This paper addresses some of the challenges to quality assurance faced by higher education as it enters the 21st century and reviews the current status of national policies for quality assurance. Many governments have decided that traditional academic controls are not adequate for today's challenges and that more explicit assurances about quality are needed. Among the key challenges faced by higher education are those raised by electronic learning and by international student mobility. The critical task in facing both of these challenges will be to focus on student learning. Quality assurance agencies will need to clarify their assumptions and to have appropriate reasons for looking to an institution's capacity to offer a good educational program. Developing a system of quality assurance based on learning will be a major task for every country. Such an effort will require collective action by universities and by governmental agencies along with scholars in educational research. It will be necessary to develop greater clarity and consensus on the types of new structures that will be appropriate for assessing learning regardless of setting. (Contains 31 references.) (SLD)
Processing Request
No Comments.