QAE are cornerstones of the work of the University, and they touch academic, administrative, service and support units across the University. The importance of QAE cannot be overstated, as the University strives to ensure that all its work, activities and operations are of the highest quality, benchmarked to external standards of excellence and committed to continuous review and improvement. This addresses the University’s vision statement ‘to be a leading multicultural Catholic University of China, that stands by the principles of academic integrity, follows international standards in higher education, fosters innovation and upholds humanising values in all cultures’.
The University holds QAE as an essential feature in ensuring and protecting the integrity of, and confidence in, the highest standards and quality of all the work, procedures, operations, and outcomes of all its work. QAE ensures these are aligned and serve the University’s mission, vision, and strategic development. Evaluation, self-evaluation, review, with consequent action planning and development, are ongoing practices that serve that improvement. QAE is designed to ensure that student voice is listened to and acted upon to ensure that their learning and student life are of the highest quality, promoting their all-round development to fulfil the University’s stated mission to ‘nurture an academic community committed to whole person development’.
Foundations of QAE
Quality assurance and enhancement (QAE) concerns how effectively USJ and its academic, administrative, support and service units are working and how they are improving. It empowers its members to have a voice in the development of the University and their place in it. QAE is built on several firm foundations:
– It is a transparent in all its operations, evidence-based, evidence-informed and documented, so that it can be tracked at all stages. It includes internal and external evaluation and self-evaluation, review and benchmarking.
– It addresses inputs, processes, procedures, outcomes and outputs. To address these it moves from description –> judgement –> evaluation –> consequent planning –> implementation –> monitoring –> evaluation –> reporting –> impact and onwards to the next cycle, in a seamless process of continuous improvement. QAE moves beyond monitoring and reporting; it must lead to action which, in turn, is evaluated for its contribution to continuous improvement.
– It addresses many interpretations of ‘quality’ and its hallmarks, being ongoing, systematic, methodical, rigorous, objective, impartial, equitable, expert-informed and externally benchmarked. These play a significant role in enabling the University to meet international standards in all its work and operations.
– It must embrace involvement and collaboration within and across its academic, administrative, support and service units. An institutional culture and pan-university ownership of QAE is essential in USJ; it is everybody’s responsibility.
– QAE promotes effectiveness, efficiency, efficacy and high impact of all USJ’s work and operations, focusing on input, uptake, processes, outcomes, action planning and effects.
– It is a transparent in all its operations, evidence-based, evidence-informed and documented, so that it can be tracked at all stages. It includes internal and external evaluation and self-evaluation, review and benchmarking.
– It addresses inputs, processes, procedures, outcomes and outputs. To address these it moves from description –> judgement –> evaluation –> consequent planning –> implementation –> monitoring –> evaluation –> reporting –> impact and onwards to the next cycle, in a seamless process of continuous improvement. QAE moves beyond monitoring and reporting; it must lead to action which, in turn, is evaluated for its contribution to continuous improvement.
– It addresses many interpretations of ‘quality’ and its hallmarks, being ongoing, systematic, methodical, rigorous, objective, impartial, equitable, expert-informed and externally benchmarked. These play a significant role in enabling the University to meet international standards in all its work and operations.
– It must embrace involvement and collaboration within and across its academic, administrative, support and service units. An institutional culture and pan-university ownership of QAE is essential in USJ; it is everybody’s responsibility.
– QAE promotes effectiveness, efficiency, efficacy and high impact of all USJ’s work and operations, focusing on input, uptake, processes, outcomes, action planning and effects.
Principles of QAE
USJ seeks to protect, enhance and maintain the integrity of all of its work. To that end, QAE is based on the principle that every aspect of the work of the University and its academic, administrative, service and support units can be improved continuously and that evaluation and self-evaluation, both internal and external, are ongoing practices that serve that improvement.
QAE is constructive, diagnostic, developmental and formative as well as judgemental and summative; it is evaluative, descriptive, evidence-based and evidence-informed, with evidence drawn from a wide range of sources. There are several principles of QAE:
1. An institutional culture and pan-university ownership of QAE is essential in achieving international standards in all the work and operations of the university.
