This chapter examines the alignment between national qualifications frameworks (NQF) and quality assurance (QA) systems, with a focus on the Vietnamese context. It begins by reviewing international best practices and guidelines for NQFs and their connection to QA systems. In Vietnam, the Vietnam Qualifications Framework (VQF) was promulgated in…

Maintaining the quality and comparability of qualifications has become a major priority for vocational education and training (VET) systems world-wide, especially for those countries which have decentralised assessment and reporting systems. In the absence of external examinations, one policy solution to align the assessment standards of different…

This paper proposes a framework for designing digital environments and illustrates this framework using the example of a video game (Alchemist). The increasing importance of digital environments for educational systems (e.g. for teaching and assessing twenty-first century skills) makes it necessary to have standards for their quality. These…

As evident in scholarly literature, universities worldwide embrace Sustainable Development Goals initiated by United Nations. Yet, regardless institutions' commitment, many countries, especially developing ones, struggle to effectively implement sustainability-oriented principles and practices in higher education. To that end, this paper, based on…

Increasing instructional quality in higher education is a key goal of educational development (ED) work, yet demonstrating complex outcomes remains challenging and lacks practical guidance. Evaluating ED services often relies on a reductionist approach characterized by linear assumptions of causal pathways to measure the extent to which…

Following the ideas of New Public Management, Quality Assurance (QA) practices have become a relevant concern for public organizations. In the Higher Education sector, QA policies have inspired different reforms, becoming a debated issue for universities' leaders and policy-makers. This article analyzes the implementation of a newly defined…

This edition of the Bologna Process Implementation Report charts important progress made over two decades when it comes to mobility, quality assurance and recognition, but also points to the work needed in the future. The report shows how European higher education systems advanced with concerted national reforms. This in itself is a remarkable…

A requirement for quality assurance is becoming more prevalent in higher education today as institutions are being asked to demonstrate that they are providing robust, meaningful learning experiences for students. Many institutions are adopting curriculum review frameworks as part of their overall quality assurance strategy. Three leaders at…

The foundational function of the state is the approval of an entity to establish itself as a postsecondary institution. Most often referred to as state authorization, it is the first formal act in the legal operation of an institution and often serves as the foundation upon which other quality assurance functions are built (like accreditation).…

The vast majority of studies concerning the implementation of quality assurance in higher education institutions have been conducted from a national perspective, with few cross-national studies. This study aimed to explore the implementation of quality assurance standards in Europe from a comparative perspective. A questionnaire based on…

The chapters in this online volume comprise the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center's technical report of the methods and procedures used to develop, implement, and report the results of TIMSS 2019. There were various technical challenges because TIMSS 2019 was the initial phase of the transition to eTIMSS, with approximately half the…

This paper describes the collaborative application of three theoretical models for supporting service planning (Hunter, 2006), programme planning (Chorpita et al, 2005a), and implementation (Meyers et al, 2012) to develop and implement a Resilience Practice Framework (RPF). Specifically, we (1) describe a theory of change framework (Hunter, 2006)…

This article provides a critique of current debates about what quality enhancement is for and what it does. It outlines a conceptual framework drawing on different understandings of quality assurance and quality enhancement in higher education, which helps to refine the role of quality enhancement in improving student learning. The paper analyses…

This paper aims at providing a theoretical and empirical discussion on the concept of pedagogisation which derives from the hypothesis of a new era of "totally pedagogised society" in Basil Bernstein's work. The article is based on empirical research on higher education policy, with a focus on the implementation of curriculum change…

The Government is committed to introducing a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) to assess the quality of teaching and learning in higher education. Designing the right solution is challenging. There is no off-the-shelf solution from other countries that we can lift. But we can learn lessons from other sectors. This pamphlet explores rating…