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According to the European University Association (EUA) 2014 e-learning study [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 119.217], 91 per cent of the institutions surveyed have integrated e-learning into their teaching: whether in the form of distance learning, blended learning, problem-based learning, lectures, work-based learning, or simulation. Eighty-two per cent admit to offering online learning courses. In contrast, the quality assurance of such provision has been given far less consideration, namely in the realm of external quality assurance, where the authors suggest there is an apparent shortcoming, citing that only 23 per cent of national QA agencies give special consideration to e-learning. This report presents considerations for quality assurance of e-learning provision by the ENQA Working Group VIII on Quality Assurance and E-learning.

Launched in summer 2016, the ENQA working group on quality assurance and e-learning aims to address the challenges associated with the alternative learning and teaching methods that information and communication technology (ICT) creates by sharing ways in which QA agencies might consider conducting themselves in this area. In particular, the working group has reflected upon how these non-traditional forms of education can be evaluated using traditional methodologies, while also offering higher education institutions (HEIs) points to consider when designing courses that utilise e-learning. Recognising that recommendations for quality assurance and e-learning have already been written, the working group decided to create a new focus: to systematically examine both the applicability and relevance of the standards as defined in the ESG 2015 [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 128.533], while considering and utilising existing papers and publications. Although each standard proved to be fully applicable to e-learning, some standards seemed to require special guidance on how they can be applied. This document aims to provide such guidance. It results from an intensive discussion process both in the working group and with relevant e-learning stakeholders in Europe.

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The 'Standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG)' were adopted by the Ministers responsible for higher education in 2005 following a proposal prepared by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) in co-operation with the European Students' Union (ESU), the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE) and the European University Association (EUA). Since 2005, considerable progress has been made in quality assurance as well as in other Bologna action lines such as qualification frameworks, recognition and the promotion of the use of learning outcomes, all these contributing to a paradigm shift towards student-centred learning and teaching. Given this changing context, in 2012 the Ministerial Communique invited the E4 Group (ENQA, ESU, EUA, EURASHE) in cooperation with Education International (EI), BUSINESSEUROPE and the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) to prepare an initial proposal for a revised ESG 'to improve their clarity, applicability and usefulness, including their scope'.

The revision included several consultation rounds involving both the key stakeholder organisations and ministries. The many comments, proposals and recommendations received have been carefully analysed and taken very seriously by the Steering Group (SG). They are reflected in the resulting version of the ESG. Moreover this version also reflects a consensus among all the organisations involved on how to take forward quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area and, as such, provides a firm basis for successful implementation. The ESG are used by institutions and quality assurance agencies as a reference document for internal and external quality assurance systems in higher education. Moreover, they are used by the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR), which is responsible for the register of quality assurance agencies that comply with the ESG.

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Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, China's higher education has witnessed a quick period of growth and has evolved from elite education to mass education. During this period, the Chinese government has restructured the layout of higher education per the demand for regional economy, industry structure, and culture development. During this period, a large number of local higher education institutions (HEIs) were established.

From 2000 to 2015, 403 HEIs were founded and now they account for 42.7 per cent of all the 944 HEIs in China. Most of the newly built HEIs are institutions that were upgraded from Higher Vocational Colleges, and most are located in the nonprovincial capital cities at the prefectural level. These HEIs satisfy the urgent social demand for higher education and play an important role in serving local economic and social development.

This study analyzes and illustrates the achievements and challenges of quality assurance in China's higher education, both at the system level and at the level of new public universities. Achievements and challenges at the system level are based on literature review and secondary data. Illustrative case studies are based on University data and interviews with University representatives. The higher education system in China has increased its enrollments substantially. The construction of the new universities and colleges that started enrolling students in the past few years contributed greatly to this achievement. Challenges accompanying this growth lie in funding, quality, and quantity of staffing, teaching practices, research and community service, and quality assurance.

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All higher education providers operating in Australia are subject to stringent processes by which courses - and the institutions that offer them - are registered and accredited. This applies to both universities and non-universities alike. The processes are outlined in the Higher Education Standards Framework, and are used by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency in their regulatory activities. These standards are important in helping to ensure that all higher education provision meets minimum quality standards, regardless of the institution or course. This paper gives an overview of quality assurance processes within Australian universities, with a particular focus on course development and delivery.

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This paper draws upon two research projects to evaluate a decade of reform concerning the professionalisation of further education teachers, and discusses future prospects under the new coalition government. It suggests that policy initiatives to regulate further education (FE) teachers have taken place within an industrial or occupational paradigm of the past that keeps FE separate from the more professional frameworks of schools and higher education. Drawing upon research, the paper also shows that after a decade of reform, successive standards and regulatory frameworks have not brought about national coherence. Rather, it has fragmented the system even further and diverted attention away from addressing more fundamental weaknesses such as developing stronger mentoring and workplace support. In conclusion, the analysis looks to the future, arguing that the threatened revocation of the 2007 regulations, combined with the present economic situation facing colleges, will lead to the marketisation of FE initial teacher training. This has profound implications for the quality of provision and the professional status of FE teachers, who seem to be returning to their voluntarist past.

