EQUIP – Team Leaders Steve Outram York September 2010

Quality Enhancement Dimensions of Quality

Exceptionala traditional concept of quality linked to the idea of ‘excellence’, usually operationalised as exceptionally high standards of academic achievement. Quality is achieved if the standards are surpassed Perfection or consistency focuses on process and sets specifications that it aims to meet. Quality in this sense is summed up by the interrelated ideas of zero defects and getting things right first time. Often thought not to apply to a learning situation where no one wants students to be all the same, it does, however, have relevance in areas such as consistency of academic judgement and reliability of management information Fitness for purposejudges quality by the extent to which a product or service meets its stated purpose. The purpose may be customer-defined to meet requirements or (in education) is usually institution-defined to reflect institutional mission (or course objectives), or indeed defined by external professional bodies. Fitness for purpose is often allied with another so-called definition of quality ‘fitness of purpose’, which evaluates whether the quality-related intentions of an organisation are adequate. It provides a check on fitness for purpose. As such, fitness of purpose is not a definition of quality per se Value for moneyassesses quality via return on investment or expenditure. At the heart of the value-for-money approach in education is the notion of accountability. Public services, including education, are expected to be accountable to the funders. Increasingly, students are also considering the value for money of their own investment in higher education Transformationthis view sees quality as a process of change, which in higher education adds value to students through their learning experience. Education is not a service for a customer but an ongoing process of transformation of the participant. This leads to two notions of transformative quality in education: enhancing the consumer and empowering the consumer Five ways of defining quality in higher education Lee Harvey* & Bjørn Stensaker**

Which of the quality dimensions best fits your project? Exceptional Perfection or consistency Fitness for purpose Value for Money Transformation

Which quality enhancement dimenstion best fits your project? Fixing something Improving something Innovation Add something Make better use of something Expand the use of something Connect things differently Stop doing something

Where might your initiative be located in the following matrix? C:\Documents and Settings\Steve O\Desktop\Dimensions of quality matrix.doc

Thank You Any Questions?