The main theme of the conference is:

Quality Assurance: Coming of Age - Lessons from the Past and Strategies for the Future.

INQAAHE will be completing its 15th year of operation at the 2007 Biennial Conference. That period has seen a remarkable growth in the importance and application of quality assessment in higher education throughout the world, which is mirrored in the membership of INQAAHE which has approximately 175 full, associate, and affiliate members. This meeting offers a good time to take stock of the developments in quality assessment and assurance practices and procedures and also to look at appropriate strategies for the future.

 

Conference Themes:

Keynote speakers and panel presenters and workshops will focus on the themes and subthemes listed below. Later this year delegates will be invited to present paper and poster submissions covering aspects of these themes. The subthemes are provided for inspiration, and delegates are encouraged to present submissions on any subtheme relevant for any of the four headings.

 

 1.  Outcomes and Theory of Quality Assurance (QA)

Accounting for the impact/effects of QA: What assumptions inform various approaches to QA, and what explanations can be offered for the effects at system and institutional levels? Can we establish an explanatory link between institutional preparation strategies and post-QA follow-up arrangements and ultimate effects? How can we account for the development and maintenance of quality cultures (where these are achieved) as outcomes of QA? Can we explain why approaches to quality assurance succeed (or don’t succeed) as a drivers of change (e.g. organisational change)?

 

2. Quality Assurance and Accountability of Quality Assurance Agencies

How do quality assurance agencies assure the quality of their activities and by which mechanisms? How are internal and external agency reviews organised and reported? Who are responsible for organising external reviews of quality assurance agencies?  How are national, regional and/or global standards for reviews of quality assurance agencies taken into account? How are the relations between governments, students and employers, other stakeholders and quality assurance agencies cover in the reviews if at all. How is the commitment to follow-up reported?

 

3. Legitimacy and Efficiency of National Systems of Quality Assurance

On what grounds is the legitimacy of national QA systems established? How do these systems of legitimization condition the focus, priorities and methods of national QA systems (including approaches to control, accountability, compliance, improvement, maintenance of academic standards and student learning outcomes, research output)? What constitutes ‘effectiveness’ in national systems, and how is this evaluated? What approaches and resources are provided to enable improvement to occur?

 

4.  International Quality Assurance

Should international competencies be incorporated into the standards of what we believe is a quality higher education? What are the short and long-term implications of institutions and their programs seeking accreditation from multiple national and international sources?  What are the challenges of international recognition of qualifications and how can external quality assurance facilitate recognition processes?  What are the benefits of Qualification Frameworks and what role should Quality Assurance bodies play in their development and implementation?  What impacts do efforts to achieve mutual recognition between countries or within global professions have on higher education? Does the gap between quality assurance practice which emphasizes learning outcomes and practice which emphasizes inputs have international implications for the teaching/learning process?  How practical are international guidelines on the quality of cross-border higher education? How sensitive or contextual should a national quality assurance system be to be applied to educational offerings in another country?  To what extent have capacity building goals been achieved by regional or international organizations?