KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 1 Tempus Project n TEMPUS IT-SMGR Documentation for QA of SPs (DoQuP) Final Dissemination Conference Kyrgyz National University - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 21 April 2015 DoQuP Model: a powerful instrument for the implementation of the Bologna Process Alfredo Squarzoni University of Genoa, Project Coordinator

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 2 Topics of the presentation a)What has to be done for a ‘correct’ implementation of the Bologna process b)What we have done c)Benefits of the DoQuP System

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 3 a) What has to be done for a ‘correct’ implementation of the Bologna process Aim and Objectives of the Bologna Process To establish the European area of higher education and to promote the European system of higher education world-wide. To this end, the following six objectives were established:

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 4 1)Adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees. 2)Adoption of a system essentially based on two ( three, after Berlin 2003) main cycles, bachelor and master (and doctorate ). 3)Establishment of a system of credits - such as in the ECTS system. 4)Promotion of mobility for students (and teachers, researchers and administrative staff). 5)Promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance. 6)Promotion of the necessary European dimensions in higher education.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 5 An ‘integrated reading’ of the aim and objectives of the Bologna Process To establish the European area of higher education and to promote the European system of higher education world-wide through

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 6 the adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees (1 st objective), organized in three main cycles (2 nd objective), with the students’ workload measured in credits (3 rd objective), able to assure their quality (5 th objective) in a credibile way, in order to promote mobility for students (4 th objective) and the necessary European dimensions in higher education (6 th objective).

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 7 Furthermore:  In order to be comparable, SPs must have comparable learning outcomes. (because today the need of communication, transparency and recognition at national and international level requires SPs focused mainly on what a student has to learn and on the development of his/her competences than on what have to be taught, because it is the student who has to be prepared at best for his/her future role in the society. This requires the passage from a staff-centred or input-based approach to a student-centred or output-based approach, which assumes the student as the centre of the teaching and learning process).

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 8 To this end, SPs’ learning outcomes have to be consistent with the Dublin Descriptors: o acquiring knowledge and understanding, o applying knowledge and understanding, o making informed judgments and choices, o communicating knowledge and understanding, o capacities to continue learning, endorsed by the European Ministers of Education as part of the report ‘A Framework for Qualifications of the EHEA’ …

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 9 or with the top 3 levels (that is 6, 7 and 8) of the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF for LLL).

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 10  In order to be compatible, SPs must be organized in three main cycles, each one consistent with the number of ECTS credits established by the Bologna declaration.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 11  In order to be comparable, SPs must adopt a quality assurance system consistent with the Standards and Guidelines fo Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area, adopted by the European Ministers of Education in the Bergen meeting on May 2005.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 12  Finally, in order to be readable (transparent) and comparable at national and international level, SPs must document their quality and quality assurance, i.e. their educational objectives and results and the activities managed in order to achieve their educational objectives and improve their results.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 13 This is a requirement established by the ESG, which in ‘ Part 1: European standards and guidelines for internal quality assurance within higher education institutions Public information ’ establishes that “Institutions should regularly publish up to date, impartial and objective information, both quantitative and qualitative, about the programmes and awards they are offering”.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 14 The publicly availability of information and data about SPs is essential also in order to ‘ensure trust’ in the SP capacity to achieve the established educational objectives, making possible the formulation of an informed judgment on the SPs’ quality by all the parties interested in the educational service provided, students and employers above all.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 15 Furthermore, the publicly availability of information and data about SPs constitutes a powerful incentive to the improvement of SP quality (as a matter of fact, when a SP is required to document its quality, in case of bad quality it is also stimulated to adopt the opportune actions for its improvement).

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 16 Without taking into account that the availability of information and data about SPs is necessary in every quality assessment and accreditation process.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 17 Ultimately, for a ‘correct’ implementation of the Bologna process, SPs must:  to establish learning outcomes consistent with the Dublin Descriptors or with the levels of the EQF for LLL;  to adopt an organization in cycles of their SPs, of duration consistent with the prescriptions of the Bologna document;  to adopt a quality assurance system consistent with the ESG;  to document their quality and quality assurance.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 18 b) What we have done Wider Objective of the DoQuP Project Definition and implementation of an on-line documentation system for the quality assurance (QA) of study programmes (SPs) in partner countries (PCs), consistent with the European Standards and Guidelines for QA (ESG).

