Training Seminar for QA Coordinators from Universities
Activity 8.1.
Session Plan
SESSION PLAN 8.1
IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEMS WITHIN
ROMANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS – Training Seminar for Quality
Coordinators from universities belonging to 8 consortia
DAY 1
TIME ACTIVITIES/METHODS/MATERIALS
12:00- attendance list: delegates register and have Lunch
13:30
opening and welcome: Introduction to the team; explaining 10’
13:30- seminar rationale and method, content and objectives of the
14:00 workshop sessions, use of background materials
20’
experience of a Quality Coordinator from the 2008 QA
seminar- Prof. Viorel Guliciuc, LSTE, ARACIS evaluator
14.00- Keynote Address 30’
14.30
Prof. Curtu, ARACIS President: ensure participants are aware
of the progress and directions in the work of ARACIS in 2009
30’
Criteria for Effectiveness of Institutional Quality Assurance
14.30 – Systems
15.00 A Presentation- to ensure that participants are aware of
the main attributes of quality assurance systems’
effectiveness and can apply them when devising their home
institutions’ quality assurance systems; enhance 30’
participants’ knowledge of managing the quality by
highlighting the institution levels of quality strategic
management and providing tools for each level; Introducing
to participants the idea of the university QA Strategy as a
15.00 – tool for managing the quality of programmes and preparing
15.30 for external evaluation and accreditation.
Questions and answers session
Coffee/Tea (served during the session) 15’
15.30 –
17.15 Workshop session 1- (2 groups): Devising QA strategies and
action plans 45’
Background material for this session: Section 2.3 of the Quality
Guide- p. 16-19: ‘Criteria for Effectiveness of QA Systems in 45’
Universities’; Participants own materials- university strategic
documents and QA plans and reports; A Sample Quality Strategy
Page 1 of 5
Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support
PHARE TVET RO2006/018-147.04.01.02.01.03.01
Training Seminar for QA Coordinators from Universities
Activity 8.1.
Session Plan
of the university
- Participants in each group exchange their experience
and observations on the quality system implemented in 45’
their own university compare them with the criteria for
effectiveness and identify barriers to effective quality
systems. 30’
- Each group identifies points for improvement and
17.15 – enhancement of their institutional quality strategies and
18.00 action plans and devises quality Strategy and Action
Plan (in bullet points only)
- The two groups split each into two and set up a Role
Play: The university meets ARACIS’ external experts to
18.00 – explain and defence their Quality Strategy and Action
18.30 Plan. The first part of each group represents ARACIS’
experts; the other part represents university QA
committee.
Plenary session:
Reports from the Groups and discussion on the barriers and
opportunities for implementing effective quality management tools
Private activities before dinner: each participant fills in the
Questionnaire on the stage of implementation of quality assurance
in his/her own university
Page 2 of 5
Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support
PHARE TVET RO2006/018-147.04.01.02.01.03.01
Training Seminar for QA Coordinators from Universities
Activity 8.1.
Session Plan
DAY 2
TIME ACTIVITIES/METHODS/MATERIALS
08:50- attendance list: delegates register 10’
09:00
Quality Assurance and Staff Development
09:00- Ensuring participants awareness of the role of staff 30’
09:30 development for enhancing the quality of learning and
teaching; prompting critical reflection on current practices in
institutional and faculty mechanisms for staff quality assurance
and suggesting points for improvement ( A presentation) 60’
09.30- Workshop session 2: Role Play – Devising and Evaluating
11.30 Institutional Staff Policy
- Each group works for 45 min. on drafting a staff
development policy for their ‘model’ institution, while the
other half prepares interview questions to evaluate the staff
policy of the other half group; (Background materials to 60’
support the work of the two sub-groups in each group
include: The QA strategy and action plans developed at
Workshop 1, a paper describing the staff situation in a
particular university; the Guidebooks of ARACIS and the
QA Guidebook developed under TVET PHARE 2005
Project).
