Quality Assurance in Technological Educational Institutes

G. Kabouridis1, G. akarelidis2, P. Sypsas3

1

Technological Educational Institute of Patras, Mechanical Engineering Department Great Alexadrou 1, Koukouli, 26334 Patras, Greece. Email: gkabou @teipat.gr

Technological Educational Institute of Patras, & , Great Alexadrou 1, Koukouli, 26334 Patras, Greece. Email: gkakarel@teipat.gr

Abstract
Quality Assurance in higher education is a process that evolved over last decade the majority of the Universities in all over the world. Various models, processes and audit strategies have proposed, applied and tested. In Greece there is still no official procedure applied in Higher Education except some isolated attempts that implemented by various Departments or Universities. These attempts had no continuity. In this paper the authors study the influence of the Quality Assurance Systems in Technological Educational Institutes (TEIs), under the particular circumstances. TEIs provide knowledge of applied technology and they were teaching oriented. Recently Greek government promoted TEIs as equal partners of the Higher Education in Greece. The paper examines the goals that should be set by TEIs within the new legislative framework of achieving an international recognition as Technical Universities . Keywords: Quality Assurance, Higher Education, Technological Educational Institutes of Greece, Quality Audits, Quality Assessment, Quality Standards, National Assurance Council.

1. Introduction

Increased costs to producers, customers, and nations due to poor quality have fostered renewed appreciation of the quality assurance function. Japan initiated a quality revolution in the 1970s and has since received world wider recognition for its achievements [Crosby, 1979]. The United States joined the quality race in the mid 1980s and has also made rapid advances [Walton, 1986]. More recently, Europeans have launched cooperative efforts to improve quality. Today, most managers recognize that quality must focus on linkages among functions across entire organizations. Quality assurance in the Tertiary Education is a subject that put a series of questions in the international academic community. It was so much extensively investigated that Frazer commented: the decade the 90s will be for the Universities the decade of quality [Frazer (1992)]. In Greece the leaders of Academic Institutions (Universities and Technological Educational Institutes TEIs) have not recognized the need f quality assurance of their scientific work. The prompts and the financing supports of European Union did not contribute enough to the direction of choice and application of a national quality system (I. Panaretos DGXXII Status Report 1998). Exception constituted individual efforts of self-assessment of certain departments and institutions. Above attempts were considered by some optimistic as a first step of quality improvement in the higher education. The results of these initiatives were not further developed and no feedback was accumulated. The proposals of representatives of Universities in the workshop that was organized by the Ministry of National Education (Athens, 2002), were limited in the presentation of results of self-assessment, without any report on the influence of the process on the institutions (A. Zoumpos, 2002). Despite the fact that the subjects of quality were searched in-depth the passed decade, international academic community continues investigating and publishing aspects that are connected with the quality in the education. The main causes of this trend are the continuous developments and the

unanticipated conditions in the Tertiary Education. The new conditions and developments are directly connected mainly with: 1. The enormous increase of demand for higher education, 2. The wider use of new technologies with accessible cost, 3. The free access to the scientific knowledge via the internet and data bases. Grady E. Bogue and Robert L. Saunders in their book described the quality assurance in Higher Education as Quality is conformance to mission specification and goal achievement within publicly accepted standards of accountability and integrity, [ Bogue, Grady E. and Saunders, Robert L. (1992) ]. A similar view may be found in Diana Greens assertion that a high quality institution is one that clearly states its mission (or purpose) and is efficient and effective in meeting the goals that it has set itself [ Green D., (1994)]. Above useful definition is based on the classic approach of Crosby regarding the quality of products: Fitness for use. In that way quality assurance is connected with the philosophy, technique and mentality of Total Quality Management (TQM), which leads to the continuous improvement of any organization. Quality assurance systems would have neither present nor future without the application in Universities management the principles of TQM. Kampouridis in his paper [Kampouridis, G. (1996)] presented in details the reasons why the implementation of TQM in the management of a Department is extremely difficult but achievable. The authors of this article adopt the definition of Quality customers needs satisfaction and sometimes overshooting their expectations. The immediate users are often termed customers in quality assurance jargon, not necessarily to denote a purchaser-supplier relationship, but to denote the reasonableness of the users expectation that he or she will receive what is needed and agreed. The user includes not only those receiving a service outside the institution or organization (for example the student), but also different sections of the university internally; that is the secretary of the department in receiving an agreed service from the computer center is its customer. As quality assurance processes spread throughout the organization, and as the commitment to

