Strategy and Quality Maps in Higher Education

The purpose of this study is to investigate the integration of strategic management and quality assurance in higher education. The study presents how the value chain can be described in the strategy and quality maps, which are, respectively graphical representations of the strategic plan and the quality assurance system. The quality map is a new concept that explicitly takes into account the environment, strategic planning and the quality cycle of the institution. The quality map helps the management of the higher education institution present an overview of the quality assurance system to external evaluators, members of the organization, students and other stakeholders.     

Parents＇ Perception on De La Salle University-Dasmarinas Services

The study was conducted to find out the parents＇ perception on the De La Salle University-Dasmarifias services which are grouped as follows： （1） Academic instruction factor; （2） Quality of human ware （includes faculty, administration, staff support through medical services, guidance and discipline）; （3） Quality of hardware （dorm facilities, transportation, canteens and security services）; and （4） Expectations （graduates＇ job placement）. Likewise, this study was conducted to echo out the perception to the university officials for possible improvement and to share these observations with other sister La Salle schools, thus possibly enhancing better educational management based on an actual review from the parents, the ＂clients＂ and major stakeholders of the school. POLCA （Parents＇ Organization of La Salle Cavite）, the legitimate parents＇ organization of DLSU-D （De La Salle University-Dasmarinas）, a tertiary university finds the study significant： （1） in being able to verbalize its concerns on the academic instruction factor, quality of human ware, quality of hardware and expectations on graduates＇ job placement; （2） for university officials＇ awareness of the parents＇ perception; and （3） for considering the results of this study as eye openers for improvements and development of their services. Lastly, this study hopes to find answers to the perennial question of why the choice of DLSU-D for their children. The findings reveal that the overall rating of the services of the university to the students is satisfactory. Breaking down the services into 4 groups： academic instruction, quality of human ware, quality of hardware and expectations, that highlight the graduates＇ employability after graduation, the biggest number of parent respondents agreed on the perception that academic instruction factor ranked first, followed by expectations/graduates＇ employability after graduation as second, and quality of human ware and quality of hardware as th     

Social and communicational skills in upper secondary vocational education and training

This article presents the methodology used by the Finnish Education Evaluation Council in the national evaluation of social and communication skills in vocational education and training. The evaluation concentrates on key competences such as learning-to-learn skills, communication skills, social skills and entrepreneurship （Implementation of Education and Stringfellow, 2005; Recommendation of the European Training 2010, 2004; Winterton, Delemare-Le Deist ＆ Parliament and of the Council of December 18, 2006 on key competencies for lifelong leaming, 2006）. The evaluation focuses particularly on skills required in the labour market. These competences are included in all vocational study programmes as a part of accompanying with other key competences. The authors＇ approach follows the principles of developmental and participative evaluation, applying the Common Quality Assurance Framework （CQAF） model, which has been accepted by the European Commission for the quality management and quality assurance framework for vocational education and training in Europe. Additional methods such as interview and statistical data gathering were used to acquire comprehensive data and ensure extensive participation of each partner involved has key competences. The evaluation material was collected from vocational education and training providers by sector （n=8） and by qualification （n=53）. Every sector and type of examination was included in the evaluation. The evaluation was based on a sample （n=130）. The evaluation data were collected from multiple sources by using multiple methods. The material included written self-evaluation reports by vocational education and training providers （n=130 which equals 95% of VET providers）, quantitative information, interviews organized by the National Board of Education and an evaluation seminar for providers as focus groups. Educational administrators, teachers, students, employers and workplace instructors participated in the self-evaluation of the vocational education and training establishments （multi-professional evaluation）.     

Voidage measurement based on genetic algorithm and electrical capacitance tomography

INTRODUCTION Two-phase flow exists widely in chemical, pe- troleum and metallurgical industries. The voidage is one of the most important parameters of two-phase flow because the measurement of the voidage is im- portant for safety, environmental protection, energy conservation and quality assurance in industry (Hewitt, 1978; Lin, 1992). Although many voidage measurement methods have been proposed, it is still difficult to measure the voidage due to the complexity of the characteristics o…     

Declining quality of Nigerian university graduates： Revitalizing quality assurance through foreign agencies＇ support

Increasing and uninterrupted supply of high-level manpower has become a fundamental pre-requisite for social and economic development of any nation. Hence, the direction of the university education in Nigeria is intensifying and diversifying its programmes for the development of high-level manpower within the context of the needs of the nation. To achieve this, the government of Nigeria initiated higher education policy reforms that intended to bring its university system more in line with international good practices. It is however disheartening to note that the quality of university graduates in Nigeria has continued to decline due to inadequate funding. The focus of this paper is to examine how foreign agencies＇ support would help to increase the quality of Nigerian university graduates.     

