Universities and further education colleges are under increasing pressure to provide 'quality' for their students. Quality assurance and development issues affect the staff, resources, administration and culture of an academic institution, yet there is often a lack of clear guidance available to those responsible for implementing best practice. This book provides practical guidelines for managing academic quality assurance and quality enhancement, outlining best practice from both the UK and the rest of the world. Each chapter addresses the key points, risks and good practice across a wide range of quality issues, drawing explicitly and in detail from the QAA guidance on the Code of Practice, Subject Benchmarks, Qualifications Framework and Institutional Audit. The material is presented in an accessible and straightforward style, incorporating useful features such as development questions for individual or team review. A maintained website accompanying this book (www.academicquality.com) contains further useful resources, with updates and supplementary material in this constantly changing area.

The proposal for improving academic quality without spending more or abandoning other priorities, presented in 2003 in William Massy’s Honoring the Trust, is extended and applied in this how-to book. Informed by successful applications of academic audit at the department level by the University of Missouri System and the Tennessee Board of Regents, this book offers tested descriptions of academic quality work and the audit process. It extends both to include research and teaching at community colleges and four-year campuses. The authors see audit as a way to jump-start and then reinforce a self-sustaining cycle of academic quality improvement. This approach, which is low cost and highly collegial, uses structured conversation within the department and between department members and auditors to examine the possibilities for improvement and achieve commitments for change. Academic Quality Work is aimed at change agents—provosts, deans, department chairs, academic senate members, and faculty—and sponsors of quality improvement, such as trustees, foundation leaders, and legislatures. This book provides 1) the conceptual tools needed to apply audit in any academic setting, 2) materials for orientation and training, 3) examples of self-study and audit reports, and 4) testimonials from faculty.

This book is based on an international comparison observing a series of universities, where diversity remains huge when considering how single institutions position themselves in terms of quality standards and combine resources, as well as the alternatives they have access to given their organizational and cultural governance path dependence.

Over the last decade the structure of higher education in most countries has undergone significant change brought about by social demands for expanded access, technological developments, and market forces. In this period of change the traditional concerns with access and cost have been supplemented by a new concern with academic quality. As a consequence, new public policies on academic quality and new forms of academic quality assurance have rapidly emerged and swiftly migrated across continents and around the globe. The growing public debate about academic quality assurance within and across countries however has not always been well informed by analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of these new policy instruments. The Public Policy for Academic Quality Research Program (PPAQ) was designed to provide systematic analyses of innovative external quality assurance policies around the world. This volume presents the fourteen analyses of national policies on academic quality assurance conducted as part of the PPAQ Research Program utilizing the knowledge of informed international scholars. Each policy analysis examines the policy goals, implementation problems, and impacts of these newly developed national quality assurance instruments. The book concludes with an assessment of the lessons learned from these collected policy analyses and outlines the framework conditions that appear essential for assuring academic standards in the university sector.

Helping human research protection program professionals create, implement, and evaluate quality assurance/quality improvement programs. Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Handbook for Human Research is the first comprehensively designed instructional manual aimed at teaching human research protection program (HRPP) professionals how to create, implement, evaluate, and improve QA/QI programs. Geared toward institutions and individuals responsible for establishing new QA/QI programs or functions, the book offers several organizational models for consideration. It also provides practical information for improving and strengthening established programs, both big and small. Written in a conversational style, the book's step-by-step instructions make it easily accessible to those who may not be well versed in QA/QI concepts and fundamentals. Developed by the QA/QI Subcommittee of the Harvard Catalyst Regulatory Foundations, Ethics, and Law Program, which is committed to designing and strengthening QA/QI programs and functions, this volume • includes contributions by fifteen experts with diverse professional experiences from varied organizations • is enhanced with flow charts, examples, sample forms, and templates • incorporates model slide presentations and instructional materials • discusses the respective benefits and challenges of different organizational models • is applicable across many organizational types with a variety of reporting structures and available resources, including academic and medical institutions Perfect for both seasoned personnel and newcomers to the field, Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Handbook for Human Research is a needed resource for ensuring investigative accountability. Contributors: Hila Bernstein, MS, MPH, Barbara E. Bierer, MD, Elizabeth Bowie, JD, MPH, MSc, Susan Corl, MSW, MPH, CIP, CCRP, Jacquelyn-My Do, MPH, Lisa Gabel, CIP, Alyssa Gateman, MPH, CCRP, Jennifer A. Graf, Nareg D. Grigorian, Leslie M. Howes, MPH, CIP, Jennifer Hutchinson, CIP, CPIA, Cynthia Monahan, MBA, CIP, Eunice Newbert, MPH, Sarah A. White, MPH, CIP, Elizabeth Witte, MFA

First Published in 2004. This book is intended as an introduction to the management of quality assurance and enhancement in higher education particularly in England. The text focuses on the relationship between institutional quality assurance and the auditing authority of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, the QAA.

Quality and the Academic Library: Reviewing, Assessing and Enhancing Service Provision provides an in-depth review and analysis of quality management and service quality in academic libraries. All aspects of quality are considered in the book, including quality assessment, quality review, and quality enhancement. An overview of quality management and service quality concepts, principles, and methods leads to a detailed consideration of how they have been applied in universities and their libraries. A case study approach is used with different perspectives provided from the different stakeholders involved in the quality processes. All contributors adopt a critical reflection approach, reflecting on the implications, impact, and significance of the activities undertaken and the conclusions that can be drawn for future developments. The book concludes with an overall reflection on quality management and service quality in academic libraries with a final analysis of priorities for the future. Presents a holistic view of the subject, looking at reviews of academic library services, quality assurance and assessment, quality enhancement, and service quality Provides perspectives from authors with different experiences and responsibilities, including those responsible for initiating and managing quality processes in higher education Includes case studies where the authors not only describe the quality processes used, but also seek to review and reflect on their success, limitations, and the impact of their work some time after the event Seeks to be current, comprehensive, and reflective by including the results of surveys/interviews from senior librarians on quality in academic libraries