A New Day for Quality International Newsletter
CHEA's Dr. Michelle Claville Interviews CEENQA Vice-President, Dr. Olgun Cicek
Although CIQG Advisory Council member, Anthony McClaran, has served in a number of different capacities in higher education quality assurance, he has recently written, “Home and Away: Cross-Currents of Regulatory Policy in Australia and the United Kingdom” from a personal standpoint. He writes:
Last year, David Palfreyman, who serves as the Bursar, Director of the Higher Education Policy Studies (OxCHEPS), and Board Member of the Office for Students (OfS) at New College (Oxford, U.K.), made the observation that, “over recent decades, Australia has often led the way in HE reforms, to be followed a little later by very similar policy changes in the UK”. It’s a view I’ve had plenty of opportunities to consider (not least on the long flights to and from down-under) as I moved from the United Kingdom (UK) higher education (HE) sector to the Australian in 2015, and then back again in 2020. The perspective is concentrated on regulatory policy in HE and is inevitably shaped by my particular roles: as Chief Executive of QAA in the UK, then CEO of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA, Australia’s national HE regulator) in Melbourne, and now in London as Vice-Chancellor of an old institution, but young university, at St Mary’s, Twickenham, and therefore now regulated rather than regulating. READ MORE
Together with Michaela Martin, CIQG Advisory Council member, Stamenka Uvalić-Trumbić, recently co-produced a publication entitled, “A New Generation of External Quality Assurance Dynamics of Change and Innovative Approaches” for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). They state:
Over the past three decades, the development of quality assurance (QA) systems has become one of the most important higher education reforms worldwide. Beginning in the mid-1980s, most countries started to set up national QA agencies. A common QA model, consisting of a combination of self-assessment and peer review of study programmes and/or higher education institutions and based on pre-established standards and quality criteria, has emerged under the influence of international cooperation. At the beginning of the 21st century, EQA has faced a number of challenges and undergone transformations. Increasing criticism has been levelled at the often-bureaucratic approaches taken to the process elements of EQA. This publication takes stock of innovative approaches that have emerged as a response to these criticisms. It therefore provides guidance to the QA community in higher education on how to adapt QA to a rapidly changing sector. READ MORE
It’s almost time for the third annual UNESCO World Higher Education Conference (WHEC2022), that will be held May 18 – 20, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. WHEC 2022 will be offered via a hybrid format to allow for broad participation.
In the view of the global health crisis, UNESCO World Higher Education Conference, initially planned to be held in 2021, will take place from 18 to 20 May 2022. The goals and strategic scope of the conference remain, and the new time frame represents an opportunity to deepen and expand our common efforts of knowledge production, policy dialogue, exchange, and networking. UNESCO considers the process of collective construction as the greatest richness of this conference, which aims to become a global conversation nurtured by diverse narratives on higher education. READ MORE
The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of
the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, its International Quality Group, its Board, or its members.