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How to Instill Quality Culture in Higher Education?

A Malaysian Case

Prof. Shahrir Abdullah, PhD, PEng

Dean, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, UKMand, President of MyQAN (myqan.org)

APQN Conference, Bali27-29 August 2018

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Background…

• In absence of quality framework in higher education, in 1990s, the government recommended adaptation of ISO 9000 for the agencies’ QMS:

• Many public universities adopted similar approach.

• In late 1990 until mid 2000, many professional bodies enforced requirement on programme accreditation for degree recognition and graduate/professional registration:

• In early 2000, Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) and Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) started move towards OBE and student-centred learning.

• In 2006 onwards, Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF) was introduced and OBE was implemented, followed by the MQA Act 2007:

• In 2009-2010, MQA started institutional audit for all universities with 9 universities awarded for the self-accreditation award.

• In 2015-2016, 10 more invited to apply self-accreditation status, which is viewed as a recognition to a good IQA system.

• In 2017, MQF was reviewed and aligned to AQRF (ASEAN Qualifications Referenced Framework.

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Provisions and Policies

• Acts of Parliaments – Laws of Malaysia

• Act 550 – Education Act 1996

• Act 30 – Universities and University Colleges Act 1971

• Act 555 – Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996

• Act 679 – Malaysian Qualifications Agency Act 2007

• Professional Bodies:

• Act 50 – Medical Act 1971;

• Act 51 – Dental Act 1971;

• Act 138 – Registration of Engineers Act 1967 (Rev. 2007); etc.

• Policies and National Blueprints

• Policies, standards and guidelines issued by MOHE and MQA

• National Strategic Blueprints, e.g., National Education Blueprint – Higher Education (2015-2025)

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Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia

• Statistics (data as of 31st May 2018):• Public universities = 20;• Private HEIs = 457:

• Universities (excluding campuses) = 47;• College Universities (excluding campuses) =34;• Branch Campuses of Overseas Universities = 10;• Colleges = 366.

• Type of HEIs:• With specific autonomy

• e.g., self-accreditation and specific autonomy rights;

• Research vs. teaching;• Technical, Focused and comprehensive.

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HARMONISATION OF QA ECOSYSTEM BASED ON MQF

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Stages of MQF Implementation

2003

• MQF was being drafted and concepts of learning outcomes, student learning hours, credit system and educational pathways are being formulated.

• Engineering and medical professional bodies/programmes started to embrace OBE.

2007

• Curricula were reviewed to adopt criteria in MQF, MQA’s qualification standards, programme standards and codes of practice (COPPA & COPIA.

• Verified through MQA’s Academic Performance Audits (APA) in 2009-2010

2011

• Full implementation and conformity to MQF in curriculum design and delivery were verified through APA/accreditation provess, including by professional bodies.

• 9 universities were granted self-accreditation status.

2017

• MQR 2nd Ed. was approved and aligned to ASEAN Qualifications Referenced Framework (AQRF). Subsequently, COPPA and other instruments were reviewed.

• 9 more universities were granted self-accreditation status. (Total = 18).

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Harmonisation through MQF

• MQF has standardised and harmonised key requirements in curriculum design and delivery:• Credit system: 1 credit = 40 notional/learning hours;• Qualification levels: 8 levels from certificates to doctoral with

specified minimum credit;• Learning outcomes: 8 domains of LOs in MQF 1st ed. and 5

clusters of LOs in MQF 2nd ed. that are aligned with AQRF;• Various educational pathways (including APEL);• Programme naming convention ➔ policies set by MOE.

• Programme management and accreditation is guided by more specific and discipline based criteria• in form of codes of practice (COPIA/COPPA) and programme

standards issued by MQA or professional bodies (➔MRAs).

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Harmonisation through MQF

• Establishment of Malaysian Qualifications Register (MQR):• Online database of accredited programmes for recognition.

• Facilitating student mobility and promoting cross-border collaboration and exchange programmes, through:• Compatible credit system and flexible credit transfer policy;• Accredited programmes based on OBE curriculum.

• Institutional self-regulation via self-accreditation status:• Promoting academic autonomy and internal ownership with

internal standards, guided by external criteria and benchmark;• Advancement from quality control to quality assurance and

quality enhancement;• Closing the loop of OBE with focus on LO attainment.

