Quality Assurance analyse Professional

Higher education in the 1990s is characterised by a pre-occupation with quality assurance. This book provides an examination of what that means for one academic specialism, continuing professional education (CPE). Based on research conducted in and around UK universities, the book explores the range of existing practice in CPE, and develops a broadly based strategy for practical action. It is argued that a framework for quality should evolve from an awareness of the complex character of CPE as a distinct subject area - solutions cannot simply be brought in, but must be developed in relation to setting.

Excerpt

Both quality assurance (QA) and continuing professional education (CPE) have a high profile in contemporary UK universities. One is not reliant on the other, each has an impact in its own right. But it is the integration of the two that is the concern of this book. The following analysis—of QA in CPE—addresses issues raised by this fusion; it is also directed towards the identification of a framework within which practical strategies can emerge.

Such a project is in many ways a challenging one. For, to date, there has been a tendency to conceptualise both of these elements in limited and restrictive terms: QA as a matter of organisation; CPE as technical updating. Frequently both have been treated as isolated phenomena, devoid of context. In considering the interaction of these two strands, the appropriateness of such a foundation will be questioned.

The book draws heavily on my own research into quality in CPE, carried out during the early 1990s. In keeping with the need to open up discussion—to move beyond limits implied by the restrictive interpretations of the main concepts—the research was approached from a number of angles: the contextual (a review of the complexities of working towards quality in various settings); the analytical (a detailed critique of a favoured system frequently discussed at the level of generality); and the empirical (qualitative and quantitative analyses of the key figures of CPE in and around UK universities). Considered separately, each offers insight into aspects of the current trend towards quality assurance; taken together they can help to shape the direction and composition of future action.

exe :

Abstract

Quality assurance in higher education remains to be one of the most prominent fields of research at the present. In the Saudi Arabian higher education institutions (HEIs), quality assurance is a relatively new concept and Saudi universities seem not to effectively implement quality assurance caused by the certain obstacles. As such, there are two objectives to be addressed; first, to explore the current quality assurance mechanisms. Second, to identify factors that enhances or hinder the effectiveness of the internal quality assurance system in Saudi Arabian HEIs. A case study involving Prince Sultan University was used to examine these questions. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with both meso and micro levels, as well as document analysis and observation. A grounded theory approach based on that advocated by Strauss and Corbin was taken to analysis the data. The findings of this study support the perceived use of many different standards based evaluative processes, which provide feedback from the various stakeholder perspectives. The findings also demonstrate perceived supportive factors of the commitment/support of leadership and management, awareness and orientation of employees/faculty. In addition, the findings also report that/faculty resistance and infrastructure limitations focused on financial and human capital constraints were perceived as inhibitive factors to QA.

Keywords: NCAAA, PSU, quality assurance mechanism, factors influencing, the quality assurance implementation