THE EUA EDUCATION POLICY: QUALITY ASSURANCE STRATEGIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28925/2226-3012.2017.6.143149Keywords:
European University Association, quality assurance, quality culture, quality managementAbstract
The Bologna Reform Process, which became the focal point of reform in most European countries, brought a wide range of quality concerns into the central arena of higher education discourse. Quality Assurance processes were sup- posed to support an increased institutional attention. The aim of this paper is to create a better the EUA’s Input to EHEA Policy Making. EUA carries out a variety of activities that are underpinned by the belief that the main responsibility for quality assurance lies within higher education institutions. EUA Policy Statement on Quality and Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area аre identified and described in the article. It is determined the impact of the EUA in shaping European quality culture through the development of educational policy and decision-conceptual documents, the annual European Quality Assurance Forums to consolidate internal and external stakeholders, expand the dialogue format in the context of the EHEA changing landscape and the best practices implementation for quality assurance. The keynote presentations of the EQAF (2006-2016) focused on current trends in quality assurance. The quality culture ap- proach promoted by EUA differs clearly from more traditional quality management strategies, shifting attention to more development-oriented and value-based aspects. Based on the results of the projects different approaches towards quality, quality culture, or formal quality assurance and accreditation procedures are focused in the paper. The Institutional evaluation programme in higher education, realized in 45 countries, is described. Other programs and projects that define the tasks of quality management are characterized in the paper. Trends in quality assurance are presented in the article taking into account the national and European contexts. This paper outlines EUA key objectives for 2017-2019. Support the creation of the quality culture in higher education institutions is one of them.
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