Student Involvement in Quality Assurance in Higher Education

1
Student Involvement in Quality Assurance in
Higher Education

• The case of Norway presented by Tove Blytt Holmen

2
The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Norway

• 42 state-owned HEIs (6 full-scale universities, 5
  specialized universities, 25 university colleges,
  2 academies of fine art and 4 military colleges).
  70 of the students attend state-owned
  universities.
• 20 private HEIs with financial support from the
  state (1 specialized university, 1 university
  college, 18 not accredited as institution).
  30 of the students attend private institutions
  for higher education.

3
Governance at the Institutional Level

• The Board of each state-owned HEI will consist of
  eleven members four academic representatives,
  one representative from the technical and
  administrative staff, two student
  representatives, four external members appointed
  by the Ministry
• Student representatives should have at lest 20
  of the seats, two seats at the minimum, in all
  executive bodies of the institution
• For a private institution the Board shall be
  composed by at least five members and have
  representatives from the students and staff. If
  the Board has more than ten members, the groups
  representing studients and staff shall have at
  least two members.

4
NOKUTs Board

• Overall responsibility for NOKUTs activities and
  decisions
• Eight members one student, one staff, the other
  six are not defined
• Appeals Board
• Six members of which two are students

5
Institutional Autonomy
Power to establish any study programme (BA, MA,
PhD)
Power is limited. The institusjonen can not offer
study programmes in the field without
accreditation and a final decision by The
Ministry of Education.
6
The Norwegian Model of Quality Assurance
Accreditation
HEIs and their portefolio
QAS
Revision of accreditation
Audit
Revision of accreditation
7
Standards for institutional quality assurance
systems

• Satisfactorily documentation
• Applicable to the whole process of teaching and
  learning
• Capable of revealing poor quality
• Includes routines to ensure continous improvement
  of the system

8
Programme accreditation standards and criteria

• Curriculum
• Staff
• Internationalisation
• Infrastructure
• Quality assurance

The criteria are fairly detailed, but gives the
experts room for qualitative judgements All
criteria have to be met at a certain minimum
level
9
Experts - Important competencies

• High level of academic understanding
• Regarding the institution as a whole (audit and
  institutional accreditation)
• Regarding the specific programme
  (re-accreditation of programmes)
• Experience on how to communicate on equal basis
• Personal integrity

10

• NOKUT will search for experts within its own
  network
• Generally NOKUT will not ask for proposals from
  institutions on expert candidates
• other than from the student unions

11
Training of experts

• Training of experts will differ concerning
  standing committees for auditing and ad-hoc
  committees for accreditation of programmes
• Experts from society/employers and student are
  two of a kind
• Re-use of experts from one evaluation to another
• We will try to engage former (student) experts to
  tell about their experience when a new panel
  meets for the first time

12
something to think about?

• Students are natural members of panels that
  evaluates quality assurance systems, study
  programmes and HEIs for accreditation purposes
• Students act as board members of QAAs
• If we believe in student value, involving
  students in external evaluation of higher
  education as well as of QAAs will be a proof of
  this
• If we dont believe in student value why be
  afraid to try? (As long as we have such a
  profound belief in the other members capasity)