Search

Drawn from the SQELT Erasmus+ project, this article explores how learning analytics is implemented at a set of six European universities in the context of their performance data management models, including its multiple functions and ethical issues. It further identifies possible good practice and policy recommendations at decision-making level. Results show that learning analytics is present to a certain extent in all six institutions, although mostly based on traditional data and still lacking predictive capacity concerning students' performance. Learning analytics is viewed as useful in providing more accurate personal data on students' learning, contributing to the establishment of more sophisticated quality management systems. The European General Data Protection Regulation and national privacy laws sufficiently cover the majority of data ethics risks posed by learning analytics. Overall, learning analytics entails both opportunities and threats. The possibilities of a learning analytics approach deserve further attention within universities and quality assurance agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses teaching and non-teaching staff perceptions on the implementation of internal quality assurance (QA) practices at their higher education institutions. The aim is to understand how far different perspectives on quality - as culture, as compliance or as consistency - are reflected in the views of these two groups on such practices. Data from a survey sent to all Portuguese institutions show that, to some extent, the perspectives of quality as culture and quality as compliance seem to permeate both groups' views. This is evident in regard to the factors identified as supporting the development of internal QA, the main features underlying the implementation of such practices and their main effects. As the study allows for a better understanding on how these practices are perceived by teaching and non-teaching staff, it can contribute to promoting the critical reflection of institutions about QA and the way it can be both more effective and aligned with academia's needs and expectations, contributing to influencing institutional practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academics’ support for quality assurance (QA) depends on several factors, including their sense of ownership, which seems to be influenced by academics’ participation in QA’s implementation. This paper aims to understand whether this participation is indeed contributing to academics’ ownership of QA. Findings from a survey of Portuguese academics’ on their participation in study programmes accreditation suggests that this may not be the case. Academics present a partial withdrawal towards effective participation in study programmes’ accreditation, especially regarding external assessment. Furthermore, they do not seem willing to enhance this participation nor are they very critical about it. Since academics’ sense of ownership is essential for the successful implementation of QA, these results may represent a challenge for both institutions and QA agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper enquires into the institutional impact of European policies, as embodied by the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). Theoretically, the work departs from the ‘worlds of compliance’ framework in relation to EU law implementation to study EU initiatives under the Open Method of Coordination. Empirically, it presents how ESG are taken up by higher education institutions in Portugal and the Czech Republic. The study finds a substantial misfit between the modes of governance traditionally ascribed to Portugal and the Czech Republic and the identified patterns of ESG translations in those countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]