Professor Dr. Mohammed Abdul Aziz Vice Chancellor

University of Information Technology & Sciences (UITS)Bangladesh

Web: http://www.uits.bd.edu Email: info@uits-bd.org, aziz@uits-bd.org

Building Bridges in Higher Education: Quality Assurance

Silk Road extending from southern and eastern Europe through Egypt, Somalia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Central Asia, Indian Subcontinent, Java-Indonesia, and Vietnam until it reaches China.

The land routes are red, and the water routes are blue.

The Changing Global Environment

Knowledge as a Key Factor in Development

The Information and Communication Revolution

The Global Labor Market Political and Social Change

Opportunities and Threats stemming from Changes in the Global Environment

Building Bridges

Bridges as metaphorsWhat bridges?

between different organizations and stakeholders in higher education

between higher education, business and society

across geographical borders, time and space, disciplines and learning methods

Globalization and Higher Education: Building Bridges

The foundations for these bridges:• The World Declaration for Higher Education

in the Twenty-first Century

• The Global Forum on International Quality Assurance, Accreditation and the Recognition of Qualifications

UNESCO GLOBAL FORUM –The Action Plan

Standard-setting activities Capacity Building in QA and different modes of

deliveryreview of regional conventionsprinciples for responsible partnerships in cross-

border educationgenerating empirical evidence through research

on the impact of trade in education and the concept of the public good

Clearinghouse: Information Tools for Students

A Way Forward

Greater participation from all regions, including Ministers and governmental representatives

higher education at the centre of social sustainable development.

Building bridges: from words to action (1)

Strengthen regional conventions

Research on Widening access to higher education through trans border provision

Building bridges: from words to action (2)

Principles for Responsible and Sustainable Partnerships between HE, Business and Society

Develop a continuum model for partnerships between HE and society that would take account of differences in needs, capacities and issues

Empowering Learners: Students Choice Behavior

Results of Studies on Students Choice BehaviorsFlexibility of choice: link HE with Lifelong Learning

Currently, as centers of education, knowledge, innovation, talent and business, universities are expected to provide society with three primary functions:

Globally Engaged Network

Platform for Sustainability

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Entrepreneurship & Spirit

of Innovation

Transformation from Industrial to Information age

Knowledge Economy and Knowledge Society

Rapid Growth and Urbanization

Population Diversity and Immigration

Challenges in Knowledge Economies

Thus, universities are faced with critical

challenges while priming to address

society’s needs, which include:

Universities Provide the Core

Cultivate creative capital

Generate knowledge capital

Train human capital

Build social capital

Attract financial capital

Preserve natural capital

Produce spillovers to regional and national economies

However, universities are

the primary locus of opportunity to address challenges associated

with innovation, economic expansion,

and population growth for the city-state. They:

Per capita income (1999) Source: U.S. Census Bureau,Census 2000 Summary File 3, Matrix P82

For example, trends indicate that highly educated populations and higher university funding influence a higher per capita income

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Academic Success, Economic Strength

Geographic concentration of highly cited scientists http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/citations/citations_maps.htm

Why Quality Assurance is Necessary? Massification of Higher Education Diversified Higher Education System Risk of Lowering Academic Standards Globalization and Economic Integration Growing Danger of “degree mills” and “accreditation

mills” National Quality Assurance Systems should act in

accordance with the International Standards

International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE)

Established in 1991 and has NGO status with UNESCO

200 Members from 6 Continents and 80 Countries

Main Purpose: To collect and disseminate information on current and developing theory and practice in the assessment, improvement and maintenance of quality in higher education

International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE)

Promotes good practices in the maintenance and improvement of quality in higher education and facilitates research into the practice of quality management

Provides advice for new quality assurance agencies and facilitates links between accrediting bodies

Memorandum of Cooperation with INQAAHE Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ANQAHE) ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (AQAN) Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN) Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education

(CANQATE) Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance

Agencies in Higher Education (CEEN) Eurasian Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN) European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education

(ENQA) European Consortium for Accreditation (ECA) Ibero-American Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education

(RIACES) Quality Assurance Network for African Higher Education (AfriQAN)

Quality Assurance in European

Higher Education Area (EHEA)

Globalization requires mobility and competitiveness which widens the market for higher education

Bologna Process:Bologna Declaration includes 46 member states

in Europe (plus EU COM with voting rights) and 8 consultative members (CoE, EUA, ESU, EURASHE, EI, BE, UNESCO, ENQA)

Concentrates more on teaching and learning than on research

Quality Assurance in European Higher Education Area (EHEA)

The E4 group (ENQA, EUA, EURASHE and ESIB/ESU) has developed the European Standards and Guidelines (ESGs) comprising three key components:Standards for internal quality assurance

within higher educational institutionsStandards on external quality assurance

of higher educational institutionsStandards for quality assurance of quality

assurance agencies

Questions and Challenges about EHEA

Quality assurance agencies are still largely restricted to traditional higher education: degree programs leading to Bachelor's / Master's degrees

