The Australian Higher Education Quality Assurance Framework: From Improvement-Led to Compliance-Driven

Autor/inn/en	Shah, Mahsood; Jarzabkowski, Lucy
Titel	The Australian Higher Education Quality Assurance Framework: From Improvement-Led to Compliance-Driven
Quelle	In: Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 17 (2013) 3, S.96-106 (11 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1360-3108
Schlagwörter	Quality Assurance; Educational Quality; Higher Education; Foreign Countries; Program Effectiveness; Educational Policy; Educational Change; National Standards; Federal Legislation; Federal Regulation; Compliance (Legal); Institutional Autonomy; Instructional Innovation; Learner Engagement; Capacity Building; Accreditation (Institutions); Improvement Programs; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Qualitätssicherung; Quality of education; Bildungsqualität; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Ausland; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Bildungsreform; Bundesrecht; Bundeskompetenz; Institutionelle Autonomie; Educational Innovation; Bildungsinnovation; Accreditation; Institution; Institutions; Akkreditierung; Staatliche Anerkennung; Institut; Effizienzsteigerung; Australien
Abstract	The Australian government initiated a review of higher education in 2008. One of the outcomes of the review was the formation of a national regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), with responsibilities to: register all higher education providers, accredit the courses of the non self-accrediting providers, assure quality against externally set standards and reduce risk by monitoring institutional performance on various measures. One of the key changes in Australian higher education quality assurance is the shift from a "fitness-for-purpose" approach to quality assurance to a compliance-driven approach using an externally developed set of standards monitored by the national regulator, which has legislated powers to place sanctions on universities and other providers for non-compliance. This article outlines the new framework introduced by the government and analyses its limitations in assuring and improving quality in core and support areas. It cautions universities against being dominated by TEQSA's compliance agenda. Rather, it encourages the development and maintenance of shared governance principles and strong internal quality improvement processes along with the establishment of an outcomes focus, which will stand the test of external compliance auditing while allowing the institution to pursue its own educational objectives. The article is based on the authors' experience and reflection on external, improvement-led quality audits in Australia over the past decade compared with the present compliance-oriented audits now required for institutional registration and ongoing accreditation. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10