Quality Assurance as a Catalyst for Institutional Policy Reform in Times of Crisis

We explore the case of a national university that overhauled its governance and learning outcomes frameworks following two concurrent disruptions: a national political crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. QA teams used these disruptions to initiate conversations about academic integrity, student-centred learning, and institutional transparency, framing reform through internal quality dialogues and peer-led reviews. The paper discusses how QA’s role shifted from oversight to facilitation, enabling shared ownership of change. While short-term decisions were driven by necessity, long-term institutional policy reform was guided by QA processes that emphasised reflection, stakeholder inclusion, and responsiveness. This case provides a replicable model for QA units seeking to use crisis moments as windows of opportunity for structural reform rather than reactive damage control.

This paper was presented at EQAF and reflects the views of the named authors only.

ISSN: 1375-3797

Quality Assurance as a Catalyst for Institutional Policy Reform in Times of Crisis

Justyna Smoleń

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