Call for Papers: (Re)designing quality indicators for higher education

Conference Title: (Re)designing Quality Indicators for Higher Education
Conference Dates: 5 – 6 December 2023
Location: The College of Basic Education – The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) – Kuwait
Submission Deadline: 31 August 2023

Higher education institutions (HEIs) play a pivotal role in promoting economic growth, social progress, and personal development. Ensuring the quality of these institutions is essential to maintaining their credibility and enhancing their societal impact. Quality indicators serve to measure and evaluate the main processes of higher education, namely teaching and learning outcomes, research and scholarship engagement with society, and institutional management and governance. These indicators can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of higher education policies and practices and help institutions identify areas for improvement. In recent years, the development and use of quality indicators have become increasingly important, as HEIs face growing pressure to demonstrate their value and adapt to a rapidly changing global landscape. Indicators can be developed and used at different levels: the system level (macro indicators), the institutional level (meso indicators) and the classroom level (micro indicators); which is also relates to individuals, be they students, workers (academics and others), and may be even about other individual stakeholders, such as external representatives in governance bodies. Moreover, and within each level, they can be used to measure and evaluate structure, processes, outputs outcomes (Braun, Weiß & Seidel (2014). Despite their usefulness, some attention should be paid to the limitations and risks of using indicators. As such, it is important that research in this area helps to define the applicability of indicators and the expectations of what can be achieved by using them.

We are delighted to announce the (Re)designing Quality Indicators for Higher Education Conference, and we invite researchers, educators, policymakers, and professionals to submit their paper proposals. This multidisciplinary conference aims to bring together experts from around the world to discuss and exchange insights on the challenges and opportunities of (re)designing quality indicators in higher education. A special emphasis will be put on the development of indicators able to capture the dimensions of digitalisation, equity and sustainability, since these are significant challenges higher education systems and institutions face nowadays.

The conference will be organized around four main tracks:

Quality indicators in higher education: overall trends and future challenges
Quality indicators in higher education: how to capture and address sustainability?
Quality indicators in higher education: how to capture and address digitalization?
Quality indicators in higher education: how to capture and address equity?

Submit your papers HERE

We encourage the submission of original research papers, case studies, and innovative proposals that address the following topics within each subtheme:

Quality indicators in higher education: overall trends and future challenges:

Availability and/or need for indicators covering the four main higher education processes (teaching and learning; research and scholarship; engagement with society; institutional management and governance).
Availability and/or need for indicators at different levels (macro, meso and micro) and dimensions (structure, processes, output and outcomes).
Use of quality indicators to map and compare different higher education systems and institutions.
Benefits, limitations, and risks of using quality indicators.

Quality indicators in higher education: how to capture and address sustainability?:

Definition and conceptualisation of sustainability in higher education.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of current quality indicators in promoting sustainable practices.
Integration of the economic, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions in the assessment of higher education quality.
Development of innovative indicators for sustainable development in higher education.
Assessment of the impact of institutional policies and practices on sustainability.
Integration of sustainability in higher education’s main processes (teaching and learning, research and scholarship, engagement with society, and institutional management and governance).

Quality indicators in higher education: how to capture and address digitalisation:

The role of digitalisation in the enhancement of quality assurance and evaluation processes.
Assessment of the effectiveness of online and blended learning in terms of learning outcomes and student satisfaction.
Development of quality indicators for digital teaching and learning practices.
Assurance of data privacy and security in the digital age.
Benefits and implementation of digitalisation in the administration and governance of higher education.
Benefits and limitations of the digitalisation of publication processes.
Risks and opportunities from the digitised measurement of research output.
Integration of digitalisation in higher education’s main processes (teaching and learning, research and scholarship, engagement with society, and institutional management and governance).

Quality indicators in higher education: how to capture and address equity?:

Definition and conceptualisation of equity in higher education.
Issues related to access, affordability, success, and outcomes for diverse student populations.
Identification of quality indicators that promote social inclusion and equity in higher education.
Definition of indicators that minimise the risk of biasness.
Benefits and threats of measuring equity.
Assessment of the impact of institutional diversity policies on student outcomes.
Promotion of intercultural competence and global citizenship through quality assurance.
Assuring equity in higher education’s main processes (teaching and learning, research and scholarship, engagement with society, and institutional management and governance).

Submission Guidelines:

Abstracts: should not exceed 1000 words and should provide a clear overview of the purpose of the study; theoretical background; design/methodology, findings; research limitations/ implications; practical/ social implications; originality/ value of papers; keywords [1-4 keywords].
All submissions must be in English and follow the specified formatting guidelines.
Please submit your abstract through our online submission system by 31. August 2023.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by 15. September 2023.

Important Dates:

Submission Deadline: 31. August 2023
Notification of Acceptance: 15. September 2023
Registration deadline: 01. December 2023
Conference Date: 5 – 6 December 2023.

Submit your papers HERE

We look forward to your contributions and to fostering a dynamic discussion on the future of quality indicators in higher education. For more information about the conference and submission guidelines, please visit our website at www.hespriproject.eu or contact the organizing committee at ESSENCE@hespriproject.eu.