Benchmarks and quality assurance for online course development in higher education

As online education has entered the main stream of the U.S. higher education, quality assurance in online course development has become a critical topic in distance education. This short article summarizes the major benchmarks related to online course development, listing and comparing the benchmarks of the National Education Association （NEA）, the benchmarks of the American Distance Education Consortium （ADEC）, the benchmarks of the American Federation of Teachers, and the benchmarks of the Quality Matters project. In doing so the author hopes to promote awareness of and commitment to quality assurance in online education.     

SCHOLARSHIPS AT LONDON MET

London Metropolitan University has a widerange of scholarship programmes for internationalstudents.We offer full and partial scholarships tooustandifg students from all over the world. Ourprogrammes include joint scholarships with BBCWorld Service, Asia House, International StudentsHouse and other global organisations.If you have outstanding academic results,and an excellent track record, please see our     

Plan the Introduction of a TQM System in an Education Establishment

The successful of total quality management(TQM) apply in industry have prompted people to think about the usage of total quality management in education.This is a challenge for education system to accept a new system in able to improve themselves,and also it is a new stage for them going to a new education quality control era.In education system,the productivity of teacher could be enhanced,teachers and students may find enjoyable in academic life,and leaving students positive contribution in society gain reputation for education institutions.     

Academicians＇ self-efficacy in the application of TEC learning curriculum instructional design in Malaysian public tertiary education

This research is attempted to examine universities＇ academic staffs＇ curriculum instructional design in the teaching and learning process in applying the technology enhanced classroom （TEC） learning. The universities have embarked on a costly project to create an innovative and creative learning and teaching environment to promote and establish a state-of-the-art, smart, efficient, effective and high quality education. The teaching and learning culture of universities have great influence on determining the level of students＇ achievement. Seven dimensions of public universities in Malaysia were examined to determine the percentage of academic staffs＇ self-efficacy in the application of TEC learning. There is a significant difference among factors concerning the academic staffs＇ self-efficacy in their teaching and learning processes in the classroom management. Their self-preparedness in using the provided technology is closely related to the experiences and practicality of the teaching materials. This study represents an addition to the extant literature on universities＇ academic staffs＇ self-efficacy in the application of TEC learning. Academic staffs＇ self-efficacy in using TEC learning instructional design is of the utmost important to disseminate knowledge to students, which will also fully help utilize the government＇s effort in providing technology to the additional instructional design, so as to achieve high quality education and technological enhance education to pave the way to achieve a techno-education environment for all public universities in Malaysia. This study provides furtber groundwork to assist existing tertiary educational managers to improve smart teaching and learning environment and to retain high quality academic staffs in the day-to-day classroom curriculum.     

Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Developing Countries

In recent years universities in developing countries have followed their counterparts in developed countries in adopting quality assurance to improve the quality of their teaching, research and direct community service programmes. While many of the conditions required for the successful implementation of quality assurance programmes are not present in most universities in developing countries, their adoption will still be useful. Such programmes show how a university's seemingly disparate activities are related to one another to serve a common cause and how the quality of these can best be improved by adopting an integrated approach. In the process, they provide more focus and direction to the work of the traditional academic committee system. However, the quality assurance programmes must be modified to suit the conditions prevailing in developing countries, by being simple in design, modest in expectations, and realistic in requirements.     

Managing Quality Assurance in Higher Education: a Scottish Example

This article outlines the principal parameters of the quality debate in higher education and considers issues and developments from the standpoint of the different key stakeholders. The analysis will be illustrated by the experiences of the University of Strathclyde in developing transnational policies and procedures for the quality assurance of awards and programmes which it provides or validates. Internally, the University of Strathclyde operates within an ethos of academic and financial devolution to its five Faculties. Central steering has been targeted primarily at negotiating understandings and agreements and at promoting reflection, evaluation, monitoring, and the dissemination of good practice. Applying that philosophy to transnational education has presented some interesting challenges. These are discussed, including the development of agreements to guide validated arrangements and modifications to evaluation and monitoring for programmes delivered at a distance. These developments are now an integral part of the approach taken by Strathclyde to the management of quality assurance of educational programmes.     