continuous improvement developed through teams becomes a widely accepted practice, the objective changes to TQM. Quality assurance brings considerable culture change to an organization. Quality assurance may diminish some areas of professional autonomy: first, in that students are taken to have enhanced status as customers, and second, in that educational professionals may not be accustomed to be accountable for their actions. Quality assurance is also time-consuming, and in its techno-rational approach to the excitement of learning and teaching can seem bureaucratic and stifling. It can, if abused, be employed as a managerial weapon to enforce subservience and have the effect of reducing creativity and independence of thought, particularly damaging the educational environment. Bogue and Saunder definition makes three important assumptions: 1. Research and teaching oriented institutes have a definite and appreciable mission (as it is declared in the regulation constitution of studies). 2. Organizations targets are presented analytically and provide reasonable evident how the target will be met (Targets and methodology are described in the business plans of the Universities). 3. Universities set their goals and they adopt performance indicators which are feasible and reliable in the sense of proving the degree of achievement (The indicators could be set by the National Council of Quality as quality standards for all the universities in Greece). In other words the quality of studies that is offered by the Universities can be determined according to the degree of objectives achievement: Fitness for purpose, Level of effectiveness (Value for money) and finally, the degree of growth (Value added). The achievement of quality in an institution requires the collaboration of three factors: 1. Institutions top management will to lead the organization in new level of performance. 2. Effective collaboration of the shareholders (professors, administrative personnel, students). 3. The application of modern information technologies capable to offer all the necessary information for decision making. 4

Based on above approach University achieves the distributed engagement of the shareholders in the process of maintenance and achievement of desirable results via the application of agreed standards in the entry, the processes and the exit of system. The engagement is extended also in the establishment and use of systems which will assure, on continuous base, that the processes and practices that are applied concerning the mission and objectives of Institution are valid and viable. The adoption of above approach presupposes the use of information systems which will lead to radical change of culture, with sovereign the reduction of professional autonomy of professors. The first change is the endogenous perception that the students should be faced as "customers" and the second, teaching and research will be evaluated by external body. Quality assurance is also time-consuming and the technical -logic that imposes in the process of teaching- learning can be considered as bureaucratic and inflexible. Universities of United Kingdom the last decade were moved by professional autonomy [Trow (1994:29)], in exigent except the University quality assurance. The new system has direct effect on the financing of Universities and it led a portion of authors to formulate the opinion that the academic professors and researchers lost their "professional" rights and became members of "academic proletariat ", [ Varnett and Middlehurst (1993: 126) ].

2. Quality assurance in Higher Education

Barnett in his discussion The idea of the university put forward two relevant axioms : The first is epistemological, asserting that there is a realm of objective knowledge to which students are to be introduced and about which they are expected to be able to demonstrate some assurance [ Barnett, R. (1990) ]. If this is accepted, then there are more and less appropriate courses of study and definite criteria and standards against which programs ought to be measured. But Barnett asserts further that there is an epistemological approach that undermines the higher education in that, from a postmodern perspective, in a philosophical sense, objective truth appears is seen as unattainable. This approach opens the way therefore for an argument for an unlimited 5

