Title: Unit 2: Methods and Tools of QA
Course: Quality Assurance of Blended and Online Learning > Section: Methods and Tools of QA

Quality assurance systems, standards, benchmarks, indicators, reviews, and tools for continuous improvement.

Learning Journey

There are four units in this course, and each explores a specific aspect of principles and practices involved in assessing learners online. Let's now look at Unit 2. Quality and Quality Assurance in Education (Completed) Methods and Tools of Quality Assurance (Up next) Quality in Technology-mediated Education (Upcoming) COL's Quality Assurance Tools (Upcoming) 1 2 3 4

Migration source: module14/p03

Unit 2: Methods and Tools of Quality Assurance

Unless there is constant collection and analysis of data around specific areas of provision, it is not possible to know where an institution stands in terms of its journey towards achieving its desired ends. So, quality assurance is about using particular instruments to collect reliable data that help an institution understand how well it is performing. A good quality assurance system uses specific methods, tools and processes to enhance quality. In this unit, you will learn about the methods, approaches and tools you can use to enhance the quality of education in your context. Introduction In Unit 1, we learned that quality in education entails desired standards that are deliberately set to be achieved within a given period of time, and that quality assurance makes it possible to achieve those desired standards.

Migration source: module14/p01

Learning Objectives: Methods and Tools of Quality Assurance

Upon completion of this unit, you are expected to be able to:
- Describe some of the common methods/approaches used in quality assurance in education
- Identify common tools used in quality assurance in education
- Adapt existing quality assurance tools to suit your own context
- Use quality assurance tools and instruments to enhance the quality of educational provision

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Approaches and Tools for Enhancing Education Quality

Bureaucratic Approach Inward-looking Approach Inward-looking or internal approaches are QA practices that seek to inform stakeholders that are internal to an institution — they are self-enlightening. There is intrinsic motivation to implement such practices, and the prime aim is to identify where improvement is needed. Often, the approach used shows where emphasis is placed in the QA system. A bureaucratic approach operates from the top to the bottom, mainly driven by institutional management rather than by academics at the student–teacher interface. It is characterised more by compliance than the quest for self-improvement. Educational institutions use various approaches and tools to quality assure their processes. Some approaches to quality assurance (QA) work better than others. Examples are bureaucratic rather than collegial approaches or outward-looking (external) rather than inward-looking (internal) approaches. Download the PDF to learn more about the QA Approach.

Migration source: module14/p02

Pause and Reflect

Before moving ahead, think of possible answers to the following question. You can also discuss with your friends or workmates. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the dominant approach to quality assurance in your institution?

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Types of Quality Assurance

There are two types of quality assurance: Let's proceed to understand these two types. External Quality Assurance Internal Quality Assurance

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External Quality Assurance

An external quality assurance (EQA) system consists of regulations, policies and practices that take place at the national higher education system level to assure the quality of education programmes and institutions. EQA usually leads to a culture of compliance by institutions and brings about little institutional improvement. Often, institutions take it as a policing mechanism.

Migration source: module14/p10

External Quality Assurance (Continued)

For a detailed understanding, watch this video clip that explains external quality assurance and some of its shortcomings.
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External Quality Assurance in Education Video Transcript.
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Video Attribution: “External Quality Assurance” by Commonwealth of Learning is available under a CC BY licence

Related links

- Open resource on col.org
- Open resource on creativecommons.org
- Watch video

Downloads

- external quality assurace in education accessible .pdf

Migration source: module14/p11

Internal Quality Assurance

As highlighted at the end of the video you have just watched on external quality assurance, a sound quality assurance system should also have an internal quality assurance dimension. In internal quality assurance, the task of and responsibility for monitoring quality is placed in the hands of institutions. Internal quality assurance refers to the integrated institutional system, policies and process that are used by an institution to manage the quality of its core functions of learning, teaching, research and community engagement, as determined by its mission. Institutions use quality guidelines to conduct regular self-reviews, which lead to drawing up improvement plans. For example, in the European Higher Education Area, Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) were developed, which are used by institutions to enhance quality.

Migration source: module14/p48

Internal Quality Assurance (Continued)

What Do ESG State? The ESG state that Higher education institutions have a primary responsibility for the quality of their provision and its assurance. Quality assurance responds to the diversity of higher education systems, institutions, programmes and students. Quality assurance supports the development of a quality culture. Quality assurance takes into account the needs and expectations of students, all other stakeholders, and society (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education et al., 2015, p. 8).

