Frank Haddleton - The Quality Assurance of Dual and Joint Qualifications
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The document discusses the quality assurance of dual and joint qualifications involving more than one degree-awarding body. It outlines two categories of such qualifications - joint/double/multiple degrees which require students to fulfill requirements of all bodies, and dual degrees which result in independent awards. It then details the University of Hertfordshire's approaches to assuring quality in areas like program approval, regulations, assessment, examination boards and certification for its dual and joint awards. Benefits of such awards include internationalization, competitiveness, cultural enrichment and research collaboration.
Frank Haddleton - The Quality Assurance of Dual and Joint Qualifications
- 1. The quality assurance of Dual and Joint Qualifications Dr Frank Haddleton, Director of Academic Quality Assurance University of Hertfordshire www.herts.ac.uk/
- 2. The Characteristics Statement Qualifications Involving More Than One Degree-Awarding Body • Developed in response to demand from the sector for guidance on dual and joint awards • Aims to build a common understanding of these qualifications and approaches to quality assurance • A formal component of Part A of the Quality Code, which includes the Expectation that HE providers 'consider and take account of QAA's guidance on qualification characteristics' in order to secure threshold academic standards.
- 3. The Characteristics Statement What’s included? • a qualification involving more than one degree- awarding body, underpinned by a genuinely joint enterprise and partnership between them What’s not included? • professional qualifications, titles or status, or licence-to-practise aligned to a qualification • articulation and progression arrangements • A joint programme of study followed by separate specialist routes, separate final qualifications • franchise or validation arrangements
- 4. Category 1 – Joint, double or multiple degrees 1. Co-dependent, mutually contingent qualifications • Students must fulfil the requirements of all degree-awarding bodies • The final award(s) requires students to achieve a single set of criteria • Joint programme design, development, programme management and decision-making on student achievement • Joint degrees: joint involvement in delivery and assessment. Students gain a single certificate • Double or multiple degrees: joint involvement in delivery and assessment. Students are awarded two (or more) interdependent awards. Certificate or transcript refers to the other award(s) • Variant 2: delivery involves one partner more than another • Variant 3: students undertake a programme with a greater volume of study than that required for a single award
- 5. Category 2 – dual degrees 2. Integrated but independent qualifications • Joint programme design, development, management and oversight • Each DAB delivers a substantial proportion of the programme • Two separate qualifications, possibly at different levels • Awards are not interdependent (students achieve separate outcomes) • Variant 1: joint initial curriculum, followed by two consecutive blocks at each partner. The overall study period and volume of learning is longer than for either of the individual awards separately • Variant 2: two programmes with overlapping curricula, completed consecutively rather than an initial joint element (articulation?) • Variant 3: a student could gain one award but not the other due to additional requirements to gain the qualification of the non-UK degree- awarding body (eg. national or cultural requirements).
- 6. Approaches to quality assurance • Academic oversight (Expectation A2.1) • Academic regulations (Expectation A2.1) • Programme approval (Expectation A3.1) • Assessment (Expectation A3.2) • Examination board (Expectation A3.2) • External examining (Expectation A3.4) • Monitoring and review (Expectation A3.3) • Certification and transcripts (Expectation A2.2)
- 7. The University of Hertfordshire (UH) Our key strategic objectives We will be internationally renowned as the UK's leading business-facing university by: • Offering workplace engagement and overseas learning opportunities • Developing students’ social and global awareness • Fostering and strengthening research with global partners • Developing international partnerships • Strengthening the global perspective in the curriculum • Developing students with the knowledge, skills and attributes to succeed in business and the professions • ………..
- 8. Dual and Joint Awards at UH Joint Awards • MSc in Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacoepidemiology (EU2P Consortium) Dual Awards • MSc Global Business (IBSA Alliance) • MSc International Business (Vancouver Island University) • BA International Management (TABSA Alliance) • BA Accountancy (INTI International University) • BA Business (INTI International University) • BA Financial Planning (INTI International University) • BA Mass Media and Communications (INTI International University) • MA Management Studies (INTI International University)
- 9. The Eu2P Consortium • The Eu2P consortium: - 15 pharmaceutical companies - European medicines agency & French medicines agency - 6 Universities • Combines study with all 6 Universities (in English) over 2 years • Award: MSc in Pharmacovigilance & Pharmacoepidemiology SWEDEN Karolinska Institute GERMANY Bayer Healthcare Boehringer Ingelheim DENMARK Lundbeck NovoNordisk ITALY University of Verona SPAIN Catalan Institute of Pharmacology Laboratories Almirali UNITED KINGDOM European Medicines Agency University of Hertfordshire Astra Zeneca Eli Lilly Glaxo Smith Kline SWITZERLAND Novartis Pharma FRANCE University Bordeaux Segalen ANSM Roche Sanofi Aventis BELGIUM Amgen Janssen Pharmaceutica UCB Pharma NETHERLANDS University Erasmus Medical Center University of Utrecht FINLAND Orion Corporation
- 10. The International Business School Alliance (IBSA) • An Alliance with 5 universities: - Hochschule Bremen, Germany - University of Valencia, Spain - University of North Carolina, USA - Novancia Business School, France - Institute of Business Studies, Russia • Established in 2003, to develop a Business Master’s programme by combining study in any two Universities (in English) over 1 year • Leads to the award of two Master’s degrees • UH award: MSc Global Business
