International Developments in Academic Audit

1. International Developments in Academic Audit Source: International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education INQAAHE Biennial Conference Wellington 29 March - 1 April 2005

2. Themes: • Effectiveness of Quality Assurance • Quality Assurance in Transnational Issues • Impacts on Diversity • Indigenous Peoples

3. Keynote Speakers: • Professor Denise Bradley - VC University South Australia • Professor Ranginui Walker - Retired • Sir John Daniel - President & CEO, The Commonwealth of Learning Organisation

4. Speakers • Phil Meade • Gareth Jones • Sarah Carr • Emma Hamilton

5. Quality Assurance Agencies: New Guidelines Standards & Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area: February 2005 INQAAHE Guidelines for Good Practice: January 2005 Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education jointly elaborated by UNESCO and the OECD: March 2005

6. Standards & Guidelines - European HE Part 1: Guidelines for internal quality assurance within HEIs 1.1 Policy and procedures for QA 1.2 Approval, monitoring & review of programmes 1.3 Assessment of students 1.4 Quality assurance of teaching staff 1.5 Learning resources and student support 1.6 Information systems 1.7 Public information

7. Standards & Guidelines - European HE Part 2: Standards for External Quality Assurance of HE (cont.) 2.1 Use of internal quality assurance procedures 2.2 Development of external quality assurance processes 2.3 Criteria for decisions 2.4 Processes fit for purpose 2.5 Reporting 2.6 Follow-up procedures 2.7 Periodic reviews 2.8 System - wide analyses

8. Standards & Guidelines - European HE Part 3: Standards for external quality assurance agencies (cont.) 3.1 Procedures in part 2 to be used 3.2 Official status 3.3 Activities 3.4 Resources 3.5 Mission statement 3.6 Independence 3.7 External quality assurance criteria and processes used by agencies should be pre-defined and publicity available 3.8 Accountability procedures for their own accountability

9. Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education • UNESCO’S aim for cross-border education • radically change cost structures to make it affordable • keep young people learning in their country and stay there • accessibility, availability, affordability needed • 4 billion poor people in the world who want a better life • There is 40% participation in HE in developed countries • If there was 35% participation in under-developed countries there would be 150 million extra students to serve

10. Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education • A need for strong partnership with local institutions to make sure programmes are relevant • Providers need to take national priorities into account and refrain from academic dumping • Highly distributed, culturally sensitive, small scale operations are called for • A need to apply: • new technologies • e-learning and reusable learning objects • connectivity and free open source software • apply QA

11. Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education • Students need to be protected from dubious suppliers • Foreign suppliers must agree to accredit graduates in own countries • Must partner with local institutions • QA concerns • Capacity building and long-term perspective called for

12. Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) AUQA audits extended to State Accreditation Agencies State Agencies have developed legislation to prevent misuse of the university label and to protect use of the terms “university” and “degree”

13. The Australian - Wednesday March 30 2005 College amends offshore uni link Brendan O’Keefe A Sydney hypnotherapy college has removed references to an unaccredited overseas university and the degrees it offered after a prosecution threat from the NSW Department of Education and training …

14. Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) AUQA uses National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes Protocol 1 Criteria and processes for recognition of universities Protocol 2 Overseas higher education institutions seeking to operate in Australia Protocol 3 The accreditation of higher education courses to be offered by non-self accreditation agencies Protocol 4 Delivery arrangement involving other organisations Protocol 5 Endorsement of courses for overseas students

15. AUQA - Strengthening of processes • Visits to off-shore campuses • equivalence of entry & assessment standards • acknowledgement of graduates by professional accreditation bodies for registration purposes • provision of learning and support services • Visits to Partners operating in Australia • nature of MOU • use of university brand in advertising • standards; credit transfer • learning & support services • Drilling down - use of web-site - seeking additional information

16. AUQA Good Practice Database Examples: Mäori @ Massey Strategy Massey University Workloads Policy Academic Policy Formation (Massey): Collegial Participation in University Governance Ensuring Awareness of Plagiarism Policy (UNE) Improving Graduate Supervision and Completion Rates (RMIT) Integrating Graduate Attributes into UNE Courses

17. Review of the Queensland Studies Authority An alternative approach to standard audit with Self Review and Quality Portfolio followed by visit by External Audit Team

18. Review of the Queensland Studies Authority • Minister appoints an External Reviewer • External Reviewer consults with Reference Group comprising Key Stakeholders • Minister Releases Discussion Paper (prepared by External Reviewer approved by Cabinet) • Public Submissions called • Reviewer Prepares Report & states whether or not recommendations are supported by Stakeholders • Recommendations considered by Cabinet

19. INQAAHE Conference Indigenous Theme Professor Ranginui Walker Powerful address advocating for a bi-cultural educational experience for Mäori • Use of building and campus design structures sensitive to Mäori culture • Learning of Mäori language • Embedding of Mäori values in processes during provision of educational services Emerging role of World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium WINHEC

20. Dr Manulani MEYERUniversity of Hawaii at Hilo “Higher Education Quality Assurance and Indigenous Epistemology: Triangulating Our Way to Meaning” • The more specific we are about culture the more we head towards systems of universality, so specificity (not uniformity) leads to universality • Uniformity in QA leads to compliance • Message to young indigenous scholars “when you excel, don’t leave us for your culture will wither on the vine”

21. Elizabeth Bean(Lincoln University) Post-graduate Experience “Do the post-graduate students agree with the academic auditors?”

22. University of Otago CEQ Good Teaching Scale 1995-2002

23. Comparison of the CEQ overall satisfaction question: Otago mean score and Australian national score Deviation from the weighted mean Australian NationalMean = 0

24. University of Otago teaching evaluations 2002: “How effective was Dr X in teaching this course?” % of satisfied or highly satisfied responses

25. External research funding at the University of Otago 1994 – 2003

26. Number of PhD graduates at the University of Otago 1995 - 2003Note – change in way data was recorded in 1999 results in an anomaly during that year

27. PBRF quality evaluation score for New Zealand universities 2003

28. International Developments in Academic Audit Summary and Discussion