Title: Enhancing Quality Assurance Management in Jordanian Universities
Acronym: EQuAM
Type: Structural Measures in Governance Reform
Grant Holder: University of Barcelona (UB)
Budget: 900,873.66 Euros
Duration: 3 Years
Start Date: 15 October 2012 to 14 October 2015
Subject Area: Quality Assurance Strategies
Priority and Focus
EQuAM addresses 'Governance Reform' in the field of “Quality Assurance”, a national priority for Jordan. It will modernise and reform the management process of quality assurance procedures and measures at the institutional and national levels.
EQuAM will improve the management of quality assurance through enhancing the capacity of "Quality Assurance Bureaus" and by empowering them with references and guidelines in alignment to HEAC and EU practices. EQuAM will encourage teachers to share best-practices and allow EU partners to develop strong partnership with Jordan.
EQuAM will focus on capacity building of QABs in partner universities in Jordan to enable them manage the process of internal and national QA.
Wider Objective
The wider objective of the project is to improve management of quality assurance and enhance the capacity of quality assurance bureaus in universities in Jordan.
Executive Summary
A model (principles, priorities, guidelines and procedures) will be produced to support Jordanian HEIs, and their Quality Assurance Bureaus, to improve internal QA in line with new national HE Accreditation Council requirements and international expectations. The Model will be based on analyses of needs and capacities in Jordanian HEIs and the experiences and best practices from the successful QA Action Line of the Bologna Process. Workshops, consultations and ‘matching’ exercises will contribute relevant material from Jordanian and European HE institutions, QA agencies and consortia. The Model will be piloted in Jordanian HEIs and complemented by training and capacity building to support its sustainability. European experiences in building productive relationships between HEIs and their QA agencies will inform the effective implementation of the Model and reflect the importance of autonomous HEIs meeting national/international expectations whilst still working in different contexts.
Specific Objectives
The specific objectives of EQuAM are to:
1. Make a comparative analysis of current QA practices and outputs from Jordanian HEIs against the expectations of the new Higher Education Accreditation Council’s standards, and their equivalents at regional and international levels
2. Analyse the extent and methods by which QA agencies in Europe provide support for HEIs and their development and implementation of internal QA capacities
3. Develop a draft Model of Principles, Priorities, Guidelines and Procedures for internal management of QA within Jordanian HEIs, and their QABs, to best align HEI’s work to HEAC expectations and international (European) Standards and Guidelines
4. Pilot the draft Model in different types of HEIs to inform its completion
5. Develop training programmes, including for expert evaluators, to promote the model and enhance its impact
6. Support the Model’s sustainability through targeted dissemination
7. Monitor and evaluate uptake and early impact of the Model