Discussion on the social dimension as part of the Third Mission in Higher Education Supporting a ‘listening university’ through QA

Presentation to the board of European Consortium for Accreditation annual meeting, hosted by the Latvian Quality Agency for Higher Education (AIKA), 6-7 June 2019, Riga, Latvia.
The presentation highlights the importance of quality assurance as having a norm-setting and a mapping function in higher education. This means it is also agenda-setting. Today the university in a digital age must be a ‘listening university’. The presentation discusses how to use the concept of the ‘listening university’ as the basis for monitoring the social dimension of HE.

Transcript

1. Dr. Dominic Orr Adjunct professor, University of Nova Gorica Senior researcher at Kiron Open Higher Education Email: dominic.orr@kiron.ngo Twitter: @dominicorr Photo Expo area, 20 April 2018 Zaragoza, Spain. D. Orr CC BY. ECA ANNUAL MEETING AND WORKSHOP, Hosted by Quality Agency for Higher Education (AIKA), 6-7 June 2019, Riga, Latvia Discussion on the social dimension as part of the Third Mission in Higher Education Supporting a ‘listening university’ through QA
2. Agenda 1. Quality assurance has a norming and a mapping function in higher education. This means it is also agenda-setting. 2. Argument: The university in a digital age must be a ‘listening university’. 3. Discussion on how to use the concept of the ‘listening university’ as the basis for monitoring the social dimension of HE. 2
3. QUALITY ASSURANCE 3
4. What is quality assurance? Part of the governance instruments for ‘steering at a distance’, which recognise that higher education institutions are ‘hybrid institutions’ with multiple goals and multiple stakeholders. In a system of autonomous HEIs, quality assurance should: • Assure transparency of provision • Set some (minimum) norms, which must be fulfilled by higher education providers for the learning experience • Encourage common action in certain areas Quality assurance systems were seldom in 1999, when the Bologna Declaration was signed. Today, there is a consensus that quality assurance is necessary to ensure accountability and support enhancement. Improving the quality and relevance of higher education, and establishing trustworthy quality assurance systems have been high priorities for almost all countries, and developments have been fast moving. 22 countries have established external quality assurance agencies since the Bologna Process was launched. Ref: European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice. (2018). The European higher education area in 2018: Bologna Process implementation report. https://doi.org/10.2797/63509 4 Ref: Jongbloed, B. (2015). Universities as hybrid organizations: Trends, drivers, and challenges for the European university. International Review of Public Administration, 45(3), 207–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/00208825.2015.1006027
5. 5 Higher education system HEI (university, college) Study programme Learning units (modules) The hierarchy of quality assurance / accreditation Usual focus on institutional level Assumption of internal coherence of smaller units
6. FUTURE CHALLENGES IN HIGHER EDUCATION 6
7. SD4: “Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.” More specifically, the goal referring to tertiary education is expressed as target 4.3: 4.3 “By 2030 ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university” Education can also contribute to achieving the other 16 key SDGs in two ways: • as enabler: in particular to enable more capable, more inclusive societies in order to contribute to achieving gender equality (SDG 5), creative and impactful innovation (SDG 9) and inclusive and sustainable economic growth (SDG 8) • as mediator: to provide new knowledge and promote exchange which will contribute to achieving all of the other SDG goals Sustainable development for higher education
8. Fundamental questions 1. How should higher education adapt to changes on the labour market, where sustainability will be created through the use of automation and higher quality services? 2. How can higher education and research institutes ensure that research activities achieve a dual focus of ensuring a sustainable transformation of society, while paying attention to solving the ‘grand challenges’ to our planet’s future? Slogan of the Future of Life Institute - https://futureoflife.org/
9. A vision for higher education in a digital age • In 2030, universities and colleges of higher education offer courses of study that are much more flexible and offer different learning pathways recognising the diversity of the student population. • They are central institutions of lifelong learning, on campus and on digital platforms. • The university will be a networked and open institution in 2030, which cooperates much more closely with other universities as well as the community and jointly develops and provides educational programmes. 9 Rampelt, F., Orr, D., & Knoth, A. (2019). Bologna Digital 2020 - White Paper on Digitalisation in the European Higher Education Area. Retrieved from Hochschulforum Digitalisierung website: https://hochschulforumdigitalisierung.de/sites/default/files/datei en/2019-05_White_Paper_Bologna_Digital_2020.pdf
