Perceived Changes to Quality Assurance after AUN-QA Programme Assessment: Voices of Quality Assurance Practitioners, Academic Staff, and Students
Keywords:
accreditation; external quality assessment; quality enhancement; teaching and learningAbstract
Quality assurance in Vietnamese higher education has been turning to a new page since it was made in recent years. Foreign accreditation is accepted in Vietnam, and, among foreign accrediting agencies, AUN-QA is more popular. This study examines the extent to which quality assessment by the AUN-QA could lead to changes in Vietnamese universities. This study adopted a basic qualitative approach to explore various stakeholders’ perceived changes with AUN-QA assessment with convenience and purposeful sampling techniques. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with various stakeholders such as students, academic staff, and quality assurance practitioners, followed by thematic analysis. The findings suggest that the AUN-QA quality assessment appeared to be the driver of positive changes, varying from accepting external quality assurance to learning the principles of constructive alignment in curriculum design, teaching and learning approaches, and student assessment. When the principle was learnt, superficial and minor changes were reported. The impacts were also evident in forming a culture of evidence (to demonstrate compliance with the external assessment). There were a few instances whereby changes were perceived as “perfunctory” because institutions used copying strategies for external assessment. Less evidence in the findings with not much discussion related to regular improvements and the dependence on individual academic staff for quality can be seen as directions for actions to be taken not only for the participating universities but also for other universities in Vietnam. The findings suggest that external assessment if applied appropriately to trigger stakeholders’ perceptions, could contribute to quality enhancement.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.23.2.18
References
Acevedo-De-los-Ríos, A., & Rondinel-Oviedo, D. R. (2022). Impact, added value and relevance of an accreditation process on quality assurance in architectural higher education. Quality in Higher Education, 28(2), 186-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2021.1977482
Al-Eyadhy, A., & Alenezi, S. (2021). The impact of external academic accreditation of undergraduate medical program on students’ satisfaction. BMC Medical Education, 21(1), 565. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-03003-0
Al Mohaimeed, A., Midhet, F., Barrimah, I., & Saleh, M. N. (2012). Academic accreditation process: experience of a medical college in saudi arabia. International Journal of Health Sciences (Qassim), 6(1), 23-29. https://doi.org/10.12816/0005970
AUN-QA. (2019). Brief introduction and history. http://www.aun-qa.org/briefintroduction
AUN-QA. (2020). Guide to AUN-QA assessment at programme level. AUN-QA.
AUN-QA. (2024a). Apply to be an AUN-QA Associate Member. https://www.aunsec.org/discover-aun/thematic-networks/aun-qa/aun-qa-associate-membership).
AUN-QA. (2024b). ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA). https://www.aunsec.org/discover-aun/thematic-networks/aun-q
Blouin, D., Tekian, A., Kamin, C., & Harris, I. B. (2018). The impact of accreditation on medical schools' processes. Medical Education, 52(2), 182-191. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13461
CHEA. (2010). The value of accreditation. https://www.acpe-accredit.org/pdf/ValueofAccreditation.pdf
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2022). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Danielson, S., Nguyen, H. H. D., & Wigal, K. D. (2016). Comparison of AUN-QA and ABET accreditation. ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings.
Dattey, K., Westerheijden, D. F., & Hofman, W. H. A. (2014). Impact of accreditation on public and private universities: a comparative study. Tertiary Education and Management, 20(4), 307-319. https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2014.959037
Fraenkel, J., & Wallen, N., & Hyun, H. (2023). How to design and evaluate research in education (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Gerbic, P., & Kranenburg, I. (2003). The Impact of External Approval Processes on Programme Development. Quality in Higher Education, 9(2), 169-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538320308152
Ho, D. V., Phan, T. H., & Pham, N. D. (2021). An efficient curriculum management ICT-based system to support AUN-QA. 1st Van Lang International Conference on Heritage and Technology Conference Proceeding, Van Lang University.
Hou, Y.-C., Morse, R., Ince, M., Chen, H.-J., Chiang, C.-L., & Chan, Y. (2015). Is the Asian quality assurance system for higher education going glonacal? Assessing the impact of three types of program accreditation on Taiwanese universities. Studies in Higher Education, 40(1), 83-105. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.818638
Jantakoon, T., & Wannapiroon, P. (2017). System architecture of business intelligence to AUN-QA framework for higher education institution. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 2017(November Special Issue INTE), 1045-1052. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85057638135&partnerID=40&md5=c4e5c0793ee496b4be493bc273c70ae8
Johnson, O. C. B. (2017). The impact of ASEAN university network-quality assurance (AUN-QA) assessment on the quality of educational programmes. In C. M. Tan & T. N. Goh (Eds.), Theory and practice of quality and reliability engineering in Asia industry (pp. 87-97). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3290-5_8
Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. (2019). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches. Sage.
Kumar, P., Shukla, B., & Passey, D. (2020). Impact of accreditation on quality and excellence of higher education institutions. Revista Investigacion Operacional, 41(2), 151-167.
