Quality: Making a difference

"The challenge for us, therefore, is to make [an] AUQA audit relevant to the academic undertaking, but without increasing the load on academic staff."
(Woodhouse, 2002, p. 10)

David Woodhouse, Executive Director of the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) delivered the keynote address, "Quality: Making a difference" at the HERDSA conference. In this he outlined a personal view of the term "quality"and its evolving meanings and usages; noting that for many people "quality is what I consider important!"(Woodhouse, 2002, p. 1).

As understandings of "quality" vary, the role and purposes of external quality agencies (EQA) vary too. EQAs are established to check on whether and how well institutions perform. Woodhouse lists 18 separate purposes for an EQA grouped into the following broad categories :

• Quality improvement
• Audit
• Assessment & standards
• Accreditation
• Qualification
• Steering, funding
• Information

The role of AUQA, Woodhouse says, is focussed on quality improvement, audit and information and not on assessment & standards, accreditation and qualification.

Four objectives are described in the of AUQA vision:

• AUQA's judgements will be widely recognised as objective, fair, accurate, perceptive, rigorous and useful.
• AUQA will work in partnership with institutions and accrediting agencies to add value to their activities.
• AUQA's advice will be sought on matters related to quality assurance in higher education.
• AUQA will be recognised among its international peers as a leading quality assurance agency.

AUQA will initiate an independent review of its activities around 2005 against this vision. Woodhouse suggests that an EQA can influence institutional behaviour through the questions it asks, the things it investigates and the factors it finds important. AUQA's emphasis is on improvements and plans to overcome shortcomings in areas highlighted by individual institutions, AUQA or other bodies.

The full paper for this keynote address can be accessed at http://www.ecu.edu.au/conferences/herdsa/main/papers/vol25/Woodhouse.pdf