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Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF) 2nd Ed. (2017)

LevelMinimum

Credit

Sector

Academic TVET APEL (A) Criteria

8 -/80 PhD/Doctoral degree -35 years old with Bachelor

and 5 years work experience

7-/403020

Master’s degreePostgraduate Diploma

Postgraduate Certificate-

30 years old with STPM/Diploma/equivalent

and relevant work experience

61206636

Bachelor’s DegreeGraduate Diploma

Graduate Certificate-

21 years old with relevant work experience

5 40 Advanced Diploma 5

4 90 Diploma 420 years old with

relevant work experience

3 60 Certificate 319 years old with

relevant work experience

2 30 Certificate 2 3R

1 15 Certificate 1 3R

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Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF) 2nd Ed. (2017)

• Clusters of Learning Outcomes*:1. Knowledge and understanding;2. Cognitive skills;3. Functional work skills with focus on:

a. Practical skills;b. Interpersonal skills;c. Communication skills;d. Digital skills;e. Numeracy skills;f. Leadership, autonomy and

responsibility.

4. Personal and entrepreneurial skills;5. Ethics and professionalism.

*aligned to ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework

(AQRF):• 4 types of abilities:

• Cognitive competence• Functional competence• Personal competence• Ethical competence

• 2 domains of level descriptors:• Knowledge and skills• Application and

Responsibility

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QA Requirements and Standards

• Malaysian Qualifications Framework (approved by the National Higher Education Council)MQF

• National Policies and Strategic Plans on Higher Education

Ministry of Education

• Code of Practice for Institutional Audit (COPIA)

• Code of Practice for Programme Accreditation (COPPA)

• Qualification Standards (PG, Foundations,etc.)

Codes of Practice and Standards → MQA

• Non-professional Programmes (MQA)

• Professional Programmes (Professional Bodies)

• Guidelines to Good Practices (MQA)

Programme Standards and Guidelines

• Approved by Senate and Governing Boards

Institutional Policies and Regulations

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MQA’s Accreditation Model

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STRENGTHENINGIQA UNITS & FUNCTIONS

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Quality Assurance Ecosystem:IQA-EQA Interaction

IQA + EQA = QA System

MQR

QUALITY ASSURANCE

SYSTEM ACCREDITATION

External Quality Assurance:• Benchmarking• Third-party audit• Evaluation

Internal Quality Assurance:• Monitoring• Self-review/assessment• Improvement

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An Example of IQA Structure

Pro

cesses a

t Dep

artm

en

t

Departmental IQA Unit or Person in Charge

Departmental Committee or

Person for QA/QMS Implementation

• Monitors QMS implementation and CQI action plans;

• Prepares QA report or programme self-review report.

Other Departmental Committees (which can be formed,

if necessary).

Departmental Committee or

Person for Internal Audit

• Conducts internal audit to verify QA report and achievement of department’s KPIs;

• Evaluates improvement plans for effectiveness.

Institutional Management

Institutional IQA Unit

Section concerned with QA Documentation and QMS

• Develops QA documentation and QMS manuals;

• Coordinates implementation of QMS and data analysis for quality indicators;

• Coordinates and monitors action plans for CQI;

• Prepares institutional self-review portfolio.

Section concerned with Internal Audits

• Audits QMS and the related core processes according to the specified QMS/QA standards (e.g. MS ISO 9001:2008, COPPA and COPIA) and strategic plans.

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IQA@UKM: Phases of Development

Before 2005

• Pre-MQF/OBE

2005-2009

• MQF launched

• MQA established

• OBE/SCL adopted

2010-2015

• Self-accreditation awarded

• Autonomy status awarded

After 2015

• Self-accreditation renewed

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Setting Up an IQA :Key Success Factors

•Strong support from the university leadership, top management and Senate

Institutional Support

•Shared ownership with process owners

•Clear roles/responsibility with process managers/administrators

Shared Governance

•Competence of QA officers

•Prominence of the QA office/council

Capacity Building

•Enculturation of self-assessment/self-reflection

•Sustaining CQI and quality enhancement all levels

Quality Culture

•Periodical and cyclic of programme monitoring and evaluation

•Reviews of strategic quality indicators and overall performance

QA/QMS Processes

•Continuous engagement with regulators, EQA, professional bodies (signatories of MRAs) and stakeholders

External Engagement

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BUILDING IQA SYSTEM:ISSUES and CHALLENGES

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Issues and Challenges

• Resource Requirement for IQA Offices and Governance:• From a small unit within another office (e.g., T&L or strategic

planning office) to an independent IQA office with autonomous and prominent status;

• From internal audits on document adequacy to rigorous audits and reviews on programmes with periodical CQI cycles.

• Competency of IQA Officers:• Officers with academic background and experiences in programme

management vs. non-academic administrators.;• In keeping up with dynamism of QA requirement

• Cross-border collaboration for initiating and managing exchanged programmes:• Programmes need to be recognised and accredited by both countries.

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Thank You

Prof. Ir. Dr. Shahrir Abdullah (Shahrir@ukm.edy.my)

Dean, Faculty of Engineering & Built EnvironmentUniversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

and, President of MyQAN (www.myqan.org)