Quality Enhancement and Quality Assurance

Quality enhancement has become a popular requirement in most higher education quality assurance frameworks in Europe. Is quality enhancement the current and future focus of quality assurance in higher education or is it simply an old wine in a new bottle? To answer the question, let's examine the perspectives of quality assurance and quality enhancement in higher education. 

Middlehurst, R (1997) defines quality enhancement as part of a wider framework of quality management.  Quality assurance is about determining the objectives and how these objectives can be achieved while quality enhancement is concerned with making improvements.

Biggs, J (2001) defines quality enhancement as the internal mechanisms that an institution puts in place to continually review and improve practice. Quality assurance tends to be retrospective as it looks into the past to make a judgement with a focus on accountability. On the other hand, quality enhancement  tends to be prospective which is concerned with the present and future, focusing on quality as fit for purpose and encouraging improvement. 

Inglis, A (2005) defines quality assurance as a process by which a product or service is compared with a predetermined internal or external standard. Quality enhancement or improvement is about an internal comparison between the current standard and the standard being targeted.

With the above perspectives, what is your view of quality enhancement and quality assurance? Is it an old wine in a new bottle?

Happiness Exchange

Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Chief Happiness Coach of Living Better visited the School of Human Resource Development (SHRD) at the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) on 30 April 2015, Bangkok to exchange happiness practices with the authors of "102 Happy Workplaces" in Thailand. The book describes the best practices in happiness at 102 organisations in Thailand.

42nd AUN-QA Assessment at Universitas Gadjah Mada

The 42nd AUN-QA Assessment for programme level at Universitas Gadjah Mada was held from 19 - 21 May 2015 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.Three study programmes, namely; Industrial Engineering, Urban and Regional Planning, and Economics were assessed. The assessment of the Economics study programme was led by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin (AUN-QA Expert, Singapore) with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evangeline P. Bautista from Ateneo De Manila University, The Philippines.

Review of AUN-QA Model at Programme Level

A meeting to review the AUN-QA model at programme level was held on 15 and 16 May 2015 at AUN Secretariat, Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting was attended by the members of the AUN-QA Council, Senior Assessors and AUN-QA Experts. Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA expert (Singapore) is one of the members of the review task force.

The revised AUN-QA model at programme level is expected to be more system and process focus and quality enhancement will be part of the model. Biggs, J (2001) defines quality enhancement as the internal mechanisms that an institution puts in place to continually review and improve practice. The revised model is expected to be implemented in 1 to 2 years time.

8th AUN-QA Workshop for Accomplishing Programme Assessment

The 8th AUN-QA Workshop for Accomplishing Programme Assessment was organised by AUN Secretariat from 27 - 30 April 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The 4-day course aims to introduce the AUN-QA system and enhance quality assurance practices. It is held for professionals who are in charge of quality assurance in higher education. The content of the workshop focuses on AUN-QA model at programme level and it encompasses:

• Introduction to quality assurance in higher education
• AUN-QA model and criteria at programme level
• AUN-QA quality assessment process
• PDCA Approach to self-assessment
• Self-assessment report (SAR) writing
• Change Management

The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA Expert together with Dr. Arnie from De La Salle University. The workshop was attended by 35 participants from Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Below are what some participants said about the workshop:

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Johnson and Arnie for doing such a terrific job. Not only explaining about AUN-QA criteria but both of you have given us concepts and insights that will be very useful for us all throughout our quality journey. Also I would like to thank all the program staff for taking good care of us and capturing good memorable moments in pictures. Last but not least, thank you to AUN for hosting such a nice event and all participants for sharing your ideas and thoughts."

"Thank you very much for the challenging but very enlightening and insightful training we had. We appreciate the 4-day experience not only in its substance but also in its style. Congratulations to you, Arnie and the AUN-QA staff for the well-delivered activity."

"I did enjoy your training and also learned a great deal which I am sure will be of great benefit to my work."

"Thank you very much for your explanation and activities in AUN-QA workshop. It's very useful for me and my university for improving QA system at programme level."

Certified Quality Manager 29th Intake - Training and Development Module

The Certified Quality Manager (CQM) course is hosted by the Singapore Quality Institute (SQI) and Mr Johnson Ong Chee Bin is the appointed trainer for the Training and Development Module. The module for the 29th Intake was held on 18 April 2015 at SQI. The module covers the following topics:

• Introduction to Training and Development
• Training and Development Process
• National Model for Training and Development
• Factors affecting the Future of Training and Development