- 11. Responsibility for academic standards QAA Quality Code Chapter B10, Indicator 11: Degree-awarding bodies are responsible for the academic standards of all credit and qualifications granted in their name. This responsibility is never delegated. Therefore, degree-awarding bodies ensure that the standards of any of their awards involving learning opportunities delivered by others are equivalent to the standards set for other awards that they confer at the same level. They are also consistent with UK national requirements So how do you take responsibility for academic standards of the elements of dual and joint awards delivered by partners? (especially when you operate a two-tier examination board system)
- 12. Partner approval process Enhanced Partner approval visit (School + Centre for Academic Quality Assurance) PVC (International) (approval in principle) Academic School proposal Academic Development Committee (School proposal + due diligence) Memorandum of Agreement signed by VC Financial Audit (Finance) Institutional Audit (Academic Registry)Academic Services (due diligence) Programme approval
- 13. Enhanced partner approval Purpose: to satisfy UH that the management of contributory elements of the programme delivered by that partner meets the expectations of the UK Quality Code, so allowing academic standards to be safeguarded. The enhanced partner approval visit should: • identify national expectations of academic standards (and equivalence to FHEQ or FQ-EHEA); • establish legal and regulatory capacity to grant joint awards; • review academic regulations, and their equivalence to UH regulations; • propose a grade equivalency between UH and the partner; • agree protocols for dealing with academic misconduct, complaints and appeals, establish student rights & responsibilities at each institution; • agree protocols for programme administration and management
- 14. Programme approval (Expectation A3.1) Standard programme initial approval, development and validation processes are used, with the exception that: • Enhanced partners approval status means that they are not required to ‘prove’ that they can deliver the curriculum • Enhanced partners therefore only take part in the validation process to approve the standard and coherency of the curriculum • With consortia of Universities, only the lead University would be required to attend the validation event • For joint awards, academic regulations are also considered (typically Academic Board approval is subsequently required) NB. Joint development is essential, but joint approval is difficult, as many countries do not have suitable approval processes in place
- 15. • University of Bordeaux - Eu2P lead institution • Joint Eu2P Education Board • Joint Standard Operating Procedures • International Business School Alliance annual meeting • Each degree awarding body oversees its own qualification • UH policies and procedures Academic oversight (Expectation A2.1)
- 16. • Eu2P bespoke Joint Academic Regulations (UPR AS22) • IBSA – UH academic regulations • No award ‘with commendation’ or ‘with distinction’ Academic regulations (Expectation A2.1)
- 17. • Eu2P Education Board – holistic view of assessment strategy • Each Eu2P partner is responsible for the assessment of the module(s) it delivers • Grade equivalency table • Programme external examiner reviews a sample of work across partner organisations • UH responsible for overall assessment strategy • Each IBSA partner is responsible for the assessment of the module(s) it delivers • Grade equivalency table • Retrospective assessment review using a portfolio approach Assessment (Expectation A3.2)
- 18. • UH approach (dual awards): – External examiner appointed to all UH-delivered modules and UH awards – External examiner maintains an oversight of partner-delivered modules, through reviews of sample portfolios of assessed student work • UH approach (joint awards): – External examiner appointed to take responsibility for all modules and the joint award International Logistics and Supply Chain Management Management in Emerging Economies International Business Development and Consulting International Finance and Investments International Marketing External Examiners (Expectation A3.4)
- 19. • Approach depends upon your examination board system: – Integrated system? (i.e. grade/progression/award Boards) – Two-tier system? (i.e. Module Boards & Programme Boards) • UH approach (dual awards): – UH regs for UH-delivered modules – Partner’s regs for partner-delivered modules (assurance provided through enhanced partner approval and grade equivalency) – Separate UH and Partner programme boards for awards • UH approach (joint awards): – Joint regulations for all modules (assurance provided through enhanced partner approval and UH approval of joint regulations) – Joint Programme Board for awards Examination Board (Expectation A3.2)
- 20. Joint strategic/operational board with enhanced partners - Eu2P Education Board Standard UH AQ processes apply: • Programme committee (or equivalent) • Link tutors/Country Liaison Tutors • Programme Annual Monitoring and Evaluation Reports • Re-validation at least every 6 years Reports submitted through each partners own QA framework Monitoring and review (Expectation A3.3)
- 21. For Joint awards: • UH approval of joint certificate • Co-ordinating joint award institution takes responsibility for issuing certificates and transcripts • Enhanced Diploma Supplement For Dual awards: • Separate certificates • UH enhanced transcript identifies: – location(s) of delivery – language(s) of delivery and assessment, by module – All modules (including those studied at partner organisations) – dual award status, and other awarding institutions Certification and Transcripts (Expectation A2.2)
- 22. Internationalisation agenda Competitiveness and employability Cultural enrichment New ways of thinking Student mobility Professional development opportunities Research collaboration Benefits of Dual and Joint Awards
- 23. Thank you Dr Frank Haddleton Director of Academic Quality Assurance [email protected] Centre for Academic Quality Assurance University of Hertfordshire