External Quality Audit

Mahsood Shah is Principal Advisor for Academic Strategy, Planning and Quality at the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Professor Chenicheri Sid Nair is currently with the Centre for Advancement of Teaching and Learning, University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth. Prior to his appointment to UWA, he was Quality Adviser (Research and Evaluation) in the Centre for Higher Education Quality (CHEQ) at Monash University, Australia. He has an extensive expertise in the area of quality development and evaluation, and he also has considerable editorial experience. Currently, he is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Quality Assurance in Engineering and Technology Education (IJQAETE). Prior to this he was also a Managing Editor of the Electronic Journal of Science Education (EJSE). Professor Nair is also an international consultant in a number of countries in quality and evaluations.

• List of figures and tablesPrefaceAbout the editors and contributorsChapter 1: Quality assurance – corporate fist in a velvet glove?Abstract:Australian quality assuranceMeasuring teaching qualityEducational reformQuality assurance for teaching at James Cook University 2000–10The JCU historical context for quality assuranceQuality assurance – summary of influences on teachingAll is not rosy in the world of professorsChapter 2: The impact of external quality audit in a private for-profit tertiary education institutionAbstract:IntroductionEvidence of effectiveness: global perspectiveBrief overview of private providers in AustraliaExternal quality audits of private providersQuality audit approachDiscussion on the effectiveness of the quality auditConclusionChapter 3: Multiple views of quality audits in New Zealand: a case for advancing systemic understandingAbstract:IntroductionA brief overview of quality auditsQuality audit in New ZealandViews of quality audits in New ZealandConclusionChapter 4: Reflections on the effectiveness of four cycles of external quality audits in New Zealand universitiesAbstract:IntroductionUniversities New Zealand and the establishment of the New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit, Te Whanga TtariNational context: recent government policyInternational contextThe impact of academic audit on systems and processesThe impact of academic audit on standards, outcomes and the student learning experienceThe impact of academic audit at institutional and national levelThe future challenges for quality assurance in New Zealand universitiesConclusionChapter 5: Enhancing quality assurance in an institution: the University of the South Pacific experience of an external auditAbstract:University of the South Pacific: an overviewA vision for the year 2020The quality strategyExternal auditThe self-assessmentPost-audit – the processes and impactsConclusionChapter 6: Quality audits in Hong Kong: seeking evidence of quality enhancementAbstract:The education landscape in Hong KongQuality audits in Hong KongMethodology for analysis of the Quality Assurance Council reportsFindingsSummaryChapter 7: External quality audits and quality assurance in the higher education sector: the Malaysian perspectiveAbstract:IntroductionQuality audit practice in higher educationGovernment policy on external quality auditsThe case of Universiti Teknologi MalaysiaA practitioner’s point of viewFuture challenges for higher education quality assurance in MalaysiaConclusionChapter 8: External quality audit in the UK: an impact analysisAbstract:IntroductionThe purposes of Institutional AuditThe implementation of Institutional Audit1The effects of Institutional AuditReflections on Institutional AuditConclusionsChapter 9: Effect of external quality agencies on universities in IndiaAbstract:The contextThe Indian scenarioEffects of external assuranceAssuring transnational educationLessons to be learnedChapter 10: External quality audits in South African higher education: goals, outcomes and challengesAbstract:IntroductionExternal quality assurance in the South African higher education contextFunctions of the HEQCPrinciples and approaches in the institutional audit systemSystems and procedures for institutional auditsExternal institutional audits: outcomes and impactImpact of the audit process: preparation and site visitThe issue of impact through audit recommendationsEvaluating the student experience in auditsConclusionChapter 11: Development, effectiveness and future of quality assurance and assessment in Italian higher educationAbstract:IntroductionStages in quality assurance in Italian higher educationConclusion: the trade-off between differentiation and standardisationChapter 12: Audits of quality assurance systems of higher education institutions in FinlandAbstract:The Finnish system of higher educationBrief background of government policy on external quality audits in FinlandRole of FINHEEC, the national quality assurance organizationHow do the audits impact on quality management?Audits and educational outcomesStudents’ role in quality managementThe impact of audits at national, institutional and faculty levelThe future challenges of higher education quality assuranceNoteChapter 13: External quality auditing: strengths and shortcomings in the audit processAbstract:IntroductionExternal quality auditing in NorwayA process view on auditsData and methodsThe functioning and effects of external audits in NorwaySome final reflectionsChapter 14: Institutional management and quality audit: the experience in ChileAbstract:Development of external quality assurance schemes in Chile: an answer to the challenges of higher education evolutionA study to learn about the impact of quality auditsResultsLessons learned and recommendationsChapter 15: Scope, transparency and style: system-level quality strategies and the student experience in AustraliaAbstract:IntroductionExternal quality audit and the student experienceThe Australian Universities Quality Agency and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards AgencySystem-level quality strategies and the impact of external reviewConclusion: the merits of external review and prospects for future developmentChapter 16: Accreditation and institutional learning: the impact interactions based on a minimaxing strategy have on the benefits from external reviewsAbstract:IntroductionPurpose of this chapterPrelude: thoughts on the nature of learningLearning as a stochastic propositionLearning as a paradoxPerception and learningThe power of language used – who controls the narrative?When learning happensLimitations to organizational learningLevel 1: Nexus or nexum – type of interaction between HEIs and external agentsLevel 2: Structural and cultural impacts on complianceConclusionChapter 17: Has it worked globally?Abstract:IntroductionHave audits been successful?Where to from here?Index

"While this book is for academic and administrative staff and policy-makers involved in quality assurance and quality audit in higher education, it can be useful reading for academic librarians both because quality audit affects them, and because it helps to know what their academic colleagues are facing."--Australian Library Journal, September 22014