CEES Lunchtime Seminar Paper
Presented on 1st October 2013
At CEES: Makerere University
Department of Open and Distance Learning
CEES
 What
philosophical
underpinnings could guide QA
operations for teaching and
learning in Ugandan
Universities?
Florence OOdur Philisophies of
QA
10/11/2013
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An intriguing concept has a positive image;
however, it is difficult to describe
Comes from Latin word “qualis” meaning
“what kind of”
Multi-dimensional concept. Q has a variety of
meanings. No agreed upon definition that
excludes others has yet been reached.
Relative (Harvey& Green, 1993)
Q cannot be treated as a unitary concept, talk
of qualities (Green, 1994)
Controversial, slippery, ambiguous…
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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"Quality...you know what it is, yet you don't know what it is. But
that's self-contradictory. But some things are better than others,
that is, they have more quality. But when you try to say what the
quality is, apart from the things that have it, it all goes poof!
There's nothing to talk about. But if you can't say what Quality is,
how do we know what it is, or how do you know that it even
exists? If no one knows what it is, then for all practical purposes
it doesn't exist at all. But for practical purposes it really does
exist. What else are the grades based on? Why else would people
pay fortunes for some things and throw others in the trash pile?
Obviously some things are better than others... but what's the
'betterness'? So round and round you go, spinning mental wheels
and nowhere finding any place to get traction. What the hell is
Quality? What is it?" [Prigsig (1974:179) as cited in IUCEA,
(2007:34)]
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Florence OOdur Philisophies of
QA
10/11/2013
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Exceptional:
Excellent State &
Functioning
State of
Perfection
Transformation
Quality
Value for Money
Consistency of
Performance
Fitness for
Purpose
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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QA is about checking/ scrutinizing the
state/functioning of Q. Monitoring and
evaluating the quality of institutions,
programmes and activities.
IQA institutional policies, practices processes,
where academic institutions monitor & improve
Q of their own educational provision
EQA supra institutional policies & practices
whereby Q of HEIs & programmes are externally
assured
Implies setting of standards & specifications to
be used as a basis for checking, monitoring &
evaluating Q
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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„…the means by which an institution can guarantee, with
confidence and certainty, that the standards and quality
of its educational provision are being maintained and
enhanced [Mehralizadeh et al, 2007]
‟ „… planned and systematic review of the quality of an
educational institution or its programmes to determine
that acceptable standards of education, scholarships,
and infrastructures are maintained and enhanced…‟
[CHEA, 2001].
„The mechanism put in place to guarantee that
education is “fit for purpose”. NCHE underscores the
need for every HE institution to have appropriate and
effective internal structures and mechanisms for
monitoring its quality control procedures [NCHE,
2007:50].
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Quality as
Notion Explained
Quality Assured at
Mark of
Distinctivenes
s
-Exceptional
-Exceedingly
high
standards
-Conformance
to standards-
-Traditional Notion of Quality
-Excellence-High Standards
-Institutional T & L Processes
-Distinctive T - Competent
Teacher
-Distinctive L
Learner
Excellence
-Minimum Standards
Quality Assured
(Controlled) at input,
process n output
Guiding philosophy:
Inspection, control ,
conformance to
standards
State of
Perfection &
Consistency
Zero Defects
Quality assured
-Research outputs
(audited) at process
-Programmes design &
and output
development
Guiding philosophy
-Course instructional Material Inspection
Dev …, -Course Production &
Prevention
Output
Conformance to
-Teaching Processes
specifications
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA 10/11/2013
-Student assessment
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Quality as….
Notion Explained
Quality Assured at….
Value for
money
Effectiveness
Efficiency
-Accountability
-Managerialism
Quality assured at
input & output
Guiding Philosophy:
Accountability
Transformatio
n
Enhancing and Empowering
Empowering teachers
Enhancing Learning
Empowering Learners
Quality assured at
process
Guiding Philosophy:
Improvement
Culture
Quality is a culture inbuilt in a Quality assured at
learning organization
input, process, output,
-Every learning organization
outcomes
have a culture –what practices Guiding Philosophy
do they carry out?