array of programs and courses and for assessment, not based on set criteria, but relative to variable objectives. In his second axiom Barnett declares that objective knowledge is most effectively maintained and disseminated in institutions which are relatively autonomous and in which members of the academic community enjoy comparative freedom. He contends that mounting tension between states and the institutions is evidence of a sociological undermining of higher education. Taking into consideration above axioms Viviene Roberts (2001) placed four questions for quality assurance: 1. Be supposed the will of quality assurance to depend from the achievement of agreed standards? 2. The process of application should be separated from the place of constants and the processes of verification? 3. Should the quality assessment be guided from inside or from outside? 4. Should the processes and practices be same for all the institutions? The first question investigates the approach of quality assurance with terms use of standards. The second and third question examines the relation of power between the political leadership, the Institutions and the educational units (departments or faculties). The fourth question approaches the flexibility of regulations of system of guarantee of quality in different structures and forms of third degree education. Woodhouse [ Woodhouse, D. (1996) ] studied the shift of power between, the top management of institutions, the departments and the governments (Table II).

TABLE II. Control of quality assurance systems: power-sharing shifts [ Woodhouse, (1996) ]

Base of Force Europe

Comparative force (1970) Government Institutions Departments

Comparative force (1996) Government Institutions Departments

USA 6

UK

Latin America Developi ng Countries In 1970 in Europe the control was distributed between government and the departments with the exception of the United Kingdom where it prevailed a full control of Departments. In 1990s the ground of political power shifted considerably. Society demanded from the governments to improve the quality that is provided. In reaction to this pressure a centrally mechanism of quality was developed and a number of indicators were used. Stanley and Patrick [Stanley, I. and Patrick , W. (1998) ] observed that USA has experienced an increasing emphasis on accountability and externally reported performance indicators. According to their view the United Kingdom has moved from self-regulation to more mixed and externally regulated systems. Contrary to this trend in the Nederlands, [ Maasen, P. (1998) ] indicates that institutional ownership of quality assurance systems is the dominant practice, but with accountability functions being exercised through meta-evaluation by the government. Woodhouses analysis reveals from a global perspective an emerging balance among the three (government, institution and faculty) but in his opinion, the dominance of governments at the macro level in developing countries has been consistent (Fig. 1). Based on analysis becomes obvious that Universities via the acceptance of quality assurance will be supposed to cede the power of departments, while on the contrary the departments of TEIs should upgrade their operation so that they correspond in the new challenges.

3. The Greek Approach of Quality Assurance

The more important factor that determines the form of quality assurance is the property status of institutions. In world level exist autonomous Universities (private institutions), government owned Universities (completely financed by the state) and Universities with local speculative character. Depending upon the property arrangements Universities decide and accept the suitable quality system. Greek Higher education is financed entirely by the state and consequently the government has direct responsibility towards the Greek society for ensuring high level of education and effectiveness of management (Value for money). The approach of quality assurance in different countries oscillates from the exterior inspections of special organizations, Higher Education Quality Assurance Agency (QAA, 1997) in the United Kingdom and Comite National d' Evaluation, (1985) in France, the certification body of institutions in the Hong Kong or in the handing-over of specifications ( awarding of qualifications ) in the Caribbean. The adoption of quality assurance system based on the international experience most probably will lead to the acceptance of independent regulatory body. This body will evaluate the basic education, the research and the improvement of personnel. Based on the results of evaluation it will propose the development of internal processes of evaluation and quality assurance taking into consideration the needs of tertiary education that are the variety and the flexibility. The institutions are fully responsible for the direction and the level of provided education. The data of evaluation will determine the strong and weak points of institutions. They will contribute scientifically to the planning of necessary actions in order to improve the quality of studies. Many academics

In this point is placed legitimately the question how much the results of evaluation will constitute a basis of financing. Above approach in no case does not deprive the autonomy of institutions, as a number of processes could be decided by mutual agreement by National Council of Quality, Administration of Institutions, and Departments. Characteristic example is the planning and the implementation of internal audits (Quality audits) while on the contrary the external audits (Quality assessments) is regulated by external body with accent on the indicators. It becomes obvious that in a such system the relation of distribution of power is realized in such a way that the government provides the resources and determines sought political in a semi-autonomous body but simultaneously allows to the academic community her active participation in the choice of objectives and the degree of achievement of goals.

