ENQA – ANECA Workshop onStudent Involvement in Quality

Assurance Agencies

Madrid, 19 – 20th October 2006

Future Trends on Student Involvement in Quality Assurance

Agencies

Gemma Rauret, Director ANECA

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

CONTENTS

1. The general framework at the European

level

2. The Specific framework

1. Who is a HE student in the EHEA

2. The challenges of the HE Institutions

3. The national setting

3. Towards an agenda of the student

involvement in QA processes

4. The model

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

Overview from satellite

Multi-fold Higher Education systems

National

Regional

Federal

The European Higher

Education Area

Different student participation in HE

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

Need to think of students as learners taking part in quality assurance processes, rather than experts in quality by themselves

Peter Williams, President of ENQA ANECA Forum, Madrid March 2006

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

Political and Methodological references

• The Bergen Communiqué

The General Framework of the Student Involvement

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

Almost all countries have made provision for a quality assurance system based on the criteria set out in the Berlin Communiqué and with a high degree of cooperation and networking. However, there is still progress to be made, in particular as regards student involvement and international cooperation.

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

1 Internal QA of HEI1.1 Policy and procedures for quality assurance: Institutions should have a policy and associated procedures for the assurance of the quality and standards of their programmes and awards. They should also commit themselves explicitly to the development of a culture which recognizes the importance of quality, and quality assurance, in their work. To achieve this, institutions should develop and implement a strategy for the continuous enhancement of quality. The strategy, policy and procedures should have a formal status and be publicly available. They should also include a role for students and other stakeholders.

The General Framework of the Student Involvement (2)

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

• The European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

- Active development of the student (not a passive subject)- Importance of the out-door learning- Teaching and learning: as an useful ‘joint venture’ for HE

Educational references

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

• Personal and Academic Development of the Student

Active learning process with a deep institutional involvement

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

The changing pattern of being a student in the EHEA

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

A likely (but not thorough) typology:

The classical vs the new graduate student

The classical vs the new post-graduate student

The classical vs the master student

The (classical) doctoral student

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

The changing pattern of being a student in the EHEA

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

• New profiles of students according to the requirements of the EHEA and the LLL including ‘real-life’ learning

• Students will join HE in different moments of their professional and labour careers

• Incorporate ‘mature’ students with working experience in quality systems providing interesting know-how for QA processes in HE

Who is a Higher Education student in the EHEA? (2)

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

The changing pattern of being a student in the EHEA

Who is a Higher Education student in the EHEA? (2)

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

Need to rethink the different possibilities to become a student in the various cycles of the EHEA according also to new types of profiles labour market-oriented, research-oriented LLL-oriented in both bachelor and master cycles.

Then, we should integrate such approach to the different ways of involvement in QA processes accordingly. It means a motley scene, which also implies an enriched choice.

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

Challenges of the HEIs where students play a relevant role

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

•HEIs as ‘learning organisations’ where knowledge building and management play an essential part to and therefore the involvement of all stakeholders is needed (students, teaching staff, administrators)

•Reinforcing a ‘quality culture’ requires that all the stakeholders within the institutions assume both practices and principles of such a culture; students must therefore experience the quality assurance processes by themselves

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

•HEIs must take roots in the social environment where they are

established. QA is both the internal and external guarantee that their

‘settlement’ (data, figures, features of their students and opportunities) is

trustworthy (reliable information to society). Current students, as

citizens with full responsibilities for the future, must be able to interpret

QA processes and procedures

Challenges of the HEIs where students play a relevant role

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

Need to bear in mind the national context of student involvement in the whole HE system.

There is a strong link between the traditional participation of students throughout the whole education system (from the very beginning), which influences in the participation in HE activities.

Where such a tradition exists, a natural involvement in QA processes occurred.

The national background of the student involvement in HE

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

Should this scenario is not so clear, a previous work has to be done in order to avoid that the student is invited as a second class guest in a banquet where the etiquette rules are not known by him/her.

HE students need to feel their contributions as a real participation and be convinced that QA plays a role in the improvement of HE

The national background of the student involvement in HE (2)

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

1. Need to strengthen general involvement in QA activities at three levels of assessment:

a) internal,b) external andc) QA agencies

The agenda for student involvement in QA processes

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

internal

external

QA

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

1. Some work accomplished concerning the self-evaluation team, the report and side visits as audience group within the HE institutions can be seen. Here it is where the participation of students takes place almost generally.

2. There is not a fit-for-all recipe that can be successfully exported. According to the EHEA some clearly identifiable general trends (best practices) have to be adapted to the national context.

Towards an agenda for the student involvement in QA processes

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

3. Two student involvement models could be identified:- A geographically-oriented model- A profile-oriented model

4. A kind of regional coherence could work, as can be seen in the case of the Nordic Countries. However, the sound work done by the Nordic agencies shows also different approaches in a regional setting.

5. The profile-oriented model allows a different way to identify student involvement patterns focusing on legal aspects of the HE system and internal organisation of HE institutions.

Towards an agenda for student involvement in QA processes (2)

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

Actually, the best model for the student involvement in QA processes in QA agencies does not exist…

The definition of the model

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

…but there must be a common framework to begin with

The definition of the model

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

• ENQA Standards and Guidelines as a methodological tool

• Best practices in some countries of the EHEA

• Our own good practices at the national context concerning student involvement in QA at the institutional level

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

• A geographically-oriented model, where a strong regional relationship exists, shaped according to a profile-oriented model.

• It allows the basic assumption previously stated: the possibility to root best practices experienced elsewhere in the EHEA with the national context.

Defining a model of student involvement in QA processes

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

And a combination of two models:

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

The definition of the model: the pyramid of student involvement in QA processes

Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies

Student

involvement

Students’ organizations/personal involvement

EvaluationPractices in Agencies andUniversities

Legal status in decisionmaking in HEinstitutions

ENQA Workshop Madrid, 20 October 2006

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

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