NGO impact on ensuring the quality of higher education in departmental HEIs

Abstract

The process of higher education quality assurance is a strategic priority for the development of higher education in Ukraine. To meet the EHEA standards in the sphere of higher education for the Ukrainian HEIS to cooperate with European ones; the conceptual foundations of the reform of higher education, which are designed to provide quality educational services, are to be considered. Modern higher education policy in the European Higher Education Area to ensure the quality of higher education involves the involvement of various stakeholders in the functioning of higher education, including NGOs and associations, employers, local communities, and active citizens. Departmental HEIs began to form an internal system of quality assurance in higher education in 2016. At this stage, the relevant provisions have been developed, which regulate the distribution of powers to ensure the quality of education between different services and departments of the university. Based on the analysed documents, it was concluded that some structural units for quality assurance in higher education in departmental HEIs have not yet been formed, and the functions of compliance with quality standards are assigned as additional to existing structural units. Based on the analysis of news from the websites of departmental HEIs of Ukraine, it was concluded that departmental HEIs cooperate with international and Ukrainian non-governmental organisations whose activities are related to law enforcement. The priority of cooperation between HEIs and non-governmental organisations, which is publicly available on the websites of universities, is joint educational activities, training, conferences and round tables, professional development of employees. There are no documents outlining the influence of non-governmental organisations on ensuring the quality of educational services and information on the practical dimension of cooperation in ensuring the quality of educational services on the websites. The conclusion is made about the need to develop mechanisms for the cooperation of departmental HEIs of Ukraine with non-governmental organisations and the algorithm of the promulgation of this process.

Keywords

• higher education
• internal quality assurance in higher education
• departmental universities
• stakeholders
• non-governmental organizations