Lam, P. Q., Van Tuan, V., & Thanh, D. T. (2020). Improve teaching capacity at private universities in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam according to AUN-QA. International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education, 8(3), 61-72. https://doi.org/10.23947/2334-8496-2020-8-3-61-72
Limpuangthip, N., Komin, O., & Tatiyapongpaiboon, T. (2021). Moving toward a competency-based curriculum: Analyzing patients’ information and students’ evaluation in geriatric dentistry. Journal of Dental Education, 85(8), 1329-1339. https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.12616
Liu, S. (2013). Quality assessment of undergraduate education in China: impact on different universities. Higher Education, 66(4), 391-407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9611-2
Liu, S.-Y., Tan, M., & Meng, Z.-R. (2015). Impact of quality assurance on higher education institutions: A literature review. Higher Education Evaluation and Development, 9(2), 17-34. https://doi.org/10.6197/HEED.2015.0902.02
May, E., & Strong, D. S. (2006). Is engineering education delivering what industry requires? Proceedings of the Canadian Design Engineering Network (CDEN) Conference, Toronto, Canada.
McFarlane, D. A. (2010). Accreditation discrimination: Impact on school choice, costs, and professional prospects in academia. Academic Leadership, 8(4). https://doi.org/10.58809/WVZO2571
MoET. (2016). Circular No. 04/2016/TT-BGDDT Promulgating Regulations on Assessment Standards for Higher Education Programmes. Hanoi, VN: The Author
Mukhaiyar, R., Muskhir, M., & Dolly, V. P. (2019). Curriculum evaluation based on AUN-QA criterion for the case study of the Electrical Engineering Vocational and Educational (EEVE) Study Program.
Nguyen, C. H. (2018). How to fulfil Vietnam’s higher education accreditation strategic plan 2017-2020? International Journal of Educational Organization and Leadership, 24(3/4), 17-25. https://doi.org/10.18848/2329-1656/CGP/v24i03/17-25
Nguyen, C. H. (2019). Building national capacity in quality assurance. In C. H. Nguyen & S. Mahsood (Eds.), Quality assurance in Vietnamese higher education: Policy and practice in the 21st century (pp. 141-160). Palgrave Macmillan.
Nguyen, C. H. (2021). Exploring internal challenges for quality assurance staff in higher education: Voice of insiders. Quality Assurance in Education, 29(2/3), 70-83). https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-07-2020-0080
Niedermeier, F., & Pohlenz, P. (2016). State of affairs and development needs- Higher education quality assurance in the ASEAN region. DAAD.
Patil, A., & Codner, G. (2007). Accreditation of engineering education: review, observations and proposal for global accreditation. European Journal of Engineering Education, 32(6), 639-651. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043790701520594
Pavlakis, A., & Kelley, C. (2016). Accreditation in the professions: Implications for educational leadership preparation programs. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 11(1), 68-90. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775116641663
Pham, H. T. (2018). Impacts of higher education quality accreditation: a case study in Vietnam. Quality in Higher Education, 24(2), 168-185. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2018.1491787
Pham, H. T., & Nguyen, C. H. (2019). History of quality assurance in Vietnamese higher education. In C. H. Nguyen & .Shah (Eds.), Quality assurance in Vietnamese higher education: policy and practice in the 21st century (pp. 59-80). Palgrave Macmillan
Pham, H. T., & Nguyen, P. V. (2021). Impact Study of Programme Assessment at Three Universities in Vietnam: Students’ Perspectives. European Journal of Contemporary Education, 10(2), 438-449. https://doi.org/10.13187/ejced.2021.2.438
Pham, H. T., & Nguyen, P. V. (2023). ASEAN quality assurance scheme and Vietnamese higher education: a shift to outcomes-based education?. Quality in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2023.2261974
Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.
Seyfried, M., & Pohlenz, P. (2018). Assessing quality assurance in higher education: quality managers’ perceptions of effectiveness. European Journal of Higher Education, 8(3), 258-271. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2018.1474777
Shah, M. (2012). Ten years of external quality audit in Australia: evaluating its effectiveness and success. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 37(6), 761-772. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2011.572154
Shearman, R., & Seddon, D. (2010). Challenges for academic accreditation: the UK experience. European Journal of Engineering Education, 35(4), 469-477. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2010.489942
Stensaker, B. (2003). Trance, Transparency and Transformation: The impact of external quality monitoring on higher education. Quality in Higher Education, 9(2), 151-159. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538320308158
Stensaker, B. (2011). Accreditation of higher education in Europe – moving towards the US model? Journal of Education Policy, 26(6), 757-769. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2010.551785
Volkwein, J. F., Lattuca, L. R., Harper, B. J., & Domingo, R. J. (2007). Measuring the impact of professional accreditation on student experiences and learning outcomes. Research in Higher Education, 48(2), 251-282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-006-9039-y
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Van-Son Huynh, Huong Thi Pham, Minh-Hong Thi Nguyen, Phuong Vu Nguyen
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All articles published by IJLTER are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 International License (CCBY-NC-ND4.0).