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QUALITY ASSURANCE IN ESTONIA

QUALITY ASSURANCE IN ESTONIA. ACCREDITATION OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES AND INSTITUTIONS TIIT LAASBERG. Population 1.4 million Area 45,216 km. 2. QA IN ESTONIA. Estonia - a maritime country Length of the marine border 3,794 kms. Forests - 44% of area. Accreditation – more than 100 years old.

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QUALITY ASSURANCE IN ESTONIA

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  1. QUALITY ASSURANCE IN ESTONIA ACCREDITATION OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES AND INSTITUTIONS TIIT LAASBERG

  2. Population 1.4 millionArea 45,216 km 2

  3. QA IN ESTONIA Estonia - a maritime countryLength of the marine border 3,794 kms

  4. Forests - 44% of area

  5. Accreditation – more than 100 years old Accreditationis the process by which a (non-) governmental or private body evaluates the quality of a higher education institution as a whole or of a specific educational programme in order to formally recognize it as having met certain predetermined minimal criteria or standards.

  6. USA as homeland of accreditation • Accreditation in HE started in USA around the turn of the 20th • Century(set up ca. 100 years ago).It became the most systematic • assurance ofquality in the HE system. • There are six main regional accrediting organizations for the • institutional accreditation of universities in the USA. They are • private and independent from HE institutions and the • Government. • There are additionally organizations that accredit study • programmes in certain areas of knowledge such medicine, law, • teaching, engineering, business. Professional accreditation bodies, • however, do not exist for all types of HE programmes, only for • those with organised professional communities. • The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is a • private organization that coordinates the regional accrediting • organizations, as well as the accrediting organizations in specific • academic subjects - http://www.chea.org/.

  7. EVALUATION IN WESTERN EUROPE – 25 YEARS OLD

  8. 15 YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT OF THEHIGHER EDUCATION QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM IN CEE COUNTRIES

  9. Developments in Central and Eastern Europe Background • The beginning of 1990’s, "Perestroika" and changes in HE system • Autonomous institutions versus strictly state controlled institutions or public universities instead of the state universities • Credit point system versus strictly course system • Establishment of many new private HE institutions • Increasing mobility of students (or need to increase the mobility of students) • Recognizion of diplomas and study periods

  10. Most of CEE countries took the idea of accreditation Outcomes • Nearly all the CEE countries have introduced systems of higher education evaluation, usually as part of an accreditation process - accreditation of study programmes or institutions or both. • At the national system level, the same system of QA has not been applied across the CEE countries. However, there are similarities which has been driven by EU accession requirements and experiences and practise in Western Europe and elsewhere: 1) A national body in charge of QA 2) Self-evaluation of HE 3) External peer review usually site visit 4) Public reporting

  11. Founded in 1632

  12. NEED FOR ACCREDITATION: • Rapid changes in Estonian HE at the beginning of 1990’s (first curricula reform – 4 +2 system; CP) • Universities, strictly regulated by the state before, started to operate relatively autonomously • Increasing number of private institutions • Reformed Academy of Sciences

  13. LAWS AND REGULATIONS: • Main principles were laid out 1994 to 1995 • University Act was adopted 1995 and amended 1996 • State-recognized diplomas were introduced • Universities and curricula have to be assessed every seven years • Procedures for accreditation were drawn up

  14. MAIN AIMS OF ACCREDITATION IN ESTONIA • Quality improvement • Quality control • International comparision • Program and institutional accreditation

  15. HE QUALITY ASSESSMENT COUNCIL: • Established on June 13, 1995, by the decree of the Government of the Republic of Estonia • Operates in accordance with Estonia’s University Act • Includes 12 representatives of research and development institutions, state foundations, and professional associations • May not include university rectors, pro-rectors, or Quality Assessment Center staff • Makes accreditation decisions based on expert evaluation reports • NEW! Accreditation decisions must be approved by the Minister of Education – from 2002

  16. Discloses accreditation decisions • Makes recommendations for bringing higher education standards into accordance with internationally approved educational standards • Develops methods for assessing academic programmes at higher education institutions • Makes recommendations based on accreditation decisions