10. THE LISTENING UNIVERSITY 10
11. The Ecological University is a ‘Listening University’* Ecological University after Ron Barnett** • This is a university neither in-itself (the research university) nor for-itself (the entrepreneurial university) but for-others. • This is a university that takes seriously both the world’s interconnectedness and the university’s interconnectedness with the world. = particularly relevant concept for the third mission and social dimension of higher education **Barnett, R. (2011). The coming of the ecological university. Oxford Review of Education, 37(4), 439–455. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2011.595550 *This concept was originally developed by Dominic Orr and Alex Usher, HESA Canada for a European project proposal.
12. The ‘Listening University’* - a proposal for monitoring TM and SD • QA agencies should work together and identify a set of quality criteria (rubrics) and quality indicators that would help higher education institutions, students and accreditors gauge the quality and relevance of their learning provisions, pathways, research and community action 12 *This concept was originally developed by Dominic Orr and Alex Usher, HESA Canada for a European project proposal. TM as ensuring “institutional relevance seeking” Best captured by looking at: 1. How HEIs seek constituencies 2. How HEIs engage with, and listen to, constituents, and 3. How HEIs make adjustments to their activities in response to feedback
13. A FOCUS ON THE SOCIAL DIMENSION 13
14. UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.3: By 2030 ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university Yerevan Communique: Making our [higher education] systems more inclusive is an essential aim for the EHEA as our populations become more and more diversified, also due to immigration and demographic changes. • Link: access to tertiary education for all also requires quality secondary education • Equality of outcomes: not just access, but completion and successful skill acquisition • “Equal”: In some cases, unequal treatment (i.e. special support for vulnerable groups) is the only way to achieve more equal outcomes. What is the social dimension?
15. Before entry to higher education: Characteristic: qualifying and decision-making stage. SD goal: to raise aspirations Graduation and transition: Characteristic: transition into labour market or further educational training SD goal: to secure a successful transition (and perhaps to raise aspirations) Study framework: Characteristic: study progression and completion, study-work- life balance SD goal: 1) to ensure students’ learning progress and 2) to reduce impact of students’ need to balance the resources of time and money on students’ success, i.e. to improve retention and success At entry to higher education: Characteristic: selective stage SD goal: widening access Concept used in project PL4SD – see for more information https://web.archive.org/web/20171222095449/http://www.pl4sd. eu/index.php/new-country-reviews/new-reports-by-country Social dimension and four key phases in higher ed 15
16. Before entry to higher education: • Campaigns targeting parents on benefits of HE • School liaison officers to raise aspirations of school-leavers • Support for study- decisions Graduation and transition: • Career advice • Internships • Special final year grants Study framework: • Modularised courses and cumulative credit acquisition • New pedagogical approaches • Financial support of students • Student counselling, advising and coaching and buddy systems • Incentives for HEIs to recruit and support non-traditional students At entry to higher education: • Remedial classes and summer schools • APL and contextualised applications and other second chance routes Interventions used to improve participative equity 16
17. • The most recent wave of the EUROSTUDENT study published in March 2018 has again shown European higher education to be better at recruiting students from well-educated families. • In many cases, first generation students (i.e. those whose parents have not graduated from higher education themselves) tend to be less satisfied with their study programmes – see examples • The same study shows that first gen students tend to enter higher education later, study in short programmes at universities of applied science and rely on paid employment. Source: http://bit.ly/eurostudentdata18 Different students – different expectations & needs 17
18. Student formations value, belonging, identity Student outcomes discovery, achievement, connection, opportunity Student supports enabling, personalised 9 Qualities of student success from the student perspective Ref. Coates, H., Kelly, P., Naylor, R., & Borden, V. (2016). Innovative Approaches for Enhancing the 21st Century Student Experience. Australian Government, Department of Education and Training. 18