Academic Staff Views on External Quality Audit: Post Audit Evaluation in a Private Higher Education College

Governments in many countries have funded independent agencies to undertake quality audits of higher education institutions. Such agencies ensure that universities and other higher education providers have effective systems and processes to assure quality assurance in core and support areas. While external quality audits have been in place for a decade in Australia, there is limited research on academic staff views on external quality audit in universities and private higher education providers. This article outlines the views of 40 academic staff in a private higher education college who were directly involved in the external quality audit. A survey was undertaken immediately after the external quality audit to collect the views of academic staff on various aspects of the audit including; self-assessment, audit preparations strategy, communication and staff engagement, and the external quality audit process itself. The authors argue that external quality audit, if effectively managed, could be the driver for change and improvement in quality assurance in a small college.