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 19 DoQuP Standards and Guidelines for the QA of SPs (DoQuP Model) First of all, we have shared that in order to assure its quality a SP must comply with the national standards and requirements and :  establish educational objectives consistent with the mission of the institution the SP belongs to and the educational needs of the labour market of reference, and learning outcomes consistent with the educational objectives;

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 20  design and implement an educational process adequate to achieve the learning outcomes, keep under control its development, assure a correct assessment of students’ learning and establish appropriate criteria for students’ progression in their studies;  have and keep under control teaching staff, facilities, financial resources, student support services and partnerships with businesses, research institutions and other HEIs adequate to accomplish the learning outcomes;

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 21  monitor and keep under control the results of the educational process;  adopt an adequate and effective management system able to assure the SP quality and its continual improvement, and guarantee public access to the information on the SP. These are the principles that, accordingly to the DoQuP approach and consistently with the ESG, should inspire the design, development and control of every SP, and constitute the five ‘DoQuP standards’.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 22 Then, remembering the definition of “QA of a SP”: “the whole of the activities (processes) for the management of the educational service aimed at achieving the established educational objectives and then at ‘ensuring trust’ in meeting the quality requirements to all interested parties”, for each standard we have identified the fundamental processes for a management for quality of SPs.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 23 Example A Needs and Objectives A1 - Identification of the educational needs of the labour market A2 - Definition of the educational objectives A3 - Definition of the learning outcomes

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 24 Then the ‘ DoQuP requirements for quality ’, i.e. the needs or expectations for quality, associated to each identified process have been established according to the ESG and the best practices of the European Agencies for quality assessment and accreditation of SPs, with the activities for their accomplishment.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 25 Finally, for each identified quality requirement the information and data to be documented by the SPs in order to provide evidence of the quality of the educational service offered, and therefore to assure their quality, have been established, again according to the ESG and the best practices of the European Agencies for quality assessment and accreditation of SPs.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 26 Example Quality Requirement A3 - Learning outcomes The study programme should define learning outcomes in terms of what students are expected to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate after completion of the educational process consistent with the national qualification framework, if any, and with the established educational objectives.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 27 Expected Activities The SP should establish learning outcomes in terms of what a student is expected to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate after completion of the learning process. They should be specific for the SP and detailed in order to favour the understanding of the depth and extent of learning expected at the end of the educational process. The learning outcomes should be adequate to the reference cycle (I or II) of the SP and consistent with the national qualification framework, if any, and with the established educational objectives. The learning outcomes should be registered in an official document

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 28 The SP should compare the established learning outcomes with those of other SPs of the same typology offered in the national and international contexts, in order to check the correspondences and point out the differences. The SP should document the results of the comparison, pointing out its peculiarities with respect to the SPs under the comparison.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 29 Required Documentation Learning outcomes List the learning outcomes of the SP. Provide only information registered in official documents. Comparison with learning outcomes of other study programmes of the same typology Make available the document where the exits of the comparison with the learning outcomes of other SPs of the same typology are registered.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 30 The whole of standards and quality requirements, with the associated expected activities for their accomplishment and information and data to be documented, constitute the DoQuP Standards and Guidelines for the internal quality assurance of study programmes in partner countries (DoQuP Model).

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 31 The DoQuP Model represents the fundamental outcome of the DoQuP project. It is a reference document for not only the documentation of the educational objectives, educational process, resources, results and management system of the SPs, but also for the definition of a QA system of SPs consistent with the ESG.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 32 DoQuP Software for the on-line documentation of the QA of SPs In order to increase the transparency of SPs and promote the modernisation of HEIs, the documentation should be easily accessible on the net. To this end, the DoQuP Software for the on-line documentation of the information and data for the QA of SPs required by the DoQuP Model has been designed and implemented.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 33 The DoQuP Software is available on-line ( and will be kept operative for at least two years after the end of the project. It can be adopted for free by each University of the Partner Countries. An example of documentation of a SP implemented on the DoQuP Software is available at program-detail&year=2015&spid=58. program-detail&year=2015&spid=58

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 34 c) Benefits of the DoQuP System c) Benefits of the DoQuP System The DoQuP System (DoQuP Model + DoQuP Software) can be a powerful instrument in order to:  promote the design of student-centred SPs, focused on the definition of learning outcomes consistent with the needs of the interested parties;  bring the QA process of SPs into line with the ESG ;

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 35  enhance quality of SPs and increase their transparency and comparability, in order to enhance mutual trust in the quality of SPs and to allow all interested parties to formulate an informed judgment on the educational process offered by SPs;  promote modernisation of Higher Education through an online documentation of the characteristics and results of SPs.

KNU - Bishkek (KS) 21 April 2015 DOQUP PROJECT FINAL DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE 36 Thanks for your attention