How do quality assurance systems accommodate the differences between academic and applied higher education?

Abstract

Although the literature on institutional diversity suggests that quality assurance practices could affect institutional diversity, there has been little empirical research on this relationship. This article seeks to shed some light on the possible connection between quality assurance practices and institutional diversity by examining the arrangements for quality assurance in higher education systems that include two distinct sectors, one of which having a more academic orientation and the other a more applied orientation. The article explores the ways in which quality assurance structures and standards in selected jurisdictions provide for recognition of the differences in orientation and mission between academic and applied sectors of higher education systems. The research identified some features of quality assurance systems that recognize the characteristics of applied higher education, such as having different statements of expected learning outcomes for applied and academic programs or requiring different qualifications for faculty who teach in applied programs. It is hoped that the results might be of interest to policy makers and quality assurance practitioners who are concerned about the possible impact of quality assurance on institutional diversity.

The megaclass as a service production system and the challenge of facilitating its continuous quality improvement: Towards a research agenda in a complex domain

“…The notion of students as customers has been at the center of much debate, 7 given the complexity of the student role and the tensions between viewing higher education as an applied or functional service that is supposed to impart specific knowledge bases and skills, versus the more traditional, abstract goals of academic studies. 8 There have also been calls to expand higher education and accommodate more students, 9 although for different reasons, ie, in part due to a desire to increase revenue, but also given societal expectations to open pathways for social mobility and make higher education accessible to populations that traditionally have not attended college or university. 10 Finally, on top of all the pressures listed above, there are conflicting expectations for cost savings and improved efficiency given limited public budgets.…”

“…Other pressures in recent years have been to regard students as customers, and academic institutions as service providers that are accountable to guarantee high‐quality educational services. The notion of students as customers has been at the center of much debate, given the complexity of the student role and the tensions between viewing higher education as an applied or functional service that is supposed to impart specific knowledge bases and skills, versus the more traditional, abstract goals of academic studies . There have also been calls to expand higher education and accommodate more students, although for different reasons, ie, in part due to a desire to increase revenue, but also given societal expectations to open pathways for social mobility and make higher education accessible to populations that traditionally have not attended college or university .…”

Higher education learning outcomes – Ambiguity and change in higher education

“…The current research on HELOs follows a number of different lines: learning outcomes as assessment and development tools in education (Belski & Belski, 2014;Musekamp & Pearce, 2015;Sridharan, Leitch, & Watty, 2015); HELOs as part of qualification frameworks and standardisation (Allais, 2014;Pilcher, Fernie, & Smith, 2015); and HELOs as an approach to quality assurance and accountability (Brady & Bates, 2015;Nguyen, 2016;Skolnik, 2015). There are also studies of how academics and teachers in higher education perceive learning outcomes along the four lines mentioned above (Dobbins, Brooks, Rawlinson, & Norman, 2014;Hadjianastasis, 2016).…”

Withstand or succumb : Christian universities and the implications of Obergefell v. Hodges

“…When accreditors or other bodies establish standard qualifications for faculty this can contribute to homogenization (Skolnik, 2015). A study of how faculty are recruited to business schools did not find widespread convergence across all institutions, rather it identified convergence within groups: institutions with accredited programs, those with similar rankings, and so on (Finch et al, 2015).…”