Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Where Do We Go From Here?

Since QQI was established, we have seen significant and ongoing change in the Irish tertiary education landscape; in the delivery of teaching, learning and assessment; and in the broader technological, economic, and societal contexts within which the tertiary education system operates and in which it performs a crucial role. 

As we approach the conclusion of the third cycle of institutional review in the public higher education sector and the introduction of a suite of new functions for QQI, it is timely to reflect on current approaches to quality assurance and how these might need to adapt and evolve to ensure that they remain relevant, effective and continue to meet the needs of all of our stakeholders.

To inform thinking on the future of the Irish quality assurance system, QQI has commissioned a paper from Professor Paul Giller. 

Quality Assurance in Higher Education - Where do we go from here? includes perspectives from literature and from individuals with experience of the operation of quality assurance within Irish and international contexts. 

It explores:

• concepts of quality in higher education and the various drivers and stakeholders within the quality assurance ecosystem;
• the benefits and costs associated with quality assurance;
• different approaches to the operation of formal quality assurance; and
• new concepts for the operation of quality assurance; and
• considerations for the future development and evolution of quality assurance.

You can find the report below.