Bologna Process and Quality Assurance Dr. Angelika Schade

Bologna Process and EHEA On 19 June 1999, 29 European Ministers in charge of higher education signed in Bologna the Declaration on establishing the European Area of Higher Education by 2010 and promoting the European System of higher education world-wide. The Ministers affirmed in the Bologna Declaration their intention to: adopt a system of easily readable and comparable degrees adopt a system with two main cycles (undergraduate/graduate) establish a system of credits (such as ECTS) promote mobility by overcoming obstacles promote European co-operation in quality assurance promote European dimensions in higher education. Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

Berlin Communiqué 1 The quality of higher education has proven to be at the heart of the setting up of a European Higher Education Area. The Ministers stress that consistent with the principle of institutional autonomy, the primary responsibility for quality assurance in higher education lies with each institution itself and this provides the basis for real accountability of the academic system within the national quality framework. Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

Berlin Communiqué 2 Ministers agree that by 2005 national quality assurance systems should include: A definition of the responsibilities of the bodies and institutions involved, Evaluation of programmes or institutions, including internal assessment, external review, participation of students and the publication of results A system of accreditation, certification or comparable procedures, International participation, co-operation and networking. Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

Berlin Communiqué 3 At the European level, Ministers call upon ENQA through its members, in cooperation with the EUA, EURASHE and ESIB, to develop an agreed set of standards, procedures and guidelines on quality assurance to explore ways of ensuring an adequate peer review system for quality assurance and/or accreditation agencies or bodies, and to report back through the Follow-up Group to Ministers in 2005. Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

The 2005 ENQA report to Bergen ENQA proposals European standards and guidelines for quality assurance in higher education 5-yearly reviews of European quality assurance agencies Register of quality assurance agencies European Consultative Forum for Quality Assurance Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

Principles from which ENQA started There is no globally-agreed definition of quality in higher education No discussion of policy or practice concerning quality should be started without an explicit and clear contextual definition of the use of the word “quality” Quality can only be assured by those responsible for providing higher education “Quality” frequently includes “standards” but these are different things Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

A diversity of quality assurance “Quality assurance” in higher education can, and does mean many different things in different contexts and it does not have a a single operational definition single purpose single method Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

A diversity of purposes for quality assurance Accountability Control Resource allocation Improvement Public information Ranking International acceptance Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

A diversity of quality assurance models Programme evaluation accreditation review Institution audit Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

A diversity of methods Peer review Inspection Criterion (or standards-)based judgements Threshold models Excellence models Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

A diversity of outcomes Public and non-public information reports Recommendations Conditions Approvals Accreditation decisions Rankings Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

Six quality assurance questions What are you trying to do? Why are you doing it? How are you going to do it? Why will that the best way to do it? How will you know it works? How will you be able to improve it? Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

European standards and guidelines The European standards and guidelines offer generic, not specific (e.g. disciplinary) standards and guidelines a view of what should be done, not how it should be done a source of assistance and guidance a contribution to a common frame of reference for the provision of higher education and assurance of quality within the EHEA Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

European standards and guidelines Internal quality assurance Policy and procedures for quality assurance Approval, monitoring and periodic review of programmes and awards Assesssment of students Quality assurance of teaching staff Learning resources and student support Information systems Public information Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

European standards and guidelines Use of internal quality assurance procedures Development of external quality assurance processes Criteria for decisions Processes fit for purpose Reporting Follow-up procedures Periodic reviews System-wide analyses External quality assurance Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006

European standards and guidelines Use of external quality assurance procedures for higher education Official status Activities Resources Mission statement Independence External quality asurance criteria and processes used by agencies Accountability procedures External quality assurance criteria and processes used by agencies Dr. Angelika Schade | 2006