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Using Foundation Program Academic Standards as a Quality Enhancement Tool

Using Foundation Program Academic Standards as a Quality Enhancement Tool. Martin Carroll, Consulting Director, Dr Salim Razvi, Acting Head, Technical Secretariat Tess Goodliffe, Quality Audit Oman Accreditation Council Presentation for INQAAHE 2009, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Outline.

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Using Foundation Program Academic Standards as a Quality Enhancement Tool

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  1. Using Foundation Program Academic Standards as a Quality Enhancement Tool Martin Carroll, Consulting Director, Dr Salim Razvi, Acting Head, Technical Secretariat Tess Goodliffe, Quality Audit Oman Accreditation Council Presentation for INQAAHE 2009, Abu Dhabi, UAE

  2. Outline • Program Accreditation/Recognition in Oman • General Foundation Programs • Developing GFP Standards • Quality Enhancement Issues • Conclusions

  3. Abbreviations GFP = General Foundation Program HEI = Higher Education Institution OAC = Oman Accreditation Council SLO = Student Learning Outcome

  4. 1. Program Accreditation/ Recognition in Oman

  5. Program 5 years Accreditation Standards met Certificate Standards not met , Omani Omani and insufficient progress shown Program Program Standards met Assessment Reassessment 1 - 2 yrs on Probation Not met After first cohort completes Program Standards not met , but good progress shown Accreditation Terminated Omani Omani Program Program Licensing Accreditation Cycle Licensed Appeals HEI Foreign Program Foreign Recognition Program Cycle Licensing Program Recognition Criteria not met , but KEY Terminated good progress shown After first cohort completes Start / End Not met 1 - 2 yrs on Probation Foreign Foreign Program Program Criteria met Criteria not met , Process Assessment Reassessment and insufficient Program progress shown Recognition Certificate Criteria met 5 years Document

  6. 2. General Foundation Programs

  7. ScaleofFoundationProgramEnrolments There was previously no licensing or accreditation for GFPs in Oman.

  8. What is a GFP? • A formal, structured, generic program of study. • Of about 2 semesters, but may vary. • Designed to prepare students so that they will be successful in their higher education studies. • Does not earn the student higher education credit and is not a terminal qualification. • Qualifies the student for admission into an HEI and entry into programs (although some programs may have additional entry criteria).

  9. 3. DevelopingGeneral Foundation Program Standards

  10. Four Areas of Learning English – the language of education in Oman Mathematics – the language of science Computing – the language of the modern world Study Skills – the new pedagogy • These four constitute generic preparation for all higher education. • They are to be found in GFPs all over the world. • They ensure that students don’t lose their academic skills during the time that a GFP may take. • HEIs may add other areas of learning at their discretion.

  11. Types of Standards for GFPs(prioritised) • Student Learning Outcomes • Student Learning Outcomes • Student Learning Outcomes • Assessment Methods • Program-specific Resources • Program Structure

  12. Why SLO Standards for GFPs? • Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) focus on what is really important – the students. • Enable HEIs to refine their curriculum and instructional design by identifying good practice. • Enable external review panels to make effective judgments for Accreditation. • Recognise that there may be different ways (inputs & processes) of achieving each SLO - HEIs need some flexibility in this regard.

  13. The Development Method • Working groups (comprising local and international members) established to prepare draft standards for each area of study. They were asked to: • discuss current experiences with GFPs in Oman; • consider previous conferences and workshops on GFPs in Oman; • benchmark internationally.

  14. The OAC Standards Template • A template was used to embed good design. • Developed a template based on the work of Benjamin Bloom and his team (University of Chicago, 1956). • Without a learning taxonomy, there is a risk that all the learning objectives will all be the same type (e.g. “knowledge”). • Did not use the Affective or Psychomotive domains for GFPs (did not seem to be required).

  15. TaxonomyofEducationalObjectives1 1 Based on work by Bloom, B. (Ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals, Susan Fauer Company, Inc. 2 Based on work by Dave, R.H. (1975) Developing and Writing BehaviouralObjectives. (R J Armstrong, Ed.) Educational Innovators Press.

  16. 4. Quality Enhancement Issues

  17. Four thematic issues emerged • Embracing the consequences of transparent student learning outcomes • Differentiating between the quality and quantity of student learning. • Developing a deeper understanding of student-centered curriculum planning • Embracing the professionalism of teaching in post secondary education

  18. 5. Conclusions

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