Transnational education, Lifelong learning is still largely located outside the scope of quality assurance and is insufficiently accredited

Quality Assurance should examine whether thedegree program of a university:

is oriented towards explicit and published learning outcomes

takes into account the necessary workload leads to the necessary competencies and skills is student-centered and not traditionally teacher-

centered observes the qualification framework enables students to use opportunities of

mobility

Quality Assurance in Asian

Universities The higher education landscape and Transformation of quality assurance in the Asian Region is characterized by: Cultural, linguistic, social, political and economic

pluralities Many growing economies Increasing attention to higher education and its quality Considerable diversity in quality assurance systems,

approaches and stages of development Need for a regional harmonization of frameworks and

approaches Increasing regional cooperation

Quality Assurance in Asian Universities

ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (AQAN) aims: To promote and share good practice of

quality assurance in higher education in the region

To collaborate in capacity building To share information and to facilitate the

mutual recognition of qualifications throughout the region

To develop a quality assurance framework for Southeast Asia

Internal and External Quality Assurance of Higher Education Internal Quality Assurance: Through selfassessment, the institution tries to discoverits own quality and to find its strengths and weaknesses.

External quality Assurance: It often servestwo masters:

It helps the institutions to enhance and to improve the quality

It provides information for government, policymakers and taxpayers

Perspective of the Universities of Bangladesh and UITS

30 Public Universities and 54 Private Universities exist Bangladesh

External Quality Assurance:Ministry of Education, Bangladesh

University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC)

All Public and Private Universities of Bangladesh are controlled by External Quality Assurance Authority

Perspective of the Universities of Bangladesh and UITS

UITS has Internal Quality Assurance

Committee in addition to External Quality

Assurance Authority:

Quality Assurance Committee of UITS

Quality Assurance and Improvement Society (QAIS):

UITS is the founding member of QAIS

Executive Board of QAISChairman Prof. Dr. Alimullah Miyan

Vice Chancellor, IUBAT

Vice Chairman National Professor Nurul Islam

Vice Chancellor, USTC

Secretary General Prof. Dr. Mohammed Abdul Aziz

Vice Chancellor, UITS

Treasurer Prof. Dr. Shamsul Haque

Vice Chancellor, NUB

Member Prof. Dr. Rahim B Talukder

Vice Chancellor, Eastern University

Member Prof. A J M Nuruddin Chowdhury

Vice Chancellor, SUB

Member Prof. Dr. Abdul Mannan Chowdhury

Vice Chancellor, WUB

Member Prof. Dr. M Afzal Hossain

Vice Chancellor, HMDSTU

Member Prof. Dr. N R M Borhan Uddin

Vice Chancellor, City University

Mission of QAIS

Has a mission appropriate to higher education

Guided by well-defined and appropriate goals for student learning

Assesses both institutional effectiveness and student learning outcomes, and use the results for improvement

Mission of QAIS

Enhancement of quality of higher education

Quality education assurance is primarily the responsibilities of higher educational institutions themselves and should respect institutional integrity

Promoting academic freedom and intellectual and institutional integrity

Mission of QAIS

Ensuring that higher education is accountable to its various stakeholders and in the protection of theirInterests. Stakeholders includes- Students and potential students Their families and other individuals who provide

them with financial and other supports Employers Governments Foundations and other agencies that support the

work of higher education. The wide community, including the internal,

external, regional and international community

Mission of QAIS

Review Process of the Society should be independent and should not be subject to external influences whether from governments, institutions or elsewhere

Should be carried out in the context of criteria and procedures that are published in advance of any review

Mission of QAIS

Decisions made by the Society should be based on clear and published criteria and should be reached after the application of transparent processes and procedures

QAIS recognizes that a great deal of co-operative work with the other organizations or agencies of same objectives is conducted at internal, external, regional and international level

Mission of QAIS

Establishing transparent processes and procedures for institutional and program accreditations based on published criteria

Identifying a set of core guidelines that should strengthen the Society’s activities

Collaborating and Cooperating with other organizations/agencies of similar objectives at local, regional, and international level

Functions of QAIS

Advocacy of Quality Assurance and improvement

Formulation of indicators and measurement instruments

Development of consensus on the indicators and measurements

Encourage the setting up of internal Quality Assessment mechanisms

Functions of QAIS

Initiating self assessment Inviting submission for peer review

(voluntary) Inviting submission for external review Conducting review process Development of assesses and reviewers Providing feedback for improvement (no

rating)

Functions of QAIS

Training, workshops, seminars of Quality Assurance

Full assessment of Higher Educational Institution on voluntary basis

Non rated certification on Quality Assurance

Institutional review Program review

Review Panel of QAIS

Reviewers should consist of academics from abroad with experience of Quality Assurance providing a balance of western and regional membership for institutional and program review

After completion of institutional review of most Higher Educational Institutions, the review process will be fully internalized with external participation as may be necessary

The future will belong to those

regions that have strong knowledge-based economies,

built on the success of their

universitiesas knowledge

producers

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Thank You!