Student involvement in the work of ENQA and of its

member agencies

INQAAHE conference in Abu Dhabi, 31 March - 2 April 2009

Emmi HelleSecretary General

ENQA

ENQA

• network in 2000, association in 2004 • umbrella NGO for European QA agencies• 48 Members• 23 Associates and Affiliates• organisational structure: Board, General

Assembly, Secretariat • first round of external reviews of ENQA

member agencies by 2010

The ”ESG”

• the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG, Helsinki, 2005)

• ESU and the other E4 group partners (EUA, EURASHE) consulted during the drafting process

• main framework for QA in the EHEA• membership criteria of ENQA• entry criteria for EQAR listing• students as a key stakeholder group• students’ interests at the forefront of the

external QA

ESG continued…

• Part 1: the HEIs should have a publicly available quality policy statement, which explains how the students are involved in the internal quality assurance of HEIs (policy & practice)

• Part 2: involvement of students in the external QA procedures to which the HEIs are subject

• Part 3: involvement of students in the external QA procedures to which the quality assurance agencies are subject

Bologna Process stocktaking on QA

• five indicators on student involvement in all 46 signatory countries: ▸ in govenance of the QA bodies▸ in external reviews of

HEIs/programmes▸ in consultation during external

reviews▸ in internal QA processes (of HEIs)▸ in preparation of SER’s (of HEIs)

Experiences from ENQA: reviews of members

• a stakeholder approach, including a student member in the review team - a nomination is asked from ESU

• student member has same responsibilities and expectations as the other team members

• same briefing and fee as the other team members

• students have not yet functioned as chairs or secretaries of the teams

Experiences from the ENQA member agencies (Quality Procedures Report 2008)

• in 53% of cases students have a formal role in the specification of processes and criteria for the external QA by the HEIs

• in 71.7% of cases students are members of the self-evaluation teams of the HEIs

• in 93.3% of cases students are interviewed during the site visits to HEIs by the agencies

• in 29% of cases students may suggest/ nominate potential members of the external expert panels used by the agency

• in 49% of cases students’ have a role in the agencies’ decision-making processes

Benefits of Student Involvement for Students

• a good way to use and develop critical thinking and analythical skills

• a valuable addition to the CV especially when thinking about the university career

• economical advantage (fee)

Benefits of Student Involvement for ENQA and its members

• advantage of a partnership approach, also encouraged by the Bologna Process

• student is at the heart of the of the learning process

• transparency• new, fresh perspective• straightforwardness and critical

thinking of the students

Challenges of student involvement from the perspective of the students

• time constraints• workload

Challenges from the perspective of ENQA and the member agencies • in some countries, profound legal and cultural

changes are required in order to allow student involvement

• cultural aspects are the most difficult to change

• training of students in a case where the time constraints for them are high

• with ESU: the chairperson, the Board and the Committee on EHEA change on a yearly basis

In conclusion

• student involvement in quality assurance in higher education has improved in a significant manner (recognised also by the ”Bologna with Students’ eyes”, 2007)

• QA agencies have been satisfied with students that have been on the review panels of HEIs

• satisfaction with the student members of the teams of agency reviews.