14 November 2018 | EQAF Paper

Beyond “Diminishing Resources” - Quality Enhancement and Student Engagement

Kay Taaffe, Elizabeth Noonan (University College Cork)

Since the establishment of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (ESG) in 2005, student involvement in quality processes has been viewed as integral and become more widely adopted across Europe (HEA, 2016).


The level of student involvement and engagement can, however, vary on a continuum from students being informed (low-impact) to having decision-making roles (high-impact) (ibid.).

In the context of a policy and cultural shift towards an enhancement ethos of quality, this paper presents an institutional case-study at one Irish university, outlining processes to enhance student engagement and impact in academic quality review. The paper outlines initial observations from processes to date (which include training and credentialising students’ participation in institutional quality peer review), plans for development based on these reflections, and the potential intended or anticipated institution-wide impact of increased support for student engagement in an enhancement-led quality environment.

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

ISSN: 1375-3797 

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