2. QAE is an ongoing, systematic and methodical process of planned interventions, monitoring, reviewing, judging, evaluating, documenting and reporting, with consequent action, development and continuous improvement, ensuring excellence in all the work and operations of the University.
3. QAE is evidence-based, evidence-informed, transparent, rigorous, equitable and systematic.
4. QAE promotes effectiveness, efficiency, efficacy and high impact of all the work and operations of the University, focusing on input, uptake, processes, outcomes, action planning and effects.
5. QAE is a shared responsibility; it is collaborative, cooperative and empowering, involving all areas and operations of the University, parties and stakeholders, together with their development and enhanced professionalism.
6. QAE meets international standards in internal and external approval, accreditation and recognition, promoting institutional and public confidence in the academic standards and operations of the University.
QAE is constructive, diagnostic, developmental and formative as well as judgemental and summative; it is evaluative, descriptive, evidence-based and evidence-informed, with evidence drawn from a wide range of sources. There are several principles of QAE:
1. An institutional culture and pan-university ownership of QAE is essential in achieving international standards in all the work and operations of the university.
2. QAE is an ongoing, systematic and methodical process of planned interventions, monitoring, reviewing, judging, evaluating, documenting and reporting, with consequent action, development and continuous improvement, ensuring excellence in all the work and operations of the University.
3. QAE is evidence-based, evidence-informed, transparent, rigorous, equitable and systematic.
4. QAE promotes effectiveness, efficiency, efficacy and high impact of all the work and operations of the University, focusing on input, uptake, processes, outcomes, action planning and effects.
5. QAE is a shared responsibility; it is collaborative, cooperative and empowering, involving all areas and operations of the University, parties and stakeholders, together with their development and enhanced professionalism.
6. QAE meets international standards in internal and external approval, accreditation and recognition, promoting institutional and public confidence in the academic standards and operations of the University.
Purposes of QAE
– For the university and each academic, administrative, support and service unit, ensuring:
1. Conformance to specifications
2. Effectiveness
3. Efficacy
4. Efficiency
5. Excellence
6. Fitness for purpose
7. Fitness of purpose
8. Impact
9. Meeting intended outcomes
10. Meeting internal and external stakeholders’/consumers’/clients’ needs
11. Meeting objectives
12. Reliability and consistency
13. Transformation
14. Value-added
– Accountability;
– Accreditation;
– Catalyze university development;
– Comparing universities;
– Control of Faculties/curricula/assessment/offices/units;
– Ensuring consistently high standards;
– External recognition;
– Foster collegiality and networking within the university;
– Improvement and continuous development;
– Monitoring, review and of the university;
– Nurture best practice to promote all-round development;
– Promote excellence, creativity and diversity;
– Provision of information on how well university, academic units, administration units, offices, service and support units, and program policies, plans and procedures are working: effectiveness; efficiency; efficacy; impact;
– Provision of information to all stakeholders;
– Public awareness and consumer choice (e.g. for student recruitment);
– Value for money/return on investment.
1. Conformance to specifications
2. Effectiveness
3. Efficacy
4. Efficiency
5. Excellence
6. Fitness for purpose
7. Fitness of purpose
8. Impact
9. Meeting intended outcomes
10. Meeting internal and external stakeholders’/consumers’/clients’ needs
11. Meeting objectives
12. Reliability and consistency
13. Transformation
14. Value-added
– Accountability;
– Accreditation;
– Catalyze university development;
– Comparing universities;
– Control of Faculties/curricula/assessment/offices/units;
– Ensuring consistently high standards;
– External recognition;
– Foster collegiality and networking within the university;
– Improvement and continuous development;
– Monitoring, review and of the university;
– Nurture best practice to promote all-round development;
– Promote excellence, creativity and diversity;
– Provision of information on how well university, academic units, administration units, offices, service and support units, and program policies, plans and procedures are working: effectiveness; efficiency; efficacy; impact;
– Provision of information to all stakeholders;
– Public awareness and consumer choice (e.g. for student recruitment);
– Value for money/return on investment.
