The Quality Assurance System for Ontario Postsecondary Education: 2010 ~ 2014

Qin Liu

《Higher Education Evaluation and Development》 9卷2期 (2015/12) Pp. 55-79

https://doi.org/10.6197/HEED.2015.0902.04

並列摘要

The period of 2010 to 2014 marked a relatively stable stage in the evolving quality assurance system for Ontario postsecondary education, particularly following massive changes after 2000. The current system consists of three frameworks overseen respectively by three quality assurance agencies -- the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance, the Ontario College Quality Assurance Service, and the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board, each serving different purposes. This paper uses van Vught and Westerheijden’s (1994) general model of quality assessment and Jeliazkova and Westerheijden’s (2002) Phase Model of quality assurance systems development as heuristic tools for the analysis. The following four areas are discussed: formalized quality mechanisms with diversity; the arms-length tripartite relationship with a distinction between self-regulation and government regulation; mixed phases of quality assurance development and the maturing process; and gaps in the system. It is argued that within fifteen years, a comprehensive and relatively mature quality assurance system with diverse but rigorous mechanisms has been developed for Ontario postsecondary education although a few deficiencies exist, including the continued lack of coordination within the system. The evolution of the system appears to reflect a path trajectory of governance structure development of the Ontario postsecondary education system as well as be a result of interactions between the local and the global.

並列關鍵字

Quality Assurance ； Ontario Postsecondary Education ； Self-Regulation ； Accountability ； Improvement

參考文獻

Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials. (2009). Quality assurance in postsecondary education in Canada: An overview. Retrieved January 3,2015, from http://www.cicic.ca/1264/An-overview/index.canada

Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials. (2012). Pan-Canadian quality assurance framework for the assessment of international academic credentials. Retrieved May 3, 2015, from http://cicic.ca/docs/2012/Quality_Assurance_Framework_EN.pdf

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. (2007). Ministerial statement on quality assurance of degree education in Canada. Retrieved January 3,2015, from http://cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/95/QA-Statement-2007.en.pdf

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. (n.d.). Postsecondary education:Quality assurance. Retrieved January 3, 2015, from http://cmec.ca/160/Programs-and-Initiatives/Postsecondary-Education/Quality-Assurance/index.html

Council of Ontario Universities. (2012). Constitution of the Council of Ontario Universities. Retrieved December 10, 2015, from http://cou.on.ca/about/more/constitution-of-the-council-of-ontario-universities/