INQAAHE Talks on February 8, 2024
Grappling with ‘cost’: Pressures for effectiveness and efficiencies in quality assurance
February 8, 2024 (Thursday)
15:00 – 16:30 CET/UTC+1
Online (via Zoom)
In an era characterized by dynamic global challenges, this INQAAHE Talk aimed to delve into the intricacies of upholding quality amidst financial pressures, external demands, and evolving stakeholder expectations. This candid and complex discussion skillfully navigated the terrain of ‘costs’ in quality assurance. It specifically addressed external pressures shaping our practices, emphasized stakeholder engagement as a pivotal driver of change, introduced innovative ideas redefining conventional methodologies, and shed light on the enduring principles of quality that must withstand the challenges posed by financial constraints.
Our distinguished panel of experts—Sylvie Mainville, who provides management services at OCQAS in Ontario, Canada; Ronny Heintze, Deputy Director for International Development at AQAS in Germany; and Vicki Stott, Chief Executive at the QAA in the UK— delved deep in to these issues and speak frankly about practical matters of how agencies manage priorities, innovate policy and practices, and navigate the growing role of entrepreneurialism in quality assurance. This webinar offered a unique opportunity to gain insights from leaders, fostering an exchange of ideas that transcends borders and contributes to the advancement of quality assurance practices on an international scale.
The session was moderated by Mary Catharine Lennon, INQAAHE Board Director.
The recording of this session is available on INQAAHE’s YouTube channel.
The following speakers joined us in this session:
Sylvie Mainville
Sylvie provides management services in support of the Ontario College Quality Assurance Service (OCQAS) organizational needs. She works with the Executive Director and the Management Board to ensure ongoing consistency of the OCQAS processes with international best practices in quality assurance for and within Ontario’s Colleges.
Prior to this role, her studies in linguistics, psychology and education led her to teach preschool to senior-aged students in a variety of settings including schools, colleges, non-profit agencies, corporations, and even for members of the Canadian Armed Forces. She came to OCQAS from Cambrian College where she managed all QA processes and mechanisms including new program development and program review, policy and procedure redaction, and all course, program and institution level accreditations and audits. At Cambrian, Sylvie established and actioned an audit process to review third-party educational institutions (for international students).
Ronny Heintze
Ronny Heintze is the Deputy Director for International Development at AQAS, the largest German accreditation agency. In his 13 years of service, he coordinated more then 150 accreditation procedures in and outside of Germany with a special focus on Joint Programmes. His international experiences cover projects across Europe, the ASEAN region, GCC states and South America. He served as an expert in different projects of the European Union. He is a Board Member of the European Consortium for Accreditation (ECA) where he currently chairs the Certification Group responsible for excellency in Internationalization. Ronny is also a member in the Boards of HCERES (France) and an international consultant to YÖKAK (Turkey). For ENQA he reviewed numerous agencies on their alignment with the ESG and serves for a second term in ENQAs Agency Review Committee assuring the quality of all reviews coordinated by ENQA. Ronny also holds experience as a GGP reviewer for INQAAHE.
He currently teaches about the United Nations at the University of Trier. Before joining the Quality Assurance community, he held executive positions at NMUN in New York. He holds a M.A. degree of the University of Bonn in Political Science, Psychology and Media Science.
Vicki Stott
Vicki joined QAA in 2019 as Executive Director of Operations with responsibility for a range of functions including: Membership & Quality Enhancement Services; International & Professional Services; Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland; Quality Assurance England; and Marketing & Events. As Executive Director of Operations Vicki served as a member of the QAA Executive Team and acted as Deputy CEO. Vicki was promoted to the position of Chief Executive, succeeding Douglas Blackstock, in the autumn of 2021.
Prior to joining QAA, Vicki worked at St Hugh’s College Oxford, where she was the Bursar (COO), a Director of Oxford Limited, St Hugh’s Conferences, St Hugh’s Estates and a founding Director of North Oxford Shared College Services. She has also worked at the University of Birmingham as the Director of Strategic Planning and in various roles at the University of Warwick and Warwick Business School. She started her career in higher education at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, where she worked in international student recruitment. Vicki also has experience in the commercial and charity sectors, having run her own company and been director of a charity working with women and families affected by domestic abuse.
The session was moderated by:
Mary Catharine Lennon
Mary Catharine Lennon, PhD, has an academic and professional background in international and comparative higher education research and policy development in areas including system design, accountability, quality assurance, and evaluation. She is the Head of Research, International and Special Projects at the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board of Ontario (PEQAB), a two-term Board Director of the International Network of Quality Assurance in Higher Education (INQAAHE) and chairs the Marjorie Lenn Peace Centre for Research and Capacity Building in Quality Assurance. Dr. Lennon also holds an appointment with the Canadian and International Higher Education Centre at OISE/University of Toronto, where she also lectures on Governance in Higher Education.
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