  17. HE QUALITY ASSESSMENT CENTER (HE ACCREDITATION CENTER): • Founded on September 1, 1997, by the Estonian Ministry of Education • Legally a part of the Archimedes Foundation • Funded by the state • Arranges accreditation of universities and their curricula in the country

  18. Prepares documentation required by the Assessment Council: self-analysis reports, expert commission reports • Arranges experts’ evaluation visits to schools • Cooperates internationally with other assessment centers • Advises and holds seminars on writing of self-analysis reports

  19. Higher Education Quality Assurance System in Estonia

  20. Quality Assurance at a Level of an Institution The quality assurance system is following the DEMING’s circle of quality: PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT Plan Act Quality Control Check Internal control Self-Evaluation External Evaluation Do “As long as the circle is rolling, the quality is providing. Once the circle is interupted The quality fails.” (Deming)

  21. Quality Assurance ata Levelofan Institution Quality improvement Every next circle must be of better quality

  22. EXPLANATION OF ACCREDITATION Accreditation must be understood as a continuous evaluation process with the purpose of defining and improving the quality and effectiveness of the educational process.

  23. Right to offer state recognized diplomas Program will be closed

  24. Accreditations of study programmes (203) in 2006 by 25 expert groups, visited 21 HEI

  25. Accreditations of study programmes (1065) 1997 – 2006

  26. Cost of accreditation • One expert per one week - salary 1150 EUR - travel 600 EUR - accomodation 400 EUR - other 100 EUR 2250 EUR • Four experts per one week 9000 EUR

  27. Dr. Timothy Taylor Cardiff School of Music Cardiff University UK Prof. Einar Solbu Executive Vice President International Music Council Norway Prof. Timo Leisiö Head of the Department of Music Anthropology University of Tampere Finland Mr. Wouter Turkenburg Head of Jazz studies Royal Conservatoire in The Hague The Netherlands Evaluation Expert Team MusicNovember 25 – December 2, 2007

  28. AFTER THE ACCREDITATION: • Teaching methods have been changed • Universities have updated their libraries, equipped computer classes, etc • A process for regular self-assessment has been developed (SWOT analyzes) • Expert reports have been used in writing universities´ development plan

  29. BENEFITS OF HE: • Accreditation process was carried out only • by international experts – in improvement of • Estonian HE the international know-how is • used • 4(3)+2 system together with accreditation • “woke up” Estonian HEI

  30. BENEFITS OF HE: • International relations have helped to improve the quality of Estonian higher education (students’ and teaching staff exchanges), implementing one the main aims of Bologna declaration • Accreditation results have been helpful for students to decide where to continue their studies. Accreditation results can be easily found from the internet

  31. NEGATIVE Estonian accreditation process is process oriented and less outcome oriented

  32. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AND SOME FACTS ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION IN ESTONIA

  33. Quality Agreement Agreement was initiated by Estonian Rector Conference. Agreement: The Parties shall harmonise the quality requirements for curricula, academic degrees being awarded and academic positions in universities. The Parties shall bring the rules regulating their curricula, the awarding of academic degrees and the filling of academic positions into conformity with the provisions of this Agreement. Practice: • Quality commission of the RC • Self analysis of the awarded doctoral degrees, elected professors, study programs • All parties have some problems!

  34. Internal QA handbook of HEI • Worked out by public universities • Should be improved • Implementation of internal QA still on the way

  35. Main poblem in the Estonian HE • Estonian HE is overheated – too many HEI • The number of secondary school graduates will rapidly drop down • There will be further a strong pressure to the quality of HE • There exists a pointless overlap of many study programmes in HEI

  36. Expected decrease of student intake

  37. Intake, students and graduates by HE stages *Together with resident students (intake before 2001/2002 45% state supported students, others are paying tuition fee

  38. Higher education institutions1995–2006 (in 2012 – 20 HEI?)

  39. Tallinn – first mentioned in 1154 THE END

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