Internal Quality Assurance System NOKUT

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Internal Quality Assurance System NOKUT

• Dept.director general Tove Blytt Holmen

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NOKUTs mandate

• Evaluation of institutional quality assurance
  systems (institutional audits)
• Institutional accreditation
• Initial accreditation of course provisions (HE)
• Re-accreditations
• Approval of shorter, vocational education
  (tertiary, but not HE)
• Recognition of foreign education
• Evaluations for enhancement purposes

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NOKUTs mandate ? organisation

Board

• Analysis and Development Unit
• Information Unit
• Administrative Support Unit

Director
Quality Audits Unit
International Recognitions Unit
Accreditation Unit
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NOKUTs mandate ? organisation ? mission

• NOKUT shall be an internationally recognized
  quality assurance agency.
• The agency shall serve to create public trust in
  the quality of Norwegian higher education,
  tertiary vocational education and recognized
  foreign education qualifications.

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NOKUTs mandate ? organisation ? mission ? IQAS

• NOKUTs QAS shall
• cover all work processes
• ensure that quality work is performed
  systematically and regularly
• be rooted in management, with clearly defined
  responsibilities and authorizations
• include regular assessments of the need to
  develop and change the actual performance of
  NOKUTs operative tasks and quality assurance
  mechanisms
• be carried out with broad participation and
  active internal communication

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Aims for the QAS

• NOKUTs tasks shall be carried out efficiently,
  with stable and high quality and in accordance
  with goals and guidelines.
• instances of poor quality in the work shall be
  uncovered or prevented and weaknesses in the work
  processes shall be improved
• the work is done in accordance with approved
  procedures and guidelines
• procedures and guidelines for the work are in
  accordance with recognized international practice
  in the area
• the work is carried out with consistency and
  equal treatment

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Criteria for good quality in NOKUTs work

• independence of stakeholders
• openness and clear communication externally
• external parties can benefit from process and
  result
• further criteria or indicators of good quality in
  specific work processes will be specified in the
  procedure descriptions for each process

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Basic features of the QAS

• The detailed assurance mechanisms are prepared,
  performed, documented and assessed largely at the
  unit level. This is warranted by differences in
  the duties of the units.
• Preferably, any corrections and improvement in
  work practices and assurance routines will be
  made at the unit level, but have to be recorded
  in writing and reported in the units annual
  quality reports.
• QAS of all external activity has to include
  systematic and documented, external feed-back

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Appeals Board

• The Ministry of Education appoints an independant
  appeals board to handle incoming complaints on
  NOKUTs decision.
• Only NOKUTs procedures (not the experts advice)
  can be considered in this respect
• It is utmost important to document every move we
  take during the process that might influence our
  decision

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Feed-back from the experts

• Report to some extend insufficient understanding
  of their task (depending on the activity)
• Some have reported that the criteria are not
  giving the full picture of what should be
  sufficient quality
• Consequence better training and guidance in focus

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Feed-back from institutions

• The national quality assurance system and NOKUTs
  apperance have effects on quality awareness
• Some procedures take far too long time
• The procedure is not always predictable
• Sometimes the equal treatment and consistency are
  debated
• Consequences focus upon information

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NOKUTs experiences

• Quality-coordinators in every unit/or one in
  charge of the whole institution - to secure
  professional quality assurance
• By building on the unit level, closeness to the
  tasks and broad involvement in the quality work
  is expected to be ensured ??
• Increased awareness of quality demands
• We do not always follow our own procedures
• Still it remains to make IQAS an integral part of
  NOKUTs actionplans