INQAAHE is allocating 2500 USD for supporting the preparation of three research papers or essays, in accordance with the Terms of reference available here.

The final papers will be published in the journal Quality in Higher Education.

Timeline

The research proposals, mid-term and final papers are to be submitted to the INQAAHE Secretariat at secretariat@inqaahe.org by the following deadlines:

  • The proposals should be submitted by October 1, 2015
  • The mid-term paper should be submitted by 30th January, 2016
  • The final paper should be submitted by March 31st, 2016.

The successful applicant will be notified by October 31st, 2015.

Applicants

All INQAAHE members, whether full or associate. Affiliates may also apply.

Topics

  1. New modes for quality assurance in well-developed systems;
  2. Independence of quality assurance decisions;
  3. Diversity of approaches to institutional and academic programme quality assurance including new modes of study (e.g. e-learning, MOOCS);
  4. External quality assurance and its impact on internal quality management;
  5. Impact of international accreditation on newly developing systems;
  6. Quality assurance of external quality assurance;
  7. Impact of quality assurance on teaching and learning; to what extent the latter promotes relevance to the socio-economic needs;
  8. The extent, nature and effectiveness of cross-border quality arrangements (assurance/accreditation/validation);
  9. Mutual recognition of accreditation decisions in political, academic and legal terms.

Categories

  • Studies or research projects referring to one of the topics outlined above. These must follow an empirical approach, and report on the results of research projects or case studies.
  • Essays, covering an original discussion of one of the topics in this call for papers. They can refer to theoretical or methodological discussions, an analysis of published research, or of good (or bad) practices.
  • Innovative experiences, which present, analyse and discuss these practices and their relevance to the enhancement of quality assurance processes.

Criteria

  • Importance of the research questions/objectives to INQAAHE and their alignment with the focus of this call for proposals;
  • Research must go beyond studies of “perceptions” and attempt to gather outcome evidence;
  • Contribution to the body of knowledge;
  • Theoretical framework;
  • Consistency in the design and methodology;
  • Feasibility and suitability of the plan of action, including timelines and deadline for completion;
  • Adherence to the Research Proposal outline provided in the Terms of reference.
  • Qualifications of the primary researcher(s) and other people involved in the project.
  • Appropriateness of budget requirements for the study.

Call for research proposals 2015-2016. Terms of reference (PDF / 409.5 KB)