Student Engagement
Akihiko Kawaguchi
Specially Appointed Professor, NIAD-UE

NIAD-UE University Evaluation Forum
Efforts towards Evaluation; Guiding towards Improvement (Sep. 20,2007)
 Strategy and Methodology for Using University Evaluation (July 7,2008)
 Effective Use of Academic Resources for Enhancement of the Internal
Quality Assurance System – For Developing University’s
Distinctiveness – (Aug. 3, 2009)
 Establishing a Quality Assurance System based on the Learning
Outcomes – Effective Assessment, Visualization and Publication of theLearning Outcomes - (Aug. 2, 2010)
 New Paradigm of Quality Assurance in the Age of Globalization－The “Functions” Viewing from Practices at International
Organizations－ (26 October 2011)
 Student Learning and the Future of Higher Education (23 July 2012)
 Student's Role in Higher Education Quality Assurance (22 July 2013)
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History of Student Movement andDevelopment of Student Engagement in QA
Student movement in the late 1960s was theworld-wide phenomena in higher education
sectors in Europe, US, Japan, etc.
 A degree of development with student
engagement/involvement afterword is variedwith each region.
Student is providing information by responding tosurveys on a regular basis for quality
enhancement/improvement.
 Student involvement in quality assurance, etc.
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Comparison Between the West and Japan
in 1970s: In the Context of Students
Expanding of higher education may have been one factor triggered
student movement since 1968.
 (In comparison with US particularly) Japan had seen a rapid growth inaccess rate to higher education, but university was still seen as an
academia for elites of students filled with a sense of mission.
 In Europe and the US, students had participated in reforms of higher
education by compromising where appropriate.
 In the late 1970s, industrialized society progressed focusing on themanufacturing industry in Japan, where it fell into depression inEurope and the US (in transition to post-industrialized society).
 Student movement in Japan was a ‘resistance of adolescence’ astransient fever which hardly affected the society.
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Europe: Promoting StudentEngagement in QA
Sorbonne Joint Declaration (1998)/Bologna
Declaration (1999) lead to the creation of theEHEA
 3 Achievements in particular:
Establishment of ENQA in 2000
 Drafting the ESGs in 2005 /2009
 Creation of EQAR in 2008
Involvement of students in drafting the ESGs
Involvement of students is stipulated in all three guidelines
for IQA for higher education institutions, EQA of highereducation, and external quality assurance agencies.
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Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance inthe European Higher Education Area (ESG): PART 1（on Student Involvement）
Part 1: European standards and guidelines for internal quality assurance within
higher education institutions
1.1 Policy and procedures for QA： Institutions should have a policy and associatedprocedures for the assurance of the quality and standards of their programmes andawards. (omit) They should also include a role for students and other stakeholders.
Guidelines： The policy statement is expected to include: (omit) ・the involvementof students in quality assurance
1.2 Approval, monitoring and periodic review of programmes and awards：
Institutions should have formal mechanisms for the approval, periodic review andmonitoring of their programmes and awards.
Guideline：The quality assurance of programmes and awards are expected to include:(omit) ・participation of students in quality assurance activities
NIAD-UE6Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance inthe European Higher Education Area (ESG): PART 2（on Student Involvement）
Part 2: European standards and guidelines for the external quality
assurance of higher education
2.4 Processes fit for purpose： All external quality assurance
processes should be designed specifically to ensure their fitness toachieve the aims and objectives set for them.
Guidelines： ……there are some widely-used elements of external
review processes…. Amongst these elements the following areparticularly noteworthy: (omit)
・participation of students
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Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance inthe European Higher Education Area (ESG): PART 3（on Student Involvement）
Part 3: European standards and guidelines for external quality assurance agencies

3.6 Independence： Agencies should be independent to the extent both that they haveautonomous responsibility for their operations and that the conclusions andrecommendations made in their reports cannot be influenced by third parties such as higher
education institutions, ministries or other stakeholders.
Guideline： An Agency will need to demonstrate its independence through measures, suchas: (omit) ・while relevant stakeholders in higher education, particularly students/learners,
are consulted in the course of quality assurance processes, the final outcomes of the quality
assurance processes remain the responsibility of the agency.
3.7 External quality assurance criteria and processes used by the agencies： The processes,
criteria and procedures used by agencies should be pre-defined and publicly available.
These processes will normally be expected to include:(omit)・an external assessment by a group of experts, including, as appropriate, (a) student
member(s), and site visits as decided by the agency.
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Good Practices on Student Involvement
in QA in Europe
Country

