University students call for better quality control

The University Students' Council is to press for much stronger measures to ensure that the quality of tuition at the university and of higher education in general is comparable to that in advanced countries.

The council believes that quality assurance at the University of Malta is weak. "It takes place only through external examiners and through the Quality Assurance Committee, which meets infrequently. It is nowhere near the level we would like to see," said Anthony Camilleri, the KSU's Education Commissioner.

The issue is the subject of several proposals in the newly drafted academic policy of the KSU's education commission, which is formed of around 40 members including student representatives within university structures.

The policy, being launched today, will inform the student representatives on the University Council, Senate and other bodies, and when they meet the ministerial commission set to review tertiary education.

The policy holds that the concept of quality applies to all the university's activities, from teaching and academic programmes to research and facilities.

"KSU believes that the quality of tuition at the University should be such that students who follow a course should be able to achieve the best possible level of education."

The University should be subject to "rigorous academic" auditing at both institutional and national levels. This would ensure that the quality of higher education "is of a satisfactory level, in that it satisfies the academic requirements of the country and compares favourably to the quality of tertiary education in countries where the educational system is extensively developed," the policy says.

It calls for the setting up of an internal, full-time quality assurance body which would conduct academic audits and engage independent auditors to verify its findings.

Furthermore, independent national bodies should be established, and internationally recognised standards defined.

"Internal self-evaluation and external review, conducted openly by independent specialists, including international expertise, are vital for enhancing quality."

The KSU represents 12,000 students from the University, Junior College, Medical School, Institute of Health Care and Malta Centre of Restoration, in political, educational and cultural matters.

Its new policy also deals with such issues as access to higher education, teaching and learning, student assessment, remedies and redress and financing.