European University Quality Management Tools for LLL

Lifelong learning has become the key structure on the new “knowledge society”, “network society” or “learning society” defined on the Lisbon strategy. This globalization process requires a sort of integration or new architectures in the old structures were European lifelong learning systems are based. It has been detected notorious inefficiencies in the lifelong learning provision system, fundamentally in Europe. Solving those inefficiencies will be a condition of survival of many of the European Education Institutions. So, this process involves the injection into the higher education lifelong learning services of firm-based techniques for administration, self assessment tools for Total Quality Management (TQM) and measurement of performance at various levels of aggregation and disaggregating.

For this reason the “European University Quality Management Tools for Lifelong Learning” (Uni-QM) project aims to “pilot a demonstrating project on creating a lifelong learning quality management system for institutional activities of the European lifelong learning system, that can be used as a base for establishing the bases of a potential Network of Lifelong Learning Quality Management in higher education”. The development and methodology for the lifelong learning quality management system will be based on the excellence model proposed by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). The project UNI-QM will create a new common model that will fit necessities of the European Lifelong Learning Institutions (ELLI). The definition of the model will include a set of standard management processes for lifelong learning provision as well as the necessary quantitative and qualitative indicators to promote performance on lifelong learning institutions.

The model will be validated by a pilot test from where we will get direct feedback from end-users. With the input obtained from the pilot test, the model will be tuned up to the reality of different lifelong learning environments. Once the model is ready, it will be developed a set of support tools that will help ELLI to implement the model on their institutions. Some of the tools will be implemented on an open internet platform in order to foster the use of ICT and to facilitate the use of the model. According to the experience of the ELLI on quality management, tools will be customized to the different “levels of maturity”. Target language for the tools will be English considering translation in the near future. In order to valorise project activities and to guarantee project activities sustainability after grant ends, UNI-QM will establish the basis for a potential lifelong learning quality management network. As another key result from UNI-QM, it will be organized the first International conference on quality management in lifelong learning institutions. It is also important to remark that this conference will be organized jointly with the European Foundation for Quality Management conference. It will help to mix people from lifelong learning environments with people from the enterprise environment.
 

Partners:

• Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain (project coordinator)
• University of Porto, Portugal
• Imperial College, London, UK
• Teknillinen korkeakoul, Dipoli, Finland
• Aalborg University, Danmark
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
• Danube University Krems, Austria