Migration source: module14/p09

Internal Quality Assurance (Continued)

The following video explains the value of internal quality assurance in promoting institutional quality.
Select Play to watch the video.
The video will open in another window.
Internal Quality Assurance in Education Video Transcript.
The transcript will open in another window.

Video Attribution: “Internal Quality Assurance in Education” by Commonwealth of Learning is available under a CC BY-SA licence

Related links

- Open resource on col.org
- Open resource on creativecommons.org
- Watch video

Downloads

- internal quality assurance in education accessible.pdf

Migration source: module14/p12

Pause and Reflect

Based on the video you just watched, respond to the questions below. Do the task on your own to check your understanding of internal quality assurance. If your institution has a unit responsible for quality assurance, what are some of the challenges it faces in implementing internal quality assurance? You may want to talk to the people in the unit to understand the challenges. What solutions do you suggest to address some of these challenges?

Migration source: module14/p14

Balancing External with Internal Quality Assurance

The internal and external quality assurance in an institution needs to be balanced. It is important to note that external and internal quality assurance (QA) are complementary. While the former is primarily associated with accountability, it can be conducted in such a way that institutional stakeholders come to understand it as part of the system improvement process. Thus, the manner in which QA is handled in a given context determines how institutions will view and implement it.

Migration source: module14/p49

Balancing External with Internal Quality Assurance (Continued)

The graphic below illustrates the desirable balance of internal and external quality assurance in an institution. Quality Assurance System

Figure 4. A quality assurance system includes both external and internal quality assurance approaches that results in continuous self-improvement.

Although both external and internal quality assurance (QA) are important, the latter stands a better chance of bringing about continuous improvement than the former. This is primarily because internal QA is conducted more regularly and is less accountability driven and more improvement oriented.

Migration source: module14/p50

Quality Assurance Tools and Instruments

Here is where you can learn more about the Quality Assurance Rubric for Blended Learning [PDF]. This is just one example of a quality assurance tool; you will learn about more such tools in Unit 4 of this course. In the conclusion section of Unit 1, you learned that quality assurance involves regular collection of data on the various aspects of an institution's delivery. Appropriate tools are used for this purpose. These may be standardised in the entire national system if the data to be collected involve external quality assurance processes. Usually, they are also standardised at the institutional level to make it easy to implement quality assurance and compile reports uniformly.

Related links

- Open resource on oasis.col.org

Migration source: module14/p16

The Need for Measuring Quality

By its nature, quality is an abstract term, which is why it is so contested. The only way we can objectify it is by making use of agreed tools to measure and thereby quantify it. Two types of tools are used in measuring quality: analytical and facilitation tools.

Migration source: module14/p04

Analytical Tools

Download the PDF for detailed information and uses on analytical tools. According to Ishikawa, (1982), there are seven tools that can be used to analyse and interpret data on quality assurance (Ishikawa, 1982, cited in Mishra, 2006): process flowcharts, graphs, Pareto analyses, fishbone diagrams, scatter diagrams, checklists, and control charts. In this unit, we are not going to discuss these different tools, but you can read about them in Chapter 6 of the following Commonwealth of Learning Resource: Quality Assurance in Higher Education: An Introduction.

Related links

- Open resource on oasis.col.org

Migration source: module14/p08

Process Tools

In addition to the analytical tools, there are also process tools in quality assurance. Such process tools include quality assurance policies, quality assurance standards, reporting templates, and templates for drawing up improvement plans. These involve what people work with: To implement quality assurance activities To collect data on performance To compile reports To implement recommendations that come out of data analysis

Migration source: module14/p13

Summary

In this unit, we learned about methods and tools used in quality assurance in education. Let's review the key learning points we covered along the way. Select each number to recall the learning journey.
Some of the tools were initially confined to production processes in industry, where tangible items are produced for consumption by customers. In this context, the industry is concerned about generating products that meet customer expectations — as much as possible, without any defects. We have adopted these tools in education, a service industry, where our products are not easily visible and tangible. However, same as in an organization, we have to meet the key requirement of customer satisfaction. In education, our customer base is very wide, so interests and expectations will vary, making quality education a challenging concept and area to work in. We learned about the two broad approaches to quality assurance in education — external and internal quality assurance. The external quality assurance mainly has to do with meeting the expectations of external quality assurance agencies. In this regard, it has limitations in terms of enhancing quality improvement in an institution. External quality assurance is still necessary. External quality assurance agencies ensure that some internal quality assurance systems are put in place in institutions. The latter approach has great potential to bring about a quality culture in an institution. A sound quality assurance system should have a balance between external and internal quality assurance.

Migration source: module14/p47