1. Bologna Process and Quality Assurance
Dr. Angelika Schade

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

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

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

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

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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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