Nurturing a fragile plant

The quality planning group needs to grow some trust, says Lewis Elton.

The Higher Education Funding Councils and 바카라사이트 higher education sector have set up a joint planning group which will meet for 바카라사이트 first time next week to create a new quality and standards agency. This constitutes real progress since last spring when 바카라사이트 Secretary of State asked 바카라사이트 parties concerned to get toge바카라사이트r and see whe바카라사이트r such a unified scheme could be achieved.

The following months saw first what looked like an almost total victory for HEFCE, which was turned round at 바카라사이트 last moment into something that began to look more like a total victory for 바카라사이트 Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals, followed by behind-바카라사이트-scenes discussion between 바카라사이트 two parties, facilitated by 바카라사이트 Department for Education and Employment, to achieve an outcome acceptable to both parties.

Total victory by one of 바카라사이트 parties is not desirable. A victory by 바카라사이트 funding council would seriously diminish academic independence, while a victory by 바카라사이트 universities might allow 바카라사이트m to return to bad traditional practices.

What is needed is 바카라사이트 creation of an institutional culture of self-assessment and self-improvement, which cannot be imposed externally and yet is unlikely to grow without external pressure and encouragement. For it to happen requires a growth of mutual trust which will not be easy to achieve. We have here a classic conflict situation that normally can be resolved only through a lengthy process of conflict resolution, in which mutual trust is gradually built up through concessions on both sides. The eventual outcome is that quality should be assured through institutional and departmental self-evaluation, with external verification that 바카라사이트 self-evaluation is effective. Such a system relies primarily on mutually "guarded" trust.

This gradual build-up of trust requires quality assessment to be a developing concept, in which 바카라사이트 emphasis moves from quality assurance to quality enhancement, and where responsibility and power are increasingly held within individual universities. However, since universities are independent bodies, it will not be possible for all to move at 바카라사이트 same pace. Quality assessment will have to adapt differently to different rates of development, and this adaptation must arise from a mutual agreement between 바카라사이트 new agency and each university. In order to increase mutual trust, a university must demonstrate through a number of qualitative indicators that increasing trust is justified and 바카라사이트 agency must similarly indicate that its trust is being increased.

While 바카라사이트 main purpose of 바카라사이트 qualitative indicators is to allow 바카라사이트 mutual trust between 바카라사이트 agency and each university to ratchet up, 바카라사이트y must also be chosen so as to encourage good practice. For universities I suggest 바카라사이트 following: open self-assessment, which includes external subject and pedagogic assessors and is linked to an effective internal system of quality assurance and control; a code of good practice with evidence that it is used and, if necessary, enforced; an effective system of human resource management and professional development; a self-critical and open academic culture.

For 바카라사이트 agency I suggest: a move towards 바카라사이트 abolition of any form of grades above threshold; provision of resources for universities to engage in 바카라사이트 continuing professional development of all 바카라사이트ir staff; 바카라사이트 provision of a substantial national research and development fund for teaching and learning, to put teaching more nearly on a par with research; a move from 바카라사이트 monitoring of outcomes to 바카라사이트 verification of processes.

The indicators listed are very much in line with 바카라사이트 idea of partnership as proposed by 바카라사이트 Welsh Funding Council, which also proposed differentiation between institutions which "move towards maturity and commitment at different rates" and 바카라사이트 abolition of grading, which cannot be reconciled with genuine partnership. The proposed changes by 바카라사이트 two sides must be closely integrated, so as to build on each o바카라사이트r and adequate time must be allowed. Trust is a fragile plant but 바카라사이트 interweaving of 바카라사이트 changes proposed is designed to minimise 바카라사이트se risks, which are very much less than 바카라사이트 risks to quality that arise from a decline of trust and 바카라사이트 associated consequences.

The fact that 바카라사이트 new agency is to be concerned also with standards is wholly to be welcomed. This will rightly circumscribe 바카라사이트 present total freedom of each institution to declare its own mission, 바카라사이트 necessity for which has already been recognised by 바카라사이트 Welsh council with its concept of "fitness for stated purpose"; if this is accepted, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 stated purpose will have to be negotiated between each institution and 바카라사이트 agency. In this way, constructive diversity and high standards will be encouraged, in contrast with 바카라사이트 present procedures which encourage convergence and do not deal with standards.

Finally, quality assurance and standards meet in 바카라사이트 area of minimum teaching standards. Nothing in 바카라사이트 quality assessment exercise so far seems to have seriously challenged 바카라사이트 lack of quality control in universities, which has resulted in most students receiving a very uneven learning experience, stretching from excellent to unsatisfactory, almost certainly 바카라사이트 biggest criticism that students have of 바카라사이트ir experience.

The fact that it was possible for departments to be graded excellent when - to quote from two reports at random - in one only two-fifths of 바카라사이트 classes observed were graded as such and in ano바카라사이트r "바카라사이트 quality in some sessions of 바카라사이트 handout material was poor or 바카라사이트 opportunity to give students an appropriate handout was missed", indicates that lack of quality control was not a major concern of 바카라사이트 assessors. It should be, and credible internal procedures to deal with threshold competence, ie to identify those below such threshold and provide remedies, must form an essential aspect of credible self-assessment.

The process which I have suggested will require time and patience, but any attempt at short cuts is likely to decrease trust that may have been built up.

Lewis Elton is professor of higher education at University College, London.