4. Is Quality assurance one way for TEIs?.

The continuous change in the form, operation and composition of higher education sets serious doubts and questions regarding the quality of provided education. The public opinion applies significant pressure for accountability that will be proved with common acceptable criteria and indicators. The Greek Higher Education is constituted by Universities and TEIs. The two sectors have different history and react differently in the modern necessity for proof of quality. Universities have multi-annual tradition in academic freedom that constitutes the corner stone of their culture. Universitys culture strongly supports the self-regulation functions and resists by any means to quality assurance systems that would be imposed by outside. This attitude characterizes not only the old Universities but it is inherent in the recent founded ones. Technological Educational Institutes (TEIs) have different culture which springs out their different foundation. TEIs, for many years provided technological education under the supervision of the Greek Ministry of Education. Academic freedom and self-regulation were not the basic functions. Instead the Ministry of Education was the final decision maker. TEIs as young Universities

accept positively quality standards that would be shaped by an independent regulatory body. Based on the above analysis, quality assurance is a totally different mater for Universities and TEIs. Since the decade of 60 in world level the educational systems have changed dramatically. The number of students of the higher education in 1980 was 51 millions while in 1995 reached the 82 millions, an increase of 61% of [ Sadlak, I. (1998) ]. In the United Kingdom in 1987-88 the number of students was 0,667 millions of [ Barnett, R. (1990) ] while in 1995 it reached the 1,6 millions. The Academic education in Greece up to the beginning of decade 90s was based on the eclectic choice of few. The results of this policy were, small percentage of young students had access in tertiary education, autonomous operation of Universities and relatively political independence. The evolution of students that are admitted in the Greek Higher Education last fiveyear period is analyzed in Table 1 and Diagram 1.

TABLE I. Evolution of admitted student population in tertiary education in Greece 1998 2002)1

Universities s Total
43000

1998 29.393 29.000 58.393

1999 34.350 34.010 68.360

2000 39.975 42.020 81.995

2001 38.595 41.150 79.745

2002 37.170 40.880 78.050

38000

33000

28000

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

23000

DIAGRAM I. Comparative presentation of student population

1

10

(Source Ministry of Education Directory of Organization and Conduct of Examinations)

During the last years Universities founded Departments for professions which historically do not belong in Higher Education, (theatrical studies, musicology, etc). This fact brought Universities and TEIs closer in the sense that they provide comparable knowledge in particular scientific domains. The decision of the government to transform TEIs from teaching oriented institutions to research oriented demanded a number of initiatives that contributed positively towards to this direction (libraries, common research programs). It must be pointed out that there is a real danger TEIs to be transformed in misprints Universities that according to the authors must be avoided. Globalization of markets, heightened quality requirements, tough competition, and supplier pressures in combination with the single job market of European Union, to tremendous pressure on Higher Education. European supported Programs ERASMUS, SOCRATES and LEONARDO created the prerequisite conditions of mutual trust and understanding of European Higher Education Institutions. The different educational culture between Universities and TEIs was revealed by the small degree of participation of Universities compared to TEIS in these programs. TEIs faced these programs as a challenge to prove their ability for quality studies. Above radical changes influenced dramatically the characteristics of Institutions in three axes: 1. High cost of operation of Academic Institutions 2. Exceptionally big number of students (Diagram I). 3. Growth of new programs of study that will correspond so much in the content of new professions in order to fulfill the needs of economy. Besides the above, quality assurance is important for the Greek Higher Education mainly for two reasons: 1. The evaluation of studies in TEIs will contribute decisively in the formal and essential improvement of technological education. 2. The Academic Institutions will ensure the connection of studies with the European job market.

