Quality assurance, learning outcomes and qualification frameworks Tia Loukkola Director for Institutional Development 22 January 2016

Qualification frameworks Two European overarching frameworks EHEA-QF (higher education, Bologna Process) EQF (lifelong learning, European Union) National qualification frameworks (NQF) to be referenced to the European ones To date about half of the EHEA countries have finalised the self-referencing process Educational levels are described in terms of learning outcomes: knowledge, skills and competences …2…

Learning outcomes Learning outcome approach Promoted strongly by the Bologna Process Partially implemented across Europe, but progress has been made Different understandings prevail Statements of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process. The achievement of learning outcomes has to be assessed through procedures based on clear and transparent criteria. Learning outcomes are attributed to individual educational components and to programmes at a whole. They are also used in European and national qualifications frameworks to describe the level of the individual qualification. ECTS guide 2015 …3…

Development of learning outcomes in 2010 and 2015 Trends 2010, Q19: N= 755 Trends 2015, Q36: N= 424

Learning outcomes and QFs in the ESG (1) Learning outcomes Highly debated during the ESG revision How the link with QA should be defined? Division of roles between HEIs and QAAs National qualification frameworks No reference in the 2005 ESG -> have been mostly developed since Needed so to ensure the link between academic quality levels and QA Division of roles between HEIs and QAAs …5…

Learning outcomes and QFs in the ESG (2) 1.2 Design and approval of programmes Institutions should have processes for the design and approval of their programmes. The programmes should be designed so that they meet the objectives set for them, including the intended learning outcomes. The qualification resulting from a programme should be clearly specified and communicated, and refer to the correct level of the national qualifications framework for higher education and, consequently, to the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area. …6…

…7… A new standard in Part Student-centred learning, teaching and assessment Institutions should ensure that the programmes are delivered in a way that encourages students to take an active role in creating the learning process, and that the assessment of students reflects this approach.

…8… The role of the quality assurance agency? 2.1 Consideration of internal quality assurance External quality assurance should address the effectiveness of the internal quality assurance described in Part 1 of the ESG.

The Revised ECTS Users’ Guide Adopted in Yerevan in May 2015 Credits based on workload and achieved learning outcomes ECTS as a Bologna tool ECTS in programme design, delivery and monitoring ECTS in mobility and recognition Student-centred approach …9…

Conclusions Work still to be done in a proper implementation of the learning outcomes and QFs How these themes are integrated into the QA regimes to be seen …10…

Some key links ECTS guide EHEA-QF EQF d_entity_type%3A97 …11…