- The next 45 minutes each group splits into two and the two
10:30 halves of the group sit together and simulate meeting of
ARACIS external evaluators with the institution self- 45’
11.30- evaluation team to discuss the staff development policy of 15’
12.30 the institution. The first half of the group answers the
questions of the ‘evaluation panel’, formed by the second
half of the group.
-
Coffee/Tea (served in the session rooms)
12.30- Plenary: Groups’ reports on the results of the Workshop 2
14.00 session
Feedback reports
Plenary discussion: reflections on the group reports, questions
and answers
Lunch
14.00- Quality Assurance of academic programmes:
15.15 Integrating learning outcomes and graduate competences into 45’
the study programme: Ensuring participants awareness of the
national qualifications descriptors and their use in the course
Page 3 of 5
Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support
PHARE TVET RO2006/018-147.04.01.02.01.03.01
Training Seminar for QA Coordinators from Universities
Activity 8.1.
Session Plan
alignment or mapping process; suggesting a course mapping
process for implementation at faculty level and discussion of 30’
possible benefits for students and employers. (A Power Point
Presentation)
Questions and answers session: participants consider
implementing new mechanisms for quality assurance of
academic programmes to meet recognition and accreditation
requirements
15.15 – Coffee/Tea 15’
15.30
15.30 - Workshop 3: (2 groups) – Developing a faculty and Institution 90’
17.00 level QA mechanisms for design, approval and internal validation
of new programmes of study 45’
o Suggesting a course evaluation process for implementing
learning outcomes;
o Each group splits into 2 and the sub-groups work on
suggested steps (see the Presentation) for introducing 45
graduate competences into the course content. Then for the
rest of the time the sub-groups return back to their main
group and exchange views in order to arrive at a common 60’
17.00- proposal. Each group suggests a course evaluation process
18.00 for implementing learning outcomes and graduate
attributes.
Plenary: Groups’ reports on the results of the Workshop 3;
Discussion on possible impact on quality which may have the
introduction of learning outcomes approach.
Page 4 of 5
Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support
PHARE TVET RO2006/018-147.04.01.02.01.03.01
Training Seminar for QA Coordinators from Universities
Activity 8.1.
Session Plan
DAY 3
TIME ACTIVITIES/METHODS/MATERIALS
08:50- Attendance list: delegates register and remove luggage from 10’
09:00 their rooms.
09:00- Self-evaluation process: the quality management systems
09:45 30’
ARACIS’ policy on the standards and criteria for evaluation of
quality management systems (presentation) 15’
Questions and answers session
Workshop 4: (2 groups) Self-evaluation process 60’
09.45- Session 1 – Each group drafts for 60 min. a bullet point
11.30 version of the SER for Area ‘C’ of the standards. Groups
discuss in the first 30 minutes what sort of analysis of
their achievements they suggest for their self-evaluation
report for Area C- quality management. In the next 30’
groups discuss possible evidences that might support 45’
the evaluation of the quality management systems of
universities and consider their relevance. Finally, the
group develops questions for the meeting with ARACIS’
external evaluators.
Session 2 – Role Play: Each Group splits into two and
one sub-group represents the university Self-evaluation
Team, while the other sub-group represents ARACIS’
evaluators’ panel. The university presents its self-
evaluation process and results, while ARACIS Panel
asks questions to verify the university statements
11.00 - regarding quality and to discuss the evidences provided 60’
in the Self-evaluation Report. 30’
11.00- [Background material for this session: Hints and tips from the 30’
13.00 material developed by the group throughout Workshops 1,2 and 3;
ARACIS guidebooks.]
Coffee/Tea (served at the session rooms)
Plenary:
Reports from the groups
13.00- Conclusions and recommendations (Seminar Evaluation Form)
14.00
Wrap Up
Lunch and departure
Page 5 of 5
Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support
PHARE TVET RO2006/018-147.04.01.02.01.03.01