Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the relevant enablers and barriers related to technical education. It seeks to critically analyze the relationship amongst them so that policy makers can focus on relevant parameters to improve the service quality of technical education. Design/methodology/approach: The present study employs the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to introduce a conceptual model for assessing undergraduate student learning outcomes and satisfaction that involves concepts drawn from the services marketing and assessment literatures; second, to illustrate the utility of the model as implemented in an academic department (geography)…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a process-oriented lifecycle model for ensuring quality in e-learning development and delivery. As a dynamic and iterative process, quality assurance (QA) is intertwined with the e-learning development process. Design/methodology/approach: After reviewing the existing literature, particularly…

Purpose: In 2004, the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC) began incorporating the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the delivery of its programmes and courses, taking a "blended learning" approach. There is a recognition, however, of the need to ensure the quality of the programme…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a framework that can be utilized in the design of graduate employer surveys carried out by tertiary institutions as a form of monitoring their graduate attributes. It further aims to identify the potential issues and challenges that may be involved in undertaking such a survey.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to critically review dominant conceptions of and approaches to quality in higher education. It suggests an alternative approach with potential to shift the focus of quality activities from accountability and control to improvement. Design/methodology/approach: The applicability and limits of quality concepts…

Purpose: This paper aims to compare the ways in which a range of quality frameworks have been validated and to identify a number of factors that have an impact on validation processes. Design/methodology/approach: Seven examples of published quality frameworks applicable to the field of e-learning are described and the methods used to validate…

Purpose: To study the quality in higher education in Cambodia and explore the potential factors leading to quality in Cambodian higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Five main factors that were deemed relevant in providing quality in Cambodian higher education were proposed: academic curriculum and extra-curricular activities, teachers'…

Purpose: This paper aims to provide a TQM framework that stresses continuous improvements in teaching as a plausible means of TQM implementation in higher education programs. Design/methodology/approach: The literature survey of the TQM philosophies and the comparative analysis of TQM adoption in industry versus higher education provide the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on observation of teaching in a Higher Education (HE) context with a view to proposing some guidelines for the design and practice of institutional systems to observe teaching. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review and a proposed model for a system of observation of teaching…

Purpose: To provide educationalists with an understanding of the key quality issues relating to multiple-choice tests, and a set of guidelines for the quality assurance of such tests. Design/methodology/approach: The discussion of quality issues is structured to reflect the order in which those issues naturally arise. It covers the design of…

Purpose: To deepen the understanding and to encourage further research on leadership best practices for sustaining quality improvement in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach: The literature on leadership provides the theoretical context for the survey of quality managers from 42 UK HEIs. A mix of questionnaires,…

Purpose: This article seeks to highlight the challenges and issues that face merging higher education institutions and also to outline some of the challenges in integrating the quality assurance systems during the pre-, interim and post-merger phases in a merged university. Design/methodology/approach: Case studies of merged and merging…

This account of internal audit is set within the context of higher education in the UK and a fictitiously named Riverbank University. The study evaluates the recent introduction of "Internal Academic Audit" to the University and compares the process with that of the internationally recognized ISO 19011 Guidelines for Auditing Quality Management…