The RADICAL Approach to Innovation of Quality Assurance in Higher Education

Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Principal Consultant of Education Quality International was invited as a plenary speaker to share "The RADICAL Approach to Innovation of Quality Assurance in Higher Education" at the International Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation for Sustainable Development (STISD 2023) on 25th - 26th August 2023, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Abstract:

Quality assurance in higher education began receiving intense interest and attention in the late 1990s arising from the Bologna Process. Since then, quality assurance in higher education has evolved and grown in leaps and bounds mainly through the implementation of accreditation schemes as a national regulatory requirement, which was later expanded to include regional and international accreditations. The national regulatory policy has accelerated the pace of development and adaptation of different quality assurance frameworks among higher education institutions, which have converged over time. Hence, quality assurance practices (including prescribed outcomes and curricula standards) in higher education institutions have become less differentiated and less competitive which may compromise their institutional aspirations and innovation capability. 

With the convergence of quality assurance frameworks and practices, how can institutions continue to enhance the quality of higher education, fulfil their institutional aspirations, and at the same time be differentiated in today’s disruptive world? 

Innovation holds the key to the future of quality assurance amidst the waves of disruption and in differentiating higher education institutions. The RADICAL approach to innovation of quality assurance is the key to unlock the creativity and innovation capability of higher education institutions. 

The RADICAL approach embraces:

• Relentless innovation
• Advocates of innovation
• Demystifying innovation
• Innovation ecosystem
• Community of practice
• Autonomy and agility
• Learned skills

Assessor's Training Workshop for AUN-QA Programme Assessment at the National University of Management (NUM)

The assessor's training for AUN-QA programme assessment was a 9-day blended workshop consisting of online and onsite learning starting on 31 July 2023. It was jointly hosted by the National University of Management (NUM) and Educational Quality International (eqi) under the auspicious of AUN-QA Network as part of the AUN-EQI community projects for CLM Countries.

The workshop was graced by His Excellency, Prof. Hor Peng, Rector of NUM and attended by more than 40 participants from various faculties, departments and the IQA Office. It was facilitated by the project consultants Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin and Dr, Nguyen Thi My Ngoc.

The learning outcomes of the workshop are:

• Explain the principles of quality assessment;
• Distinguish between rules-based and principles-based quality assessment;
• Demonstrate the competences to carry out the PDCA approach for study programme assessment;
• Formulate questions for study programme assessment and stakeholders’ interviews;
• Conduct a desktop assessment for a study programme;
• Validate the constructive alignment of the study programme;
• Conduct a site assessment including stakeholders’ interviews, site tour and documentation review; and
• Write quality assessment feedback, presentation and report

A hyper-real learning environment was created to facilitate desktop assessment, constructive alignment validation, stakeholders' interviews and feedback writing using the drafted SAR for iBBA and BBA programmes.