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The majority of activity in disaggregated learning environments is, at the time of writing, in the informal or not for credit sphere. However, both globally and locally considerable energy is being devoted to incorporating disaggregated components into formal qualifications. If successful and widespread, as it is likely to be, this will transform formal higher education processes. This potential transformation invites examination of some fundamental and time-honoured assumptions about higher education qualifications and the curriculum development and quality assurance frameworks underpinning them. There is a strong belief among those academic stakeholders who are committed to the transformation that current ways of viewing curricula and quality assurance will not be sufficiently relevant and sustainable without significant 'reframing' of views of what constitutes higher education.

This report outlines some existing and possible future developments in disaggregated higher education and identifies the challenges they pose to traditional approaches to quality assurance. The contents of the report are based on extensive national consultation with the public and private sector in Australia as well as with international groups as reported in the mostly 'grey literature'. Against this background a report of this nature is inevitably outdated on a daily basis as it is being written. For this reason the report does not claim to capture the status quo or to review specific approaches or methods comprehensively. Rather, it offers a view of the landscape and highlights aspects of the topography that will likely influence higher education's journey into the future. Most importantly, however, the report underlines issues that the sector has identified as important to ensure that innovation of this type in higher education is fully supported by quality assurance approaches.

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Quality assurance has been a vexed and troubled journey for private providers in South Africa in a complex and burdensome educational environment. It is well recognised that private providers are significant role-players in the provision of education and training in South Africa and the stated intention is to create a more enabling regulatory framework The focus of this thesis is on the private providers at the post-school level. The quality assurance regime was examined and contextualised to analyse what is required, and to determine how the private provider is impacted by the regulatory requirements for the establishment and operation of a private tuition provider in South Africa. The experience of private providers, [chief executive officers] CEOs of professional bodies, [education and training quality assurance] ETQA managers and [education, training and development] ETD practitioners was investigated using a mixed methods research approach. The conclusion is a call for a far more streamlined system with a centralised oversight body, greater stakeholder consultation, less political interference and a deeper appreciation for the contribution that private providers make to the education of learners in South Africa.

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No topic in private higher education study has attracted as great attention globally as has growth. This is appropriate as private growth has soared to nearly a third of the world's total higher education enrolment. But while private growth continues to be the dominant trend, important declines in private shares have emerged. These must be analysed and understood. What is private decline depends partly on definition. For the most part declines occur in private enrolment shares, rarely in absolute numbers. Declines also sometimes occur in private subsectors rather than in the private sector overall. Some declines are merely transitory. Short of actual decline, the slowing of private growth rates is also notable. After citing historical examples, we focus on contemporary social and political causes of private decline. The social causes are mainly two: diminution of social distinctiveness or groups that have fuelled private growth; demographic changes that fall hard on private sectors. The political causes analysed are three: government policy, ranging from hostile regimes to regulation; hefty expansion of the public sector of higher education; competitive partial privatization within public higher education. None of these dynamics reverses the continued dominant tendency of private growth but they do provide counter-tendencies important to grasp and with potential to accelerate.

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In recent years, competency-based education (CBE) has made considerable inroads in higher education. Various institutions have developed or begun developing a range of programs modeled on competency-based principles. CBE is viewed by many, and with good reason, as a potential means to deliver a more effective educational experience at a lower cost. Yet despite increased interest from postsecondary institutions and strong support from policymakers, examples abound of regulatory barriers that not only fail to encourage competency-based learning but in fact impede its progress. In this paper, the current or proposed regulatory frameworks for the management of competency-based programming at the state, accreditor, and federal levels are examined. The authors highlight key concerns with and among these systems and note where efforts are being made to resolve barriers.

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This discussion paper emerged from a round of stakeholder consultations held earlier this year. Stakeholders consulted included Australian Council for Private Education and Training, TAFE Directors Australia, English Australia, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), and the Council of International Students Australia. The paper proposes specific changes to legislation and regulation in areas covering: streamlining quality assurance agency processes; reducing the reporting burden; minimising Tuition Protection Service requirements; increasing flexibility in education delivery; transfer of students from one provider to another; welfare of students aged under 18; working with stakeholders to produce a practical and accessible National Code and explanatory guide for Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS); and registration charges. Education institutions, training organisations, peak bodies and agencies are invited to respond to the paper via written submissions which must be received by 31 October 2014. Show less