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5. Conclusions
At present there is no single, widely accepted, outcome-driven assessment process to measure the quality of undergraduate education. The use of major quality systems is a positive step in our strategy toward global competitive advantage in business, industry and education. Education has to be about excellence. If it is not about quality, then all our effort, all our expenditure will have been for nothing because we will not only have blighted the lives of our students, but damaged our ability to compete and survive in a world which does not owe us a living. In this work we analyzed the factors that are required to be fulfilled for the achievement of quality in the Higher Education of our country. Higher Education is complicated and cannot be changed overnight. University programs such as vocational and technical education can be improved by implementing the quality criteria. It has become comprehensible from the previous analysis that world tendency is the application of quality systems in Higher Education. Greece cannot escape from this rule as being a full member of European Union. Universities will react differently from the TEIs due the different mentality known as institutional culture. The application of quality assurance would be a challenge that TEIs would face in their effort to convince the society for their role but mainly for their dynamic future. TEIs will not to face particular problems in the procedure of acceptance indicators coming from an independent organization because up today they functioned under close supervision of central administration. The application of quality assurance in TEIS is expected to: Determine and they declare their mission and they are judged by the degree of achievement of predetermined objectives and goals. The administrations are committed for continuous improvement of quality with criterion the efficiency and not only the effectiveness in the frames of virtuous administration. Be realized passage by a checked system with single approaches, in a system of decentralized operations what will centrally be connected with 12

the evaluation and the creation of networks for the co-ordination and the efficiency. The completed approach of programs of study so that they achieve so much the academic what technological/professional specifications. The accent so much in the processes what in the result. There is little doubt that the introduction and implementation of quality assurance procedures in Greek Universities will generate and explicit concern with the quality of teaching and learning, and has resulted in a greater recognition that all institutions are accountable for the quality of the educational experiences they offer. The engagement of all shareholders of higher education constitutes a dire need and simultaneously a important obligation satisfying the needs and the expectations of society.

Bibliography
Barnett, R. (1990) The Idea of Higher Education. Buckingham : Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press Barnett, R. and Middlehurst, R. (1993) The Lost profession, Higher Education in Europe, XVIII (2): 110-128 Bogue, Grady E. and Saunders, Robert L. (1992) The evidence for Quality : Strengthening the Test of Academic and Administrative Effectiveness. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass Craft, Alma, ed. (1992) Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Proceedings of an International Conference. London : Falmer Press Crosby (1979) Quality is free. New York: McGraw-Hill Frazer, Malcolm (1992) Quality Assurance in Higher Education, IN Alma Craft (ed.) Quality Assurance in Higher Education :Proceedings of an International Conference,pp.9-28. London : Falmer Press

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Gerald Gaither (ed.) Quality Assurance in Higher Education: An International Prospective. New Directions for International Research 99/25 (3): 87-92 Green, D., (1994) What is Quality in Higher Education? London: The Society for Research into Higher Education, Open University Press, Kabouridis Georgios (1996) The implementation of quality management in an academic unit. The case of Mechanical Engineering Department TEI Patras Greece, International Journal of INGENIUM Maasen, Peter A.M. (1998) Quality Assurance in the Netherlands, in Gerald Gaither (ed.) Quality Assurance in Higher Education: An International Perspective. New Directions for International Research 99/25(3) :19-28. Sadlak, Jan (1998) Globalization and Concurrent Challenges for Higher Education, in Peter Scott (ed.) The Globalization of Higher Education, pp.100-7. Buckingham : Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press. Stanley, E. and Patrick, W. (1998) Quality Assurance in American and British Higher Education : A Comparison, in G. Gaither (ed.) Quality Assurance in Higher Education: An International Prospective. New Directions for International Research 99/25 (3): 3956 row, . (1994) Managerialism and the Academic Profession: Quality and Control, Higher Education Report No 2, London: Quality Support Centre, The Open University Walton, M. (1986) The Deming management method. New York: Puntum Press Woodhouse, D. (1996) Quality Assurance International Trends, Preoccupations and Features, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 21(2):347-56

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