Partners or opponents: the engagement of students in a compliance driven quality assessment

Abstract

The Australian government recently established a national regulator with responsibilities of registration and accreditation of all kinds of higher education providers including universities. The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) subsumes the functions of the previous Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) with legislative powers to place sanctions on institutions for non-compliance. One of the key changes in relation to quality assurance and external reviews is a shift of focus from an improvement-led audit to a compliance driven assessment using externally set standards and risk based reviews. The new quality and regulatory framework introduced by the government is extensively based on the review of documentation and institutional performance on various metrics to identify compliance or non-compliance against standards and analysis of risk using risk indicators. Unfortunately, unlike the previous AUQA audit, TEQSA's quality assessment does not engage students in the review process as a way to identify areas of good practice and areas needing improvement. This paper argues the need for the national regulator to engage students in the review process rather than assessing the quality of student experience solely based on paper trail and documentation review. Failure to engage students in the assessment of quality raises questions on the role of students in external review, and whether the national regulator is established to serve the purpose of the government only in advancing quality and or transforming student learning and enhancing their experience.

Keywords:

• student engagement in quality assurance
• external reviews
• student participation

Additional information

Mahsood Shah is an Associate Professor with English Language and Foundations Studies Centre at the University on Newcastle, Australia. In this role Mahsood is responsible to strengthen the research capacity of the centre on a wide range of areas including access, participation, academic outcomes, and quality and standard of education delivery with diverse groups of students. Prior to joining the University of Newcastle, Mahsood was the Principal Advisor at RMIT University, Australia. Address for correspondence: The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Newcastle, Australia. Email: [email protected]

Kylee Hartman-Warren is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney, and the current Vice President (Policy) at Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA), and the Public Relations Officer at Council of International Students Australia (CISA). She has spent much of her time working on submissions related to the Knight Review, and is currently doing research on various areas affecting the student experience, such as welfare, tenancy, and social wellbeing. Kylee completed her Bachelors at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where she studied Philosophy and Classics.

Graham Hastings has worked as a higher education policy researcher since 1994. Since 2001 he has been the chief researcher for the National Union of Students and has appeared before numerous parliamentary committees in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom as an expert on student related issues. From 2008–11 he also served on the Australian Universities Quality Agency's steering committee to organise the annual Australian Quality Forum. Graham is also the author of a book on the history of student activism in Australia, ‘It Can't Happen Here’.