-Everyone positively
Which culture do we adapt for involved
our ODeL quality? Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA 10/11/2013
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HE has various stakeholders
Different notions / different understandings of Q;
Creation of different approaches & philosophical
interpretation of the way Q sh‟d be assured
Eg where Q is viewed as implying „state of
excellence‟ QA will focus on the philosophy of
inspection, control and conformance to standards
How: Set standards, specify criteria, rigourously
inspect Q at I-P-O (RPR) to ensure incoming
resources are of high quality, teaching is of high
quality and output is high quality [Cavanaugh,
2002]
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Level 1= Distinctiveness [ Q
is embodied in the Org. eg
former Oxbridge
Universities]
Level 2=Exceedingly high
standards [Extremely high
standards set and must be
met]
Level 3= Conforming to set
standards [Much lower
standards set- criteria
moves depending on
students‟ performance]
Traditional
approach to
Q [Q as excellence]
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Q not assured at level
of distinctivenessInspection and control,
conformance to set
standards
Inspection , control,
conformance to
standards
Guiding Philosophy
Florence OOdur Philisophies of
QA
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Heavy inspection & control occurs at entry and
output [Mak. student‟s admission: inspection of
grades + relevance of such grades to courses
offered; student‟s graduation; Academic staff
Q= entry]
Inspection at entry is purposely to control the Q
of inputs & ensure inputs meet set standards;
HE Inputs: Admitted stns; recruited staff;
procured resources; availability & relevance of
teaching space; equipment, plant & other
material resources, policies, regulations etc
[see NCHE Website + publications].
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Scrutinizing grades of incoming students to
select for programme they best qualify for
Assessment of institutions, programmes +
courses for accreditation
This philosophy posits that high Q inputs will
lead to high Q outputs. To subscribe to this
philosophy, HEIs need to work at sustaining
very high level Q at all levels QA
Assessments at end of scheduled activities
include end of semester exams to check on Q
of learning, control Q of output, ensure O
meets set standard [What are HE outputs? ]
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Evaluation of T & L Outcomes may be carried
out through Graduate/alumni & Employer
Surveys
GS= to collect information on how graduates feel
about the education they received
 to establish how education received has
influenced their careers/ personal lives
ES= to elicit how employers appraise the
graduates they employ.
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To learn about needs of society & feed these
back into the system for improvement
Implications: Stns track records,
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Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Q as Perfection or Consistency: [Zero defects;
Consistently Flawless; Doing things Right for first
time]
 QA means consistently scrutinizing state of Q at
each stage. Focus on the processes & activities:
planning, design, development & production.
 Purpose: improvement; guided by philosophy of
Prevention
 Involves correcting mistakes, removing faults so
that end product is free of faults/ has zero defects/
flawless
 Emphasis: conformance to specifications/
guidelines: “A quality product is one that conforms
to predetermined & measurable specifications”
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Q : Perfection /Consistency philosophy applied
 Eg: Course review for accreditation; ODL learning
materials reviews; research production; research
stn-supervisor activity ; tracking & monitoring
students‟ academic records for progression,
graduation; information going out to students:
prospective, continuing, alumni; & information
going to staff all need meticulous checking so that
institution appears credible to stakeholders. [paper
work]
 Implication: To subscribe to this philosophy, staff
need good record Mgt skills; networking skills &
competence in course reviews & research
supervision skills; knowledge of ODL etc
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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This philosophy questions whose purpose is being
pursued: Major HE stakeholders-eg: Govtfinancing; student-fee paying; professional bodiesgurus; employers-users of products from HE all
have purposes
Purpose of HE is reflected in institutional mission,
progs, goals, course objectives as stated by
provider
Goals maybe defined by Professional bodies
HEIs are required to set clear purposes, doable
missions, attainable goals, achievable objectivesIssue of relevance to immediate context & wider
world continuous monitoring
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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FFP underpins QA procedures carried out by
most QA Agencies
To subscribe to FFP institutions must ensure
their systems in build QA practices:
mechanisms, processes, procedures, activities
to ensure that desired Q, however defined, is
delivered.
