What is meant by program quality and continuous improvement?

The role of continuous improvement is to focus on improved student learning outcomes by regularly reviewing programs and units to ensure we remain relevant and comparable. Program quality is underpinned by six key elements which are outlined by Emeritus Professor Geoff Scott on his website FLIPCurric Links to an external site..

The six keys to flipping the curriculum (Scott, 2016) involve getting the following 'right' (that is evidence-based, relevant, benchmarked, situation-specific and peer confirmed) in the order shown:

  • 'right' program-level outcomes (including external reference points);
  • 'right' mapping;
  • 'right' assessment;
  • 'right' grading;
  • 'right' calibration; and
  • 'right' learning methods and resources.

play.png  Watch the following video by Emeritus Professor Geoff Scott on the FLIPCurric online guide.

The term ‘quality’ is often associated with business and their products and services. We all want to buy quality products and services. Laws are in place to ensure that consumers are protected and are not sold inferior products. More recently the notion of quality has been applied to the educational services delivered by universities. Latchem (2009) notes that this practice has been met with resistance in some cases. Given, however, the requirements for educational institutions to be accountable, their stakeholders and the general community have an expectation that universities can be compared, and that the information is publically available. The Quality Indicators of Learning and Teaching (QILT) website Links to an external site. is one response to stakeholder requests for more publicly available information regarding universities and other higher education institutions.