NIAD-QE University Quality Assurance Forum 2019

University Quality Assurance Forum 2019

Quality Assurance of Higher Education in Times of Change

Thursday, 25th July
13:30 - 17:30

Venue: Hitotsubashi Hall (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)

Organised by: National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education (NIAD-QE)
Supported by: Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN),
Council for Higher Education Accreditation International Quality Group (CIQG),
Japan Association for College Accreditation (JACA),
Japan Institution for Higher Education Evaluation (JIHEE),
Japan Network of Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Agencies (JNCEAA),
Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA)

Overview

The third cycle of institutional certified evaluation and accreditation (CEA), conducted once every seven years, is an important component of quality assurance of higher education in Japan. The system for institutional CEA has changed over the years. However, the belief that universities should independently develop and improve on quality assurance measures through periodic peer review based on results of self-assessment has prevailed.

The situation that Japanese universities face both domestically and internationally, and societal demands for quality assurance of higher education have changed greatly since the mid-1900s when institutional CEA was initially designed. In Japan, campuses have been changing substantially through initiatives to promote both internationalization and globalization, as well as popularize active learning that utilizes ICT. There have also been systematic changes for universities due to managerial issues in which universities fail to meet admission quotas, and institutional modifications such as incorporation of national and public universities.

International trends have been seeing quality assurance systems developed in response to transnational education and regional harmonization in Europe and Southeast Asia. A looming challenge for the quality assurance community is to differentiate between evaluation systems and to keep up with the different forms of evaluation including program evaluations. Under these circumstances, methods such as risk-based evaluation and institutional evaluations conducted through interviews directly with stakeholders have emerged, and quality assurance of CEA organizations has also been debated.

In this year’s forum, NIAD-QE invites experts leading change in the quality assurance of higher education. Panelists discuss the future of higher education considering Japan’s current situation, taking a look at significant changes in the twenty-first century and efforts to cope with these changes.

Registration deadline: Wednesday 17th July 23:59

More information is available at https://www.niad.ac.jp/english/news/en2019/uqaf2019.html