1. Future Trends on Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
ENQA – ANECA Workshop on
Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Madrid, 19 – 20th October 2006
Future Trends on Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Gemma Rauret, Director ANECA

2. CONTENTS The general framework at the European level
The Specific framework
Who is a HE student in the EHEA
The challenges of the HE Institutions
The national setting
Towards an agenda of the student involvement in QA processes
The model
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

3. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
The European Higher
Education Area
Multi-fold Higher Education systems
Overview from satellite
National
Regional
Federal
Different student participation in HE
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

4. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Need to think of students as learners taking part in quality assurance processes, rather than experts in quality by themselves
Peter Williams, President of ENQA
ANECA Forum, Madrid March 2006
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

5. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
The General Framework of the Student Involvement
Political and Methodological references
The Bergen Communiqué
Almost all countries have made provision for a quality assurance system based on the criteria set out in the Berlin Communiqué and with a high degree of cooperation and networking. However, there is still progress to be made, in particular as regards student involvement and international cooperation.
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

6. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
The General Framework of the Student Involvement (2)
The European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education
1 Internal QA of HEI
1.1 Policy and procedures for quality assurance: Institutions should have a policy and associated procedures for the assurance of the quality and standards of their programmes and awards. They should also commit themselves explicitly to the development of a culture which recognizes the importance of quality, and quality assurance, in their work. To achieve this, institutions should develop and implement a strategy for the continuous enhancement of quality. The strategy, policy and procedures should have a formal status and be publicly available. They should also include a role for students and other stakeholders.
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

7. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Educational references
Personal and Academic Development of the Student
Active development of the student (not a passive subject)
Importance of the out-door learning
Teaching and learning: as an useful ‘joint venture’ for HE
Active learning process with a deep institutional involvement
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

8. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
The changing pattern of being a student in the EHEA
A likely (but not thorough) typology:
The classical vs the new graduate student
The classical vs the new post-graduate student
The classical vs the master student
The (classical) doctoral student
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

9. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Who is a Higher Education student in the EHEA? (2)
The changing pattern of being a student in the EHEA
New profiles of students according to the requirements of the EHEA and the LLL including ‘real-life’ learning
Students will join HE in different moments of their professional and labour careers
Incorporate ‘mature’ students with working experience in quality systems providing interesting know-how for QA processes in HE
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

10. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Who is a Higher Education student in the EHEA? (2)
The changing pattern of being a student in the EHEA
Need to rethink the different possibilities to become a student in the various cycles of the EHEA according also to new types of profiles labour market-oriented, research-oriented LLL-oriented in both bachelor and master cycles.
Then, we should integrate such approach to the different ways of involvement in QA processes accordingly. It means a motley scene, which also implies an enriched choice.
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

11. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Challenges of the HEIs where students play a relevant role
HEIs as ‘learning organisations’ where knowledge building and management play an essential part to and therefore the involvement of all stakeholders is needed (students, teaching staff, administrators)
Reinforcing a ‘quality culture’ requires that all the stakeholders within the institutions assume both practices and principles of such a culture; students must therefore experience the quality assurance processes by themselves
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

12. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Challenges of the HEIs where students play a relevant role
HEIs must take roots in the social environment where they are established. QA is both the internal and external guarantee that their ‘settlement’ (data, figures, features of their students and opportunities) is trustworthy (reliable information to society). Current students, as citizens with full responsibilities for the future, must be able to interpret QA processes and procedures
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

13. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
The national background of the student involvement in HE
Need to bear in mind the national context of student involvement in the whole HE system.
There is a strong link between the traditional participation of students throughout the whole education system (from the very beginning), which influences in the participation in HE activities.
Where such a tradition exists, a natural involvement in QA processes occurred.
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

14. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
The national background of the student involvement in HE (2)
Should this scenario is not so clear, a previous work has to be done in order to avoid that the student is invited as a second class guest in a banquet where the etiquette rules are not known by him/her.
HE students need to feel their contributions as a real participation and be convinced that QA plays a role in the improvement of HE
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

15. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
The agenda for student involvement in QA processes
Need to strengthen general involvement in QA activities at three levels of assessment:
internal,
external and
QA agencies QA
external
internal
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

16. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Towards an agenda for the student involvement in QA processes
1. Some work accomplished concerning the self-evaluation team, the report and side visits as audience group within the HE institutions can be seen. Here it is where the participation of students takes place almost generally.
2. There is not a fit-for-all recipe that can be successfully exported. According to the EHEA some clearly identifiable general trends (best practices) have to be adapted to the national context.
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

17. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Towards an agenda for student involvement in QA processes (2)
3. Two student involvement models could be identified:
- A geographically-oriented model
- A profile-oriented model
4. A kind of regional coherence could work, as can be seen in the case of the Nordic Countries. However, the sound work done by the Nordic agencies shows also different approaches in a regional setting.
5. The profile-oriented model allows a different way to identify student involvement patterns focusing on legal aspects of the HE system and internal organisation of HE institutions.
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

18. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
The definition of the model
Actually, the best model for the student involvement in QA processes in QA agencies does not exist…
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

19. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
The definition of the model
…but there must be a common framework to begin with
ENQA Standards and Guidelines as a methodological tool
Best practices in some countries of the EHEA
Our own good practices at the national context concerning student involvement in QA at the institutional level
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

20. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
Defining a model of student involvement in QA processes
And a combination of two models:
A geographically-oriented model, where a strong regional relationship exists, shaped according to a profile-oriented model.
It allows the basic assumption previously stated: the possibility to root best practices experienced elsewhere in the EHEA with the national context.
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

21. Student Involvement in Quality Assurance Agencies
The definition of the model: the pyramid of student involvement in QA processes
Students’ organizations/personal involvement
Student
involvement
Legal status
in decision
making in HE
institutions
Evaluation
Practices in
Agencies and
Universities
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006

22. THANK YOU VERY MUCH
ENQA Workshop
Madrid, 20 October 2006