FFP proponents argue that QA is about
resolving whether or not institution is achieving
purpose it sets
FFP means QA must be monitored at all levels &
Q is comparable across academic units &
institutions through agreed upon measures
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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For FFP the customer is sovereign [Who is HE
customer? Client-IUCEA]
FFP is about meeting & exceeding customers
needs & demands [ODLs strategies]
Needs, requirements of customers become
specifications for products & services
FFP presupposes institutional outcomes will
match with customer specifications
Do HEIs in Ug create products & provide
services that surprise its customers in the most
pleasant way? Do we at do that Mak? If not,
Why not?
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Q is assured through student satisfaction and
experience surveys. Such surveys inform the
institution whether or not it is fulfilling its
purpose.
Implications:
 Do a Needs Assessment Survey for every course
offered/ for every major activity to be
undertaken
 Initial checking on of admitted students‟ needs
[do academic units at Mak do that?]
 Annual review & planning workshops [Can we
still have this as a means of self assessment?]
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Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Underlines efficiency and effectiveness
Aim: to make HE accountable for resources they
receive
This is the philosophy behind accreditation:
institutional self assessment, audit of HEIs [HE
accountability
Is associated with high levels of competition in
HE
Accreditation implies that a University can
prove to its stakeholders what it claims to be
through QA: Self Assessment, External Audit by
peers, and public reporting of its worth. Is Mak.
worth it‟s claims?
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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QA as accountability is associated with
philosophy of conformance to set standards
Proponents believe certain attributes of Q are
static & may be compared; thus accountability
is also associated with comparability of
standards across HEIs [Assessing similar
courses, progs, instititutions using the same
assessment framework: Ranking of universities;
possibility of transfer of credits across
universities. European accreditation system
through Bologna Declaration
]
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Accreditation can be at state; national,
regional and global level
In Uganda: NCHE as the national QA agency
[see NCHE Website]; IUCEA takes care of EA
Region; SAQA-SA ; CHEA-US etc
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Practice of QA is expected to lead to certain positive
changes: qualitatively & quantitatively
 Qualitative:-physically, cognitively or affectively,
 Proponents underscore ppt enhancement &
empowerment
 Believe a Q education affects ppts & enhances them by
adding value to their experiences
 Enhancement is perceived as “value added-ness”
 Q is thus measured in terms of “extent to which edus
enhances learners knowledge, skills, ability” [FA]
An institution that greatly enhances stns experiences is
perceived as a Q institution
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Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Enhancement encompasses Q stns holistic
experience at University life; stn unique
involvement in academic & non academic life at
Univ.
Implication: Q is monitored both through
longitudinal and snapshot evaluation of stn
experiences
Improvement: Give stns opportunities thru
increased self awareness; self-confidence
building; self assertive activities to empower
them to become more autonomous & more self
driven learners [Are we doing that as we teach
our stns?]
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Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Proponents emphasise providing stns with
opportunities to enable them acquire skills &
abilities that empower them continue learning
& engaging effectively with outside world [FA]
 This philosophy underscores continuous/
ongoing M&E to check on process of
enhancement & empowerment the stn is
acquiring
Implication: Academic staff must be empowered
to enhance & empower students to learn
How far are you empowered?
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Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Inspection & Control
Conformance to
Standards
Prevention &
Control.
Improvement
QA
Philosophy
Accountability
Conformance to
Specifications
Fitness for
purpose
Florence OOdur Philisophies of
QA
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Ensure you take off with a good start!
Florence OOdur Philisophies of QA
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Thank You for Participating
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