AUA Participates in Second External Quality Assurance Workshop in Gloucester, UK

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GLOUCESTER, UK – On June 4-5, 2014, the American University of Armenia (AUA)’s Institutional Research Manager Anush Bezhanyan, Associate Dean for General Education Catherine Buon, and Director of Accreditation Sharistan Melkonian participated in a workshop entitled External Quality Assurance: Options for Higher Education Managers in Gloucester, United Kingdom.

The workshop was organized as part of the Tempus project Promoting Quality and Recognition of Transnational Education in Armenia and Georgia (TNE_QA) which brings together 18 partner institutions from six countries to build capacity within Armenian and Georgian higher education institutions and external quality assurance agencies to manage quality assurance of transnational education by establishing mechanisms in line with OECD/UNESCO guidelines.

The two-day workshop focused on understanding the role of educational quality assurance, designing approaches to quality assurance, and building a common understanding of core elements of quality assurance.

In addition to AUA’s participation in the workshop, Melkonian gave a presentation entitled External Quality Assurance in Higher Education – Methods, Standards, Criteria, and Indicators: A Look at the AUA’s Experience with the WASC Senior College and University Commission Methodology, which provided background on the Standards of Accreditation which AUA had adopted and the processes and procedures to monitor quality assurance.

The workshop, organized by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) and the International Institute for Educational Planning, was held at the QAA’s headquarters in Gloucester, UK. The Gloucester workshop was the second of two workshops.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.

 

From left: Associate Dean for General Education Catherine Buon, Director of Accreditation Sharistan Melkonian, and Institutional Research Manager Anush Bezhanyan.