亚洲国家现代远程教育质量保证体系比较研究

如何形成正确的远程教育质量观,如何保证远程教育的质量,如何让劳动力市场认可远程教育的人才培养水平,仍是未来我国发展高质量远程学历教育面临的严峻挑战。因此,调查亚洲典型国家现代远程教育质量保证的方法和标准,为我国现代远程教育质量保证体系建设提供学术参考,就显得尤为重要。我们调查研究发现,尽管亚洲国家质量保证的基本模式、组织形式、内容框架不尽相同,但以下经验值得我国远程教育领域借鉴：远程教育质量保证目的的全面性、远程教育质量观的同一性趋势、远程教育质量评估机构和标准的权威性与公信力、远程教育质量保证标准的科学性等。我国应尽快成立专门机构,直接负责远程教育质量保证工作,制定出全面、科学的远程教育质量保证标准。     

Opportunity and Risk in Transnational Education—Issues in Planning for International Campus Development: An Australian Perspective

This article, that is based upon the experience of Monash University, identifies a range of opportunities and risks involved in transnational education and addresses a number of key planning issues in establishing an international campus. These include the guiding principles adopted by the university, country selection factors, market research, considerations in developing an appropriate delivery model, and the assurance of the academic quality and educational integrity of the programmes offered. The authors refer to literature in the field concerning corporate risk and identify factors relevant to the higher education sector. The article stresses the need for an appropriate integration of strategic vision, academic priorities, and business considerations to ensure that opportunities offered by transnational education are successfully realized.     

开放大学质量理念的定位和质量观测的维度

开放大学的全面建设、整体推进,必须以质量为中心,以质量保障体系的构建为重点。必须基于全民学习的质量需求、开放教育的质量规范、新型大学的质量追求,进一步更新质量的理念,强化质量保障的责任。同时必须把学习环境的创设、学习状态的优化、学习能力的增强、发展素质的完善确立为质量观测的基本维度,由此进一步明确质量保障的目标定位并形成质量评价的指标体系。     

Academic standards in South African universities and proposals for quality assurance

In South Africa an obvious need for the clarification of problems concerning academic standards and quality assurance has been identified. Some of the reasons for the differences in this regard between developing and established universities in South Africa are explained with reference to the causes thereof, namely a fragmented system of education, disparities in student enrolment and staffing and the lack of a culture of learning. Areas that require special attention to set the scene for quality assurance to be successfully implemented are identified and, based on research, proposals are made for quality assurance mechanisms for South African universities.     

开放大学质量保障模式探索与构建需要重点突破的三个难题

开放大学质量保障模式的构建,需要制订目标性与现实性、普适性与差别性、素质性与学习性相结合的质量标准;形成学校显示度、学习者满意度、政府信任度、社会认同度相统一的质量评价体系;同时需要以开放和人本理念为引领,以社会化为方向选择,推进考试模式的改革。     

The contribution of professional accreditation to quality assurance in higher education

This article examines the extent to which the professional accreditation of professional higher education programmes can complement other quality assurance endeavours being carried out. An analysis of a sample of professional accreditation reports for pharmacy education programmes in Ireland provides insight into the priorities of the regulatory professional body with regard to preparation for the profession. The results show that the reports address issues that are of relevance for the higher education institutions’ provision of quality programmes and for their quality assurance. The article also considers the extent to which the reports hold institutions accountable against the professional standards, while also acknowledging the professional responsibility of institution staff. Catering for both of these logics is necessary so that professional accreditation can contribute effectively as a mechanism for quality assurance, including enhancement, in the institution.     

我国高等教育质量保障体系的结构及其问题

高等教育的质量与发展的需求相比,质量保障体系在结构上存在着以下问题:质量标准单一,过份倚重学术性;质量保障主体力量不均衡,政府掌握着绝对影响力,学校、民间组织和市场力量发挥作用不大;重输入保障、轻过程保障和输出保障。     

Student feedback channels in Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees: insights for international joint programmes

This article explores the status of student feedback channels and the role of student representatives in the quality assurance and enhancement of Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) programmes. It provides an analysis of 1941 open-ended survey responses, covering 87 EMJMD programmes and involving respondents of 129 nationalities. The findings indicate that students and alumni feel that they should be involved in shaping key aspects of their programmes. The results suggest that organisational culture, national policies and regulations bear little relevance to students, as their needs transcend borders and contexts. The study suggests that further harmonisation in internal quality assurance processes would be welcomed by students as they recognise good practice in eliciting student feedback. The empirical findings can be useful in providing policy makers and researchers with a snapshot of prevailing issues in student engagement in quality assurance in the context of international joint programmes.