Quality assurance

Definition

Quality assurance (QA) is a generic term used as shorthand for all forms of external quality monitoring, evaluation or review and may be defined as a process of establishing stakeholder confidence that provision (inputs, processes and outcomes) fulfils expectations or measures up to the minimum requirements (page 32-33).

Internal quality assurance refers to the policies and mechanisms implemented in an institution or programme to ensure that it is fulfilling its own purposes and meeting the standards that apply to higher education in general or to the profession or discipline in particular. External quality assurance refers to the actions of an external body, which may be a quality assurance agency or any body other than the institution that assesses its operation or that of its programmes, in order to determine whether it is meeting the agreed or predetermined standards (page 34).

Source :

Martin, M.; Stella, A. 2007. External Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Making Choices. Fundamentals of Educational Planning, 85. Paris: UNESCO-IIEP.

Example of use

One of the main tasks of a quality assurance agency is precisely to determine its understanding of what quality is and how to define it, the stakeholders it will consult, the way in which it will take into account international standards and definitions, and how to legitimize and make this definition acceptable throughout the system (page 33).

Source :

Martin, M.; Stella, A. 2007. External Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Making Choices. Fundamentals of Educational Planning, 85. Paris: UNESCO-IIEP.