Quality Assurance Academy – FALL EDITION

fri15octAll Daytue15febQuality Assurance Academy – FALL EDITIONEMBARK ON YOUR LEARNING JOURNEYLocation:online

Event Details

The Quality Assurance Academy (QAA) is a comprehensive training offer for business schools’ quality assurance professionals. It focuses on developing leadership competencies and managerial skills to meet the diverse professional challenges encountered daily in quality assurance/quality management (QA/QM) work in business schools. The QAA cuts across all major quality assurance frameworks to develop and refine the participants’ understanding of the underlying methodologies and their purpose. Therefore, it is seen as a general qualification opportunity rather than training to support a specific accreditation project.

The QAA is offered to the EFMD membership and the wider business school community in partnership with Academ by RimaOne.

TARGET GROUP

The QAA is offered to any quality assurance professional, either currently employed or in-between jobs. The design has been built around the needs of business schools, but professionals filling similar roles on the university level or in other faculties are most welcome to apply as well. No restrictions have been set regarding seniority and experience, but the typical applicant will have up to three years of QA-specific experience.

STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAMME

The QAA consists of three block weeks, and each block week includes two modules of four hours each (five hours including breaks). It emphasises leadership training with insights into strategy and change management techniques (Modules 1 and 6) as well as core quality management skills with a focus on analysing the writing process and communication (Modules 2 and 5). The program is complemented by training sessions in project management (Module 3) and data/information management (Module 4).

Each block week will require approx. a half-day of preparatory work. Participants will need to invest the same amount of time in completing the intermediate assