Quality Management of University Teaching and Learning

INTRODUCTION

· Implementation of quality initiatives has to be relevant to, owned and understood by all staff

· Administrative, teaching and support staff all play key roles

· Effective management practices must include a balance between top-down and bottom-up approaches, with clear lines of communication between the two

· Each university is unique and any national requirements concerning the documenting, practice and monitoring of quality improvement must allow individual universities to adopt policy guidelines suited to their own needs

· Confusion over the possible differences between educational quality assurance and educational quality improvement has contributed to staff feelings of hostility, uncertainty and insecurity

· Key negative factors in staff debate about quality include:

- mistrust of perceived senior management and government concerns for quality;

- scepticism about the plausibility of improving learning environments;

- concerns over increased workload and lack of resources; and

- an increased tension between contrasting emphases on individualism and corporatism.

· Federal Government initiatives have had a significant, indirect influence on the attitudes, policies and practices of universities in supporting teaching and learning.

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