Good Practices

Finland• Students spontaneously (or with the invitation from the faculty members) design
QA questionnaires and conduct analysis• Invites students to participate at evaluated-related workshops, and welcomes theiropinions and feedbacks.
• The remit of FINHEEC including board structure is stipulated under Finnish
legislation, and this refers student involvement.
• Representatives of the professors, other staff(lecturers, administrative staff, etc.)
and students must be included at all decision making levels under the University Act.
• FINHEEC has students involved at all levels of the QA process from the very earlystage of its establishment.

UK• Encourages students to either submit Student Written Submissions (SWSs) tosupplement the self-evaluation document, or to work with institutions in preparing
the self-evaluation documents submitted by their institutions.
• Institutions involve students at decision making bodies.
• Scotland has a long history of involving students as a full member of a review team.
• Two among seventeen of QAA Board member are students.
• QAA has 90 students participating as a full member of QA review teams currently.

RE：ENQA Report 2006, Devin Chun-Jung Wu, TWEA, Taiwan, websites of FINHEEC and QAA
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9Models of Student Involvement in QA
Involving as members of the consultative bodies and/or
the governance bodies for national quality assurance
agencies Participating as members/observers of external review
panels of higher education and/or programs Participating in the preparation of self-assessment
reports
 Participating as members of the bodies responsible ofexternal quality assurance decision-making processes
 Involving in the follow-up external quality assurance
process

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Student Role in QA in EuropeInstitutional LevelExternal LevelProviding information (in consultation during external reviews)
Participating as members of external review panels of higher education institutions
and/or programs

Level of Governance of National Quality Assurance Agencies
Providing information (by responding to surveys on a regular basis, focus groups, etc.);
Participating in the preparation of self-assessment reports (as members of the selfevaluation group, writing the report, providing feedback to the report etc.)
Participating as members of the bodies responsible of internal quality assurance
processes

Involved as planners of the evaluation/accreditation programs
Involved as members of the consultative bodies and as members of the governancebodiesOther ― QA policy discussions


Being consulted by policy makers (as governments)

Providing information on the issues at stake, or having a particular role ofdissemination
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Benefits of Including Students in QA


Different examples of ‘added value’ to be identified.
Students play a fundamental role in the assessment of quality ofeducation.
 Understanding of diversification, educational effect on students.
Provides an improvement of processes of internal andexternal assurance by student involvement in theseprocesses.
Students views are reflected in an enrichment of the evaluation
reports, expanding and including other aspects not previously taken
into account, or which have not been addressed likewise.
 Students often provide new solutions.


Important that both institutions and QA agencies appreciatestudents participation and commitment, perceiving it asinspiring and seeing good, solid results from theirinvolvement, valuing the students as partners and great
resource in this work.
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Summary：Purpose of this Forum
Students as learners ― their engagement isessentials in taking necessary measures forlearning outcomes for higher education
 Positive student involvement is important forunderstanding diverse needs for higher educationin the time of massification of higher education
 It is international trend that quality assurance
process is required with student engagement
 No single models/forms for student involvement
 The role of students in quality assurance of higher
education should become recognized as being
necessary and sought for models/forms in Japan

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Reference
Research Website on International quality assurance, NIAD-UE
http://www.niad.ac.jp/n_kokusai/
Nordic Project on Student Involvement. The Finish Report, FINHEEC, 2003
http://www.finheec.fi/en?C=231&product_id=178&s=56
Student involvement in the processes of quality assurance agencies, ENQA, 2006
http://www.enqa.eu/files/Student%20involvement.pdf
Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area, ENQA, 2009http://www.enqa.eu/files/ESG_3edition%20(2).pdf
The European Higher Education Area 2012: Bologna Process Implementation Report, EACEA, 2012

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice
QUEST for Quality for Students: Going Back to Basics, ESU, 2012 http://www.esuonline.org/asset/Organisation/6178/QUEST-for-quality-for-students-publication-Part1.pdf
Student Engagement at QAA, 2013
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Partners/students/student-engagement-QAA/Pages/default.aspx

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