Examining Quality Culture Part II: - European University Association

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12 ExAmININg QUALITy CULTUrE PArT II: PrOCESSES ANd TOOLS – PArTICIPATION, OwNErShIP ANd BUrEAUCrACy The notion of quality culture is understood here as comprising two distinct sets of elements: “shared values, beliefs, expectations and commitments toward quality” and “a structural/managerial element with defined processes that enhance quality and aim at coordinating efforts” (EUA 2006: 10). This, of course, raises the question of how to recognise that such a quality culture exists. Particular attention was paid during the interviews to identifying whether there was general agreement within an institution as to the purposes of the approach and their general acceptance and whether the quality assurance processes were bolted on or embedded. To give a specific example of how this could be identified, one interviewee stressed that his university introduced an internal quality assurance system in 2005 but: For now, it is mechanical. There is a need to change some of the elements but, most importantly, there is a need to change minds. Academics are now accustomed to evaluations but some of them whisper: ‘I know how to teach and I don’t need students to tell me how to improve.’ If this view was confirmed by others, it could then be determined that the quality assurance processes were bolted on. The first round of the EUA Quality Culture project identified a set of principles that promote a quality culture. These are: • building a university community and the staff’s identification with the institution; • developing the participation of students in the university community; • embedding a quality culture through internal communication, discussions and devolved responsibility while understanding the resistance to change and developing strategies to overcome it; • agreeing upon an overarching framework for quality review processes and standards; • defining key institutional data – historical, comparative, national and international – and systematically collecting and analysing them; • involving the appropriate external and internal stakeholders; • stressing the self-evaluation stage as a collective exercise for the unit under review to ensure the implementation of appropriate change (this includes academic and administrative staff and students); • ensuring a follow-up of the internal reviews: e.g., implementation of the appropriate recommendations and feedback loops into strategic management (EUA 2005: 10). The 2005 EUA report stressed that these principles have less to do with quality assurance mechanisms than with leadership, community building and staff development schemes. Nevertheless, quality assurance mechanisms are important. Therefore, after a discussion of the methodology (Part II) and a brief context setting (Part III), this report: • explores how internal quality assurance arrangements are introduced and changed (Part IV) • discusses the scope of quality assurance arrangements, the distributions of roles and responsibilities and the governance of quality assurance (Part V) • presents various quality assurance instruments, such as student and alumni questionnaires, institutional and key performance indicators, staff management and development schemes, etc. (Part VI).
ExAmININg QUALITy CULTUrE PArT II: PrOCESSES ANd TOOLS – PArTICIPATION, OwNErShIP ANd BUrEAUCrACy The following diagram maps the three core parts: Part IV: Introducing or changing QA Part V: Scope and organisation Part VI: Tools and processes These three chapters present and analyse QA instruments and processes. The primary goal of the analysis provided is to show the interrelationship between the structural/managerial elements and the existence of a quality culture. Examples of good and weak practices are provided throughout the text to supply details that could be useful to some readers. These examples are identified clearly. Thus, the hurried reader could skip them and go directly to the analytical sections entitled “Observations” and to the concluding chapter, which analyses the specific forms that quality cultures take and links these to a set of larger issues such as democracy, trust and bureaucracy. 13
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Examining Quality Culture Part II: - European University Association

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