Quality Assurance and the Imperatives for Improved Student Experiences in Higher Education: The Case of the University of the West Indies

Abstract

This paper critically examines the outcomes of quality assurance programme reviews on the three campuses of the University of the West Indies (UWI) with an emphasis on the factors that impact upon the quality of students' learning experiences. In establishing the context of the discussion, the authors describe the quality assurance system of the UWI and discuss specific issues such as pedagogic pluralism; assessment; collaboration and stakeholder involvement and resources considered to be imperatives for improving students' experiences in higher education. Strategies that the UWI is in the process of implementing to address these issues are highlighted. The authors have found that the academic staff of the UWI are increasingly implementing the recommendations of review teams and that this is, in part, facilitated by the university's monitoring mechanism. Actions taken to respond to these recommendations are contributing to the enhancement of teaching and learning but sustainability of this is dependent upon the success of the measures to be taken to address the critical issue of resources.• Consultations with quality assurance officers.• A self-assessment exercise.• The visit of a review team appointed by OBUS.• Submission of the review team's report.• Follow-up of the recommendations by the departments/units.

A systematic review of quality of student experience in higher education

“…Involving students in the design stage of higher education services might also be a good consideration (Baranova et al, 2011). A second approach would be through managing the learning environment by improvements to pedagogical approaches, which is fundamental to the service delivery of higher education services (Gift and Bell-Hutchinson, 2007;Ginns et al, 2009). A more holistic approach would be to ensure synergy between physical infrastructure, and educational and operational strategies of the institution (Baird and Gordon, 2009;Cahill et al, 2010;Gosling and D'Andrea, 2001;Nair et al, 2011).…”

“…64% of the papers reviewed are concerned with the objectives of gaining a better understanding of the student experience (Campbell and Li, 2008;Chahal and Devi, 2013;Chapman and Pyvis, 2006;Ellis et al, 2004;Geall, 2000;Grebennikov and Skaines, 2009;Kim, 2007;Ng and Forbes, 2009;Peterson and Miller, 2004;Shanahan and Gerber, 2004, Tam, 2007, Voss, 2009Wilkins and Balakrishnan, 2013;Yeo, 2009) and studying the impact of higher education service attributes on the student experience (Arambewela and Maringe, 2012;Baird and Gordon, 2009;Baranova et al, 2011;Douglas et al, 2008;Duarte et al, 2012;Gift and Bell-Hutchinson, 2007;Gosling and D'Andrea, 2001;Peltier et al, 2007;Scaffidi and Berman, 2011;Simpson and Tan, 2009;Stake and Malkin, 2003;Ward et al, 2010). The former objective predominantly mentions the exploration of learning and student experiences, and satisfaction with service encounters in higher education; while the emphasis of the latter objective is to identify factors which influence student experiences as well as to develop frameworks which illustrate the relationship between these factors and student experiences.…”

“…The former objective predominantly mentions the exploration of learning and student experiences, and satisfaction with service encounters in higher education; while the emphasis of the latter objective is to identify factors which influence student experiences as well as to develop frameworks which illustrate the relationship between these factors and student experiences. The remaining papers were focused on establishing measures of the student experience (Ginns et al, 2009;Grace et al, 2012;Sid et al, 2011;Waugh, 2001;Waugh, 2003;Webber et al, 2013), introducing ways of improving the student experience (Brown, 2011;Cahill et al, 2010;Gift and Bell-Hutchinson, 2007;Staddon and Standish, 2012), and studying the impact of the student experience on student outcomes (Ning and Downing, 2011;Tam, 2006). A commonality among these papers is the aim to determine and validate accurate measures of the quality of student experience through conceptual and questionnaire design, so as to be able to identify directions for improvement of student experience, as well as to understand the impact of student experiences on student outcomes.…”

Quality and quality assurance in Ethiopian higher education

“…It plays a key role in shaping the learning approach of students and in driving their engagement and learning in the educational process. An institution's genuine commitment to assessment is a clear public statement of its desire to offer quality programs and improve student learning and development (Gift and Bell-Hutchinson, 2007). The main quality issues focus on the methods employed to monitor student's learning outcomes, on the link of outcomes to improvement of teaching and learning processes, on the credibility and reliability of the assessment, and feedback mechanisms.…”

“…It may include measures of educational quality of an institution including graduates' competence and satisfaction. It is argued that resources in all forms are vital if colleges and universities are to provide satisfying and meaningful student learning experience and if quality assurance is to be more than a buzz phrase (Gift and Bell-Hutchinson, 2007;Massy, 2003). The key issues include: (i) the availability of adequate and viable resources (financial, facilities, services and support units), (2) resource allocation vis-à-vis student enrolment data, and strategic improvement of teaching, learning and assessment.…”