Maintaining quality of higher education during difficult times: Accreditation compliance in foreign language education

Abstract

The world has witnessed substantial changes as a consequence of Covid-19 pandemic in many spheres of life including higher education. Assuring quality and maintaining compliance with accreditation criteria during the pandemic have been two critical considerations requiring change and adaptation in higher education institutions. The aim of this study was to investigate challenges in terms of assuring and sustaining quality and completing accreditation self-study process effectively under the circumstances of the pandemic. The study featured a case study design employing qualitative research methodology through interviews conducted mainly face-to-face and over Zoom. A semi-structured interview from created by the researcher was used to collect data from 10 instructors involved in the accreditation self-study process of a program during the most chaotic period of the pandemic. The themes that emerged from the study based on quality criteria and influence of the pandemic were: “Course Delivery”, “Format and Content of Assessment” and “Instructors’ Professional Development”. The perceptions of the instructors on the aforementioned themes were elaborated on and discussed in the study from different perspectives.

Keywords:

• accreditation
• quality
• higher education
• Covid-19 pandemic
• self-study

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

While assuring and maintaining quality in higher education remain a challenge for administrators and staff under normal circumstances, the difficulty is doubled by the unpredictable circumstances and uncertainty caused by the pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the challenges for higher education institutions to maintain quality and comply with accreditation criteria during the pandemic. The participants were all actively involved in accreditation self-study report process that took place during the pandemic, having the opportunity to connect their previous experiences at school with the modifications in parallel with the pandemic and quality criteria as identified by the accrediting agency. The themes that emerged from this study will facilitate adaptation of practices for relevant stakeholders of higher education and take proactive measures to assure and maintain quality in times of uncertainty.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors have no funding to report

Notes on contributors

Nilüfer Ülker

Nilüfer Ülker is an Associate Professor and Director of School of Foreign Languages at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Turkiye. She completed her PhD in Educational Administration and Supervision at Marmara University and she was a research scholar at Montana State University, USA between 2015-2016. Her research mainly focuses on higher education, internationalization and specifically quality and accreditation in higher education. She has a book; book chapters and articles published in national and international peer-reviewed journals and has participated as a presenter and moderator in several national and international conferences. She has been an international accreditation reviewer for an accrediting agency based in the USA since 2011.