Quality control

Some changes to quality control are in the wings. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has been given the task of developing a new quality-assurance system for the tertiary sector, apart from universities. The New Zealand Vice Chancellors Committee will retain primary responsibility for quality assurance in universities.

Changes for other tertiary organisations are set to be phased in between 2009 and 2013. Just what they will deliver in quality improvements is too early to tell.

The new system relies on organisations assessing their own performance. The results of this self-assessment are then subject to external evaluation - which will look at a range of areas including staff training and assessment processes. But a major shortcoming is that there's no specific detail on what constitutes "good practice" in these areas.

Some guidance may come from Ako Aotearoa, the National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence, set up in 2007 with funding from the Tertiary Education Commission. So far the centre's been establishing contestable funding pools to support projects that will improve tertiary teaching. However, the results of any large-scale research will be some way off: the first major projects to be funded were announced only in February.

What's to be done

We think the UK's Code of Practice for the Assurance of Academic Quality and Standards in Higher Education could be worth looking at. Developed by the UK Quality Assurance Agency, among other matters the code recommends that institutions publish and use clear assessment criteria and marking schemes to ensure marking is carried out fairly and consistently. It also stresses the need for tertiary institutions to train their staff in assessment.

We think New Zealand students should expect the same of tertiary providers here. Some providers already do a lot towards meeting these criteria but practice is uneven - not only between institutions but also within institutions. Something similar to the UK code could help improve standards across the sector.

Much could also be learned from Germany's system. German universities are assessed routinely against a range of indicators both quantitative (student/teacher ratios) and qualitative (students' opinion of the quality of teaching). The results are readily available online. For students like Lily - who are facing fees of $12,000 (see Tertiary education reform) - this kind of information would be a huge help when it comes to making decisions about study.