plicy frum fr develping and prpsing standards, prcedures and guidelines n quality assurance and finding cmmn pints f cnvergence between the Eurpean quality assurance systems; - supprt and represent its members in the plitical dialgue with actrs such as the Eurpean Cmmissin, the EU member states and cuntries in the wider EHEA. ENQA will prmte the independence f quality assurance agencies frm natinal gvernments, higher educatin institutins, and any ther third parties; - attend, reprt n and fllw-up t the Blgna Prcess Ministerial meetings f 2012 and ENQA will prduce, in the cntext f these cnferences, statements and plicy papers n current features in quality assurance f higher educatin; - prvide public authrities and plitical decisin makers with relevant expertise t facilitate infrmed plitical decisin-making; - safeguard the seriusness f quality assurance and the credibility f QA agencies by helping t imprve awareness f all partners and stakehlders abut what can be expected f sund quality assurance mechanisms and the extent t which their utcmes are valid; - prmte the implementatin f jint prjects, effrts and schemes aimed at the mutual recgnitin f the results f external quality assurance activities; - encurage the c-peratin f quality assurance agencies and their reginal and prject-based netwrks bth at the Eurpean and wider internatinal levels, based n cmmn values and principles. Expected utcmes: cncerns and interests f quality assurance agencies will be brught frward, in the frm f statements and reprts, in the Blgna Fllw-up Grup (BFUG) and Blgna Ministerial meetings; awareness-raising abut quality assurance in higher educatin will be directed twards public authrities, decisin-makers and all ther stakehlders; better infrmed decisin-making n quality assurance in higher educatin.

8 8 3. Develpment f QA in Eurpe ENQA aims at develping quality assurance prcesses as cre instruments fr bth enhancement and accuntability purpses. This will be accmplished by strengthening the cre values (such as independence) and by integrating all types f higher educatin prvisin int regular quality assurance schemes. Furthermre, ENQA aims at being recgnised as the cre surce f expertise and infrmatin in the field f quality assurance n the Eurpean level. T achieve this gal, ENQA will: - cntribute t the Eurpean Higher Educatin Area by prmting cmpatibility and cmparability f quality assurance prcesses based n cmmn principles utlined in the Standards and Guidelines fr Quality Assurance in the Eurpean Higher Educatin Area (ESG); - cllect and analyse experiences n the implementatin f ESG, thereby cntributing t their develpment/revisin, clarificatin, interpretatin, and catering fr different needs (e.g. differing natinal cntexts, all-purpse versus specific agencies); - identify the future trends, challenges and perspectives f quality assurance by cnducting a prject n the future f quality assurance, as a fllw-up f the Quality Prcedures Prject; - assist quality assurance agencies in wrking with higher educatin institutins t help them finding the apprpriate balance between internal and external quality assurance in their given natinal cntexts; - elabrate, based n receiving experiences and examples f gd practice frm its members, quality assurance prcesses fr specific areas such as qualificatins framewrks and quality assurance, learning utcmes and their attainment, and recgnitin f prir learning; - devte special effrt t address mre thrughly the issues and specificities f quality assurance in develping areas (such as the quality f e-learning/distance and lifelng learning, transnatinal educatin (TNE) - with particular regard t the external quality assurance f jint internatinal study prgrammes),as well as the new tpics mentined in the ministerial Leuven Luvain-la-Neuve Cmmuniqué and the Budapest-Vienna Declaratin (e.g. mbility f staff and students, the scial dimensin in higher educatin and the diversity f prgrammes). - after the first such exercise in 2010, summarise and analyse the results f (the secnd rund f) agency reviews in a survey, the results f which will be published; - disseminate quality assurance infrmatin thrugh its website and publicatins (ENQA Statements, Occasinal Papers, Wrkshp and Seminar Reprts);

