On May 23, ANQA’s specialists conducted a monitoring of the internal quality assurance system at the Armenian National Agrarian University. The aim was to observe the current state of the internal education quality assurance, the impact of accreditation on the quality assurance system, as well as track the implementation of the follow-up plan.
As part of the monitoring, meetings were held with the education institution’s management staff, quality assurance managers, heads of chairs, teachers and students.
The following topics were addressed:
- Academic programme enhancement
The observations focused on the planning of academic programme (AP) enhancement, the procedures for introduction of new programmes, as well as the preparatory steps for their ex-ante accreditation.
Process and outcomes of the Ap self-audit
A reference was made to the mechanisms for the periodic self-evaluation of Aps and the recorded outcomes.
- Strengthening of the research component in academic APs
- The discussions covered the approaches to the development of students' analytical skills and the effectiveness of formative assessment.
- Capacity building of the teaching staff
- Issues related to the teaching staff recruitment, support for professional development and organisation of open classes were raised.
- Development of quality assurance system
The discussions focused on the role of quality assurance managers in strategic and operational decision-making process, as well as the need for structural autonomy of the QA system.
- Development of an outcome-based governance system and ensurance of sustainability
An importance was attached to the establishment of indicators and timely data collection for the decision-making process.
- Collaboration among departments
A reference was made to aligning plans, exchanging data, and establishing collaborative mechanisms among various divisions.
At the end of the monitoring, during the meeting with the management staff, the education institution’s best practice and enhancement areas were discussed. It was emphasised that the education institution should expand the teaching staff’s incentivisation and professional development programmes, particularly in the AP enhancement and research activities. The need to review assessment criteria to clearly measure student progress was highlighted. An emphasis was placed on the measurable KPIs to evaluate the goal implementation and outcome achievement.