Quality Assurance

By

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the study1

Quality assurance concepts1

The purpose of quality assurance3

Accountability3

Enhancement of Education4

Resource Management5

State of Transparency5

Authority Figure6

Quality Principles7

Quality assurance mechanisms9

Self-Assessment9

Peer Review10

Accreditation10

Inspection11

Checkup12

The factors that influence the effectiveness of quality assurance implementation12

Purpose statement14

Research questions14

Conceptual framework15

Quality Principles in Higher Education15

Total Quality Management16

REFERENCES17

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Quality assurance concepts

Before examining definitions of Quality Assurance per se, it is important to study briefly the definitions of quality in education. (Cameron, 2003) defined quality as fulfillment of client needs. Juran (1989a) highlighted the significance of pleasing consumers. Quality is fitness for practicality which consists of the recognition of customer needs and the efforts to meet these needs. This, when translated into educational language, may be compared to the leaner-driven method. A principal perception in current educational methods to assure quality is putting the student into the spotlight and planning curricula and procedures that most completely meet the learners' needs. As quality is explained as a perception, its execution relies on the nature of organization in focus.

A leader of organizations needs to know necessary processes and the consequences of quality implementation. In designing strategies to direct universities or colleges, according to Deming (1994) and Gilmour and Hunt (1995), all sides of the service such as suppliers, clients, production approaches, and delivery modes need to be systematically thought. Gilmour and Hunt also noted that the valuable supervision of an incorporated practice is the solution to guaranteeing quality results, and the quality of the manufactured goods is the straight outcome of the quality during the process used to generate it. They added that if problems occur at any stage, the quality of the entire process can be influenced. Quality Assurance has become an international issue since the early 1990s, and educational policy makers are worried about quality and its measurements. There are several methods to Quality Assurance, and they are seen at the organizational structure rather than that of individual activities. Higher educational policy makers are also putting tremendous efforts into improving higher education quality. Many writers have proposed a definition of Quality Assurance. Gilbert (1992, p. 32), for example, delineates Quality Assurance as the assembly of all functions and activities that bear upon the quality of a product or service so that all are treated equally, planned, controlled and implemented in a systematic manner. According to Harman (1998) and Skilbeck and Connell (2000), Quality Assurance in the context of higher education refers to systematic management and assessment procedures adopted by a higher education institution or system to monitor performance and to ensure achievement of quality outputs or improved quality. Vroeijenstijn (1995) defined Quality Assurance as the systematic, structured and continuous attention to quality in terms of quality maintenance and quality improvement.

Harman and Meek (2000) described Quality Assurance as the processes of on-going review, assessment and monitoring that should apply to all recognized providers in order to ensure that courses and awards are of a high standard and that institutional monitoring of performance is effective. Dew, (2007) suggested that Quality Assurance ...