9 9 - address the infrmatin issue related t the quality assurance f higher educatin and develp apprpriate ways t help member agencies t meet the infrmatin demand in general, and t take strng and public view n degree and accreditatin mills. Expected utcmes a prject reprt n the applicatin and implementatin f the ESG that will be presented in the ministerial cnference in April This may include a revisin f the ESG t match the current challenges fr higher educatin; a prject reprt n the quality f life-lng learning (LLL); a (secnd) survey n the results f agency reviews; events and publicatins n new areas f quality assurance; enhanced cmpatibility and cmparability f quality assurance prcesses. 4. C-peratin with ther rganisatins ENQA aims at being recgnised as the preferred partner in all matters related t the develpment f quality assurance at the Eurpean level ENQA aims at maintaining and develping cnstructive internatinal cperatin and dialgue with its key Eurpean partners and with ther quality assurance netwrks and regins in rder t build glbally cmpetitive Eurpean higher educatin. T achieve this gal, ENQA will - cntinue the c-peratin with the E4 rganisatins. In this framewrk ENQA will actively participate in the E4 meetings and wrk tgether with the ther members f the E4 n general higher educatin and quality assurance plicy issues, especially thse related t the EHEA. - cntinue t c-perate with EQAR and cntribute t its peratin by being an active member f EQAR, by maintaining the delegatin f ne persn t the Executive Bard, attending the General Assemblies f EQAR and by nminating tw independent candidates t the Register Cmmittee. ENQA will cntinue this c-peratin n the basis that EQAR remains a webbased list f quality assurance agencies and des nt seek t acquire any additinal functins. - cntinue t be actively invlved in internatinal develpments and prmte the Eurpean Quality Assurance Dimensin wrld-wide, t widen the impact f its activities. This will increase the glbal visibility f ENQA and f quality assurance in the EHEA. ENQA, fr its part, will learn frm the internatinal and reginal gd practices, which it can use t imprve its peratins. ENQA will cntinue t c-perate with quality assurance netwrks, especially with the Internatinal Netwrk fr Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Educatin (INQAAHE), the Central and Eastern Eurpean Netwrk (CEE Netwrk) and the Eurpean Cnsrtium f

10 10 Accreditatin (ECA). ENQA will explre the pssibilities f launching prjects f mutual interest with these bdies. Expected utcmes EQAF as a cmmn platfrm and frum fr quality assurance-related issues with E4 partners; c-peratin agreements with ther quality assurance netwrks; participatin in the INQAAHE Members Frum, CEE Netwrk annual wrkshps, meetings f reginal representatives, etc; reprts n prjects f mutual interest with the ther quality assurance netwrks. VII. Measuring and reviewing Success ENQA is cmmitted t cntinuusly mnitring and evaluating the attainment f its gals and the implementatin f the activities utlined in this Strategic Plan. Indicatrs shwing that ENQA is successfully achieving its missin and visin are: stakehlders have a greater understanding f and cnfidence in the quality assurance prcesses in Eurpean higher educatin; stakehlders have greater access t clear infrmatin n the quality f Eurpean higher educatin; Eurpean quality assurance agencies and higher educatin institutins are perating in a manner cnsistent with the Standards and Guidelines fr Quality Assurance in the Eurpean Higher Educatin Area; a majrity f the feedback frm member agencies and stakehlders n ENQA s activities is psitive; stakehlder satisfactin with ENQA increases. ENQA s Operatinal Plan sets ut the detailed bjectives and assciated plans and targets thrugh which this Strategy will be implemented. The Operatinal Plan will be reviewed and updated annually in the light f achievements and changes in external circumstances. The ENQA Bard and Secretariat will ensure that the present Strategy is effectively disseminated t ENQA member agencies and cmmunicated t external stakehlders. Fr this purpse, the President f ENQA, in c-peratin with the Bard and the Secretariat, cmmits t reprting n the implementatin f this Strategy t each General Assembly frm 2011 nwards. A special emphasis will be laid t the utcmes and impact f the activities utlined in the present Strategy. The ENQA Bard wishes t cntinue this practice f elabrating strategic plans in cnsultatin with the membership f the Assciatin after 2015.