Towards true students’ participation in QA (institutional level)

1. Towards true students’ participation in QA (institutional level) Karina Ufert European Students’ Union Executive committee member, karina@esu-online.org

2. About ESU 44 members (national unions of students) in 37 countries around EHEA The aim of ESU is to represent and promote the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of students at the European level towards all relevant bodies

3. Quality with students’ eyes Ongoing process Fit for purpose Context sensitivity taken into consideration Quality enhancement oriented  quality culture Tool to facilitate trust and understanding

4. Quality as a shared sense Berlin Communiqué (2003) mutually shared criteria and methodologies on QA on and institutional, national and European level should be developed Back to ESG (equal stakeholders) – a tool for empowerment of students’ participation in QA?

5. Students’ involvement in QA Why? (starts from recognizing the added value student can bring – not about ticking the boxes) Shared commitment towards creation of a true quality culture Effective communication

6. Students’ involvement in QA How? Not the question of methods, but the purpose Holistic perspective towards the internal QA mechanism Back to essential 4 questions (EUA)

7. ESG Part 1 Questionnaires is not the limit for students’ participation in internal QA; Students’ participation mainstreamed through the whole process – treating as stakeholders (also relates to participation in HEI governance) Creates ownership of the learning process “Educating students to have a say on quality”

8. BWSE 2009

9. Fit for purpose (e.g. improving teaching) Diversifying methods (e.g. focus groups, “best-practice competitions”) Establishing proper communication (providing feedback) Mainstreaming students’ participation (what about curricula design?)

10. Not only QA, but the whole paradigm Student centered learning – responsibility and ownership! A challenge for all (particularly for students) Responding to changes in the society and openness (also putting more focus on generic skills) Stress not only on employability, but also active citizenship

11. A helping hand Toolkit on Student centered learning by ESU and EI: www.t4scl.eu a pioneer initiative, aims to assist policy makers in designing sound student-centered learning (SCL) strategies and approaches and to increase the capacity of student and staff representative organizations to be active partners in spreading a culture of SCL in higher education institutions across Europe.