Benefits of QAE
QAE enables the university and its academic, administrative, service and support units and their members to:
– continuously improve themselves, their students, their work, their operations and the institution;
– meet accountability, internal and external quality and accreditation standards and requirements;
– enhance the institution’s reputation;
– formulate and communicate their mission, vision, goals, objectives, and their alignment to each other;
– position the university for student and staff recruitment and publicity, identifying the unique and/or distinctive features of the university;
– monitor and evaluate themselves, each other, and the work, procedures, operations and outcomes of the university and its academic, administrative, service and support units;
– receive feedback and to take action from it, set priorities, identify needs and resources, develop and implement action planning and disseminate good practice;
– identify strengths and areas for improvement in all their work, procedures and operations;
– identify and address areas for professional development;
– identify where, when, what and how to intervene for continuous improvement;
– improve the quality of the work, procedures, operations and achievements of academic, administrative, service and support units.
QAE concerns procedures, development, improvement and excellence; it enables parties and academic, administrative, service and support units to:
– develop systematic, methodical, rigorous, evidence-based and evidence-informed perspectives on planning, implementing and evaluating their work, procedures and operations, collaboratively, leading to continuous improvement, action planning and review.
– ensure that the processes, procedures and mechanisms for this are operating effectively, efficiently, efficaciously and with maximum impact, to ensure that the intended work, procedures and operations in the academic, administrative, service and support units are being achieved, to serve accountability, and to identify good practice within the academic, administrative, service and support units.
QAE has leadership and management elements and benefits; it enables parties and academic, administrative, service and support units to:
– know where to intervene to maximise the quality of the work, procedures and operations in the academic, administrative, service and support units;
– develop and implement evidence-based and evidence-informed decision-making and leadership;
work collaboratively and collegially with all parties across the university;
– identify what each academic, administrative, service and support unit stands for and where it is going;
– identify the distinctive strengths, accomplishments, needs, and future plans for the work, procedures and operations in the academic, administrative, service and support units, thereby serving accountability;
– ensure that the work, procedures and operations in the academic, administrative, service and support units are aligned to the strategic direction, aims, objectives and intended outcomes of the unit and the university;
– enhance the key views and criteria of quality espoused by the university in respect of the work, procedures and operations in the academic, administrative, service and support units.
– continuously improve themselves, their students, their work, their operations and the institution;
– meet accountability, internal and external quality and accreditation standards and requirements;
– enhance the institution’s reputation;
– formulate and communicate their mission, vision, goals, objectives, and their alignment to each other;
– position the university for student and staff recruitment and publicity, identifying the unique and/or distinctive features of the university;
– monitor and evaluate themselves, each other, and the work, procedures, operations and outcomes of the university and its academic, administrative, service and support units;
– receive feedback and to take action from it, set priorities, identify needs and resources, develop and implement action planning and disseminate good practice;
– identify strengths and areas for improvement in all their work, procedures and operations;
– identify and address areas for professional development;
– identify where, when, what and how to intervene for continuous improvement;
– improve the quality of the work, procedures, operations and achievements of academic, administrative, service and support units.
QAE concerns procedures, development, improvement and excellence; it enables parties and academic, administrative, service and support units to:
– develop systematic, methodical, rigorous, evidence-based and evidence-informed perspectives on planning, implementing and evaluating their work, procedures and operations, collaboratively, leading to continuous improvement, action planning and review.
– ensure that the processes, procedures and mechanisms for this are operating effectively, efficiently, efficaciously and with maximum impact, to ensure that the intended work, procedures and operations in the academic, administrative, service and support units are being achieved, to serve accountability, and to identify good practice within the academic, administrative, service and support units.
QAE has leadership and management elements and benefits; it enables parties and academic, administrative, service and support units to:
– know where to intervene to maximise the quality of the work, procedures and operations in the academic, administrative, service and support units;
– develop and implement evidence-based and evidence-informed decision-making and leadership;
work collaboratively and collegially with all parties across the university;
– identify what each academic, administrative, service and support unit stands for and where it is going;
– identify the distinctive strengths, accomplishments, needs, and future plans for the work, procedures and operations in the academic, administrative, service and support units, thereby serving accountability;
– ensure that the work, procedures and operations in the academic, administrative, service and support units are aligned to the strategic direction, aims, objectives and intended outcomes of the unit and the university;
– enhance the key views and criteria of quality espoused by the university in respect of the work, procedures and operations in the academic, administrative, service and support units.
Questions in QAE
Quality assurance (QA) addresses questions such as:
1. How high is the desired and actual quality of the university’s work?
2. How do you know?
3. What criteria, indicators and evidence do you use to support your claims?
4. How reliable are the judgements of quality made by the university and its academic, administrative, support and service units?
5. What do the stakeholders (internal and external) say about you?
6. How can the desired and actual quality be improved?
7. How do you know that your work is maximally effective, efficient, efficacious and impactful?
8. How do you know that everyone is going in the same desired direction (aligned)?
QAE addresses major questions such as:
1. What does the university/unit say it values and is doing in its work, procedures and operations?
2. What procedures and processes does the university/unit have for planning, implementing, monitoring, reviewing, developing what it says it values and does about its work, procedures and operations?
3. How does the university/unit know and inform itself and internal and external stakeholders if these procedures and processes are operating/being used, effective, efficient, efficacious and impactful in meeting the university’s/unit’s stated mission, values, purposes, policies, contents and criteria for the effectiveness of its work, procedures and operations?
4. How does the university/unit inform itself/stakeholders about how its procedures and processes for evaluating and improving its work are effective in terms of outcomes and quality (i.e. impact analysis)?
5. How high is the quality of the work, procedures and operations of the university/units, using what key performance indicators, benchmarks and benchmarking, and with what results?
6. How has the university/unit improved its quality over time, and how does it know and inform itself of this?
7. What recommendations can be made for needed interventions and developments for continuous improvement of its quality?
8. How, where, by whom and in what time frames isthe quality being improved and enhanced, based on what evidence and plans for its work, procedures and operations?
9. How does the university/unit know if its plans are working well: effectively, efficiently, efficaciously, with impact, with what success criteria to judge its achievement of its plans and developments?
10. How does the university/unit know that it is on course with its plans for development and improvement?
The intention here is to demonstrate that the university, its academic, administrative, service and support units have procedures and processes for QAE, that these are actually working and are bringing about a positive difference and impact, and that they meet international standards.
1. How high is the desired and actual quality of the university’s work?
2. How do you know?
3. What criteria, indicators and evidence do you use to support your claims?
4. How reliable are the judgements of quality made by the university and its academic, administrative, support and service units?
5. What do the stakeholders (internal and external) say about you?
6. How can the desired and actual quality be improved?
7. How do you know that your work is maximally effective, efficient, efficacious and impactful?
8. How do you know that everyone is going in the same desired direction (aligned)?
QAE addresses major questions such as:
1. What does the university/unit say it values and is doing in its work, procedures and operations?
2. What procedures and processes does the university/unit have for planning, implementing, monitoring, reviewing, developing what it says it values and does about its work, procedures and operations?
3. How does the university/unit know and inform itself and internal and external stakeholders if these procedures and processes are operating/being used, effective, efficient, efficacious and impactful in meeting the university’s/unit’s stated mission, values, purposes, policies, contents and criteria for the effectiveness of its work, procedures and operations?
4. How does the university/unit inform itself/stakeholders about how its procedures and processes for evaluating and improving its work are effective in terms of outcomes and quality (i.e. impact analysis)?
5. How high is the quality of the work, procedures and operations of the university/units, using what key performance indicators, benchmarks and benchmarking, and with what results?
6. How has the university/unit improved its quality over time, and how does it know and inform itself of this?
7. What recommendations can be made for needed interventions and developments for continuous improvement of its quality?
8. How, where, by whom and in what time frames isthe quality being improved and enhanced, based on what evidence and plans for its work, procedures and operations?
9. How does the university/unit know if its plans are working well: effectively, efficiently, efficaciously, with impact, with what success criteria to judge its achievement of its plans and developments?
10. How does the university/unit know that it is on course with its plans for development and improvement?
The intention here is to demonstrate that the university, its academic, administrative, service and support units have procedures and processes for QAE, that these are actually working and are bringing about a positive difference and impact, and that they meet international standards.