|  Those working within education
will appreciate that change is endemic to the sector. But over the
next few years UK education is set for increased turbulence, as
the Government moves towards a free market with the introduction
of variable fees in 2006, and the proposed shake up of the GCSE
and A-level systems.
Pressure is mounting to ensure that effective systems for managing
quality and standards of academic provision are in place higher
education. And for Edge Hill, as we undergo a period of scrutiny
by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) following the bid for taught
degree awarding powers and university status, quality issues assume
increased importance.
Professor Colin Raban is Head of Academic Quality and Standards
at Edge Hill and is project leader for the HEFCE funded Good Management
Practice project Quality Risk Management in Higher Education. An
auditor for the QAA who has completed numerous research projects
and consultancies in the field of flexible learning, Colin leads
the national project to re-examine quality assurance systems in
UK higher education. Findings were presented to senior managers
of higher education institutions at the Universities UK conference,
Managing Academic Risk: New Directions in Quality Assurance.
“The final report is not a recipe book for quality managers,”
said Colin. “It’s really important that institutions
determine their own quality assurance methods that are fit for their
own purposes.”
Working with the project partners Bath Spa University College, the
University of Durham, Leeds Metropolitan University and the Standing
Conference of Principals, Edge Hill initiated the project with these
four partners, representing different types of institutions within
the sector. The project team also includes representatives of the
Quality Assurance Agency and Universities UK.
Colin said: “The report pulls together a range of case studies
to emphasise the point that many of the principles of best practice,
in terms of quality assurance, can be usefully applied in different
ways to different problems.”
Edge Hill’s Quality Unit is also involved in the process of
working with staff from across the institution to approve new course
provision and to review existing courses, to ensure that quality
underpins all aspects of Edge Hill’s study programmes.
Colin said: “We work together with academic and support staff
to ensure that issues and factors that have an impact on study are
properly addressed. We are also responsible for developing the academic
governance of the institution. These systems are key in enabling
us to meet the criteria for taught degree awarding powers. And we
are working hard to ensure that all staff are engaged with the process
whether through conferences, team briefings or two way communication
via the intranet.”
|
Edgeways
Issue 13 Contents >>>
|
|
|
|
