Re-moralising Quality Assurance in Re-moralising Quality Assurance in Private Tertiary EducationPrivate Tertiary Education

Mahsood ShahMahsood Shah

Presentation at GlancePresentation at Glance

Rationale of the topic Brief about private tertiary education QA practices in private tertiary education Current dilemma Multiple QA frameworks and challenges Does QA matter? Summary Research on private tertiary education: what is known? Questions and discussion

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Rationale of the topicRationale of the topic

What is the moral purpose of tertiary education?

Help build a fairer, more just society

Fulfilling the social responsibility of education

Economic responsibility and productivity

Tackling contemporary issues facing society

Graduates are able to do their job effectively

Knowledge is used to improve the human condition e.t.c.3

Rationale of the topic….Rationale of the topic….

Defining quality: excellence (high standards); perfection (zero defects); value for money (return on investment); transformation (process of change), (Harvey and Green, 1993)

Is quality a moral purpose of tertiary providers?Social responsibilityEconomic responsibilityTertiary education productivityStakeholder needs and expectations

Guarding against declined standards: intellectual, ethical and moral McWilliam (2004)

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Brief about private tertiary educationBrief about private tertiary education

Ongoing growth e.g. private higher education (20%) Significant investment in online learning Innovative marketing strategies Mergers and acquisitions Competitive Engagement with industry Collaboration with public universities Student choice is clearly informed Different student experience Unclear future: government policy directions

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QA practices in private tertiary educationQA practices in private tertiary education

Internal QA driven by external requirements In some cases compliance driven QA inherited by AQTF

and move from VET > HE Compliance vs improvement led approach Conflict between Academic Quality and Growth/Profit Growth has in some cases compromised Quality Concerns raised in AUQA audit reports (Winchester, 2010;

Shah and Lewis, 2010; and Shah and Nair, 2011) QA concerns in international literature

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Questioning QA in Tertiary Education > Questioning QA in Tertiary Education > Public and PrivatePublic and Private

Student assessments, soft marking and grading Student complaints about the quality of education Declining student experience Closure of various providers without notifying students Employer complaints about the quality of graduates Quality assurance practices in offshore international

education Academic and non-academic support for students Staff engagement with quality and improvement; How about social inclusion agenda and issues around

access and participation of disadvantaged student???7

Current dilemmaCurrent dilemma

Use of different framework TEQSA (provider standards, AQF, ESOS, CRICOS, other???) ASQA (VET quality framework) NEAS ISO

Mostly driven by compliance culture Process driven > good processes are easy to achieve then

good outcomes Absence of a single framework in institutions to meet VET,

HE and English language requirement Excessive focus on paperwork and documentation

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Current dilemma…..Current dilemma…..

Reactive to government policy changes rather then building internal capacity

Compliance driven QA raises important questions on the extent to which quality is tracked and improved in a systematic manner in important areas such as: course design course reviews teaching quality quality and standard of student assessments student attainment of learning outcomes comparability in academic outcomes and the student experience

with courses taught at different locations and modes of delivery. 

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Current dilemma…..Current dilemma…..

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ISO 9001 - 2008 Certification

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Private providers

TAFE Institutes

Universities

Note: the data used in figure 1 is from JAS-ANZ online database http://cab.jas-anz.org/CABPublic/Pages/PublicSearch.aspx as of August 2012.

Current dilemma…..Current dilemma…..

Cost of managing quality and accreditations

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Quality Assurance Framework Approximate cost TEQSA registration and reaccreditation $70,000 ASQA registration and reaccreditation $10,800* NEAS registration and reaccreditation $12,000 ISO registration and reaccreditation $77,000 Total cost $169,000

* Initial registration as an RTO and CRICOS registration application of up to 10 qualification and 2 delivery sites

Recurring themes > AUQA and othersRecurring themes > AUQA and others

Academic governance Compliance led QA Academic leadership Huge reliance on sessional teachers – coordination of courses Research culture Access for disadvantaged students Reliance on international student income Staff professional development Academic support structures Alignment between growth and resourcing (e.g. library) Data and performance monitoring

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Multiple QA frameworks and challengesMultiple QA frameworks and challenges

Higher Education

Problem identified in Bradley review – inconsistent implementation of National Protocols

Performance monitoring and reporting

AUQA’s failure to monitor standards and compliance with external reference points.

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Multiple QA frameworks and challenges..Multiple QA frameworks and challenges..

AQTF

Lack of consistent implementationLack of compliance to AQTF standards by providers (Abola and Lambert, 2010; Gallagher and Anderson, 2005; Myer and Blom, 2004)AQTF quality indicators: compliance and national findings?Lack of risk based audits resulted in the collapse of more than 10 private VET colleges

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Multiple QA frameworks and challenges..Multiple QA frameworks and challenges..

ISO 9000

Marketing tool use to improve brand/image - used in education institutions who subscribe to the image of university as business (Houston, 2007)Less than 25% US Colleges used ISO in Learning and Teaching (Vazzana et al, 2000)More focus on processes and documentation (Bevans-Gonzales and Nair, 2004; Waks and Moti, 1999)Confusion among staff on how ISO is applied in tertiary education(Bevans-Gonzales and Nair, 2004)A survey of 647 companies in UK shows only 15% benefited from ISO (Vanguard consulting Ltd, 1994)

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Multiple QA frameworks and challenges..Multiple QA frameworks and challenges..

ISO 9000

According to Alderman (1999), ‘quality in tertiary education is not about satisfying the customer (i.e. the student), but is rather about transforming learners, which is not the same thing at all ... an ISO 9000 approach will not and cannot lead, by itself, to the achievement of quality: the most it can lead to is short-to medium, to mid-term bureaucratic procedural compliance’ (p.262).

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Does QA matter?Does QA matter?

Reputation of Australian tertiary education Increased regulation of tertiary education Use of ranking and leagues tables to assess institutional

performance Marketisation and student choice Competition Tertiary education productivity: from success to excellence MyPrivateCollege?? Governments political agenda: social inclusion,

performance funding, quality and productivity

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Moral dilemmaMoral dilemma

Higher education institutions are losing sight of their ethical functions in their desire to turn a profit (Schwartz (2011)

Moral imperative on an institution to do most it can to facilitate the learning of its students and the external clients (York, 2000)

Failure of students and declined standards -intellectual, ethical and moral (McWilliams, 2004)

Low access and participation of disadvantaged students raises questions on the moral purpose of tertiary education (Shah and Nair, forthcoming)

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SummarySummary

Growth of the sector Student experience> Student choice

Practical education Size Relationship with industry Student experience Industry based teaching staff Ease of entry Location Profile of students Flexibility (online, distance, part time, fast track)

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SummarySummary

Sustainable QA Single framework to meet VET and HE Internal QA and capacity building AQF challenge Growth should not compromise quality outcomes and the

student experience Time to revisit QA arrangements - shift from compliance

to an improve led approach High risk providers and TEQSA > watch dog, sniffer dog

or a guide dog?? Reputation of Australian tertiary education

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Research on private tertiary educationResearch on private tertiary educationBennett, L., Nair, S., & Shah, M. (2012). The Emergence of Private Higher Education in Australia: The Silent Provider. European Journal of Higher Education, forthcoming

Shah, M., Nair, S., & Bennett, L. (2012). Factors Influencing Student Choice to Study at Private for-profit Higher Education Institutions. Quality Assurance in Education, forthcoming

Nair, S., Bennett, L., and Shah, M. (2012). Student Experience: A Private Provider Perspective. The ACPET Journal for Private Higher Education, forthcoming

Shah, M., & Nair, S. (2012). A New Dynamic in Australian Higher Education: The Emergence of Private for-profit Higher Education. European Journal of Higher Education, available in late 2012

Shah, M., & Nair, S. (2012). Private for–profit higher education in Australia: Widening Access and Participation and Opportunities for Public-Private Collaboration. Higher Education Research and Development Society (HERDSA), available in late 2012 or early 2013

Shah, M., Nair, S. (2011). Building the plane while it's flying: enhancing the missed opportunity for quality assurance and capacity-building in Australian private higher education. European Journal of Higher Education, 1 (2-3), 261-273.

Shah, M., & Nair, S. (2011). Engaging with Quality: Quality Assurance and Capacity Building in Private Higher Education. Australian Quality Forum 2011, 138-144. Melbourne: Australian University Quality Agency.

Shah, M., & Lewis, l. (2010). Private Higher Education in Australia: Growth, Quality and Standards. Journal of Institutional Research (South East Asia), 8 (2), 80-95.

Shah, M., & Brown, G. (2009). The Rise of Private Higher Education in Australia: Maintaining Quality Outcomes and Future Challenges. Proceedings of the Australian Universities Quality Forum (AUQF), 138-143. Melbourne: Australian Universities Quality Agency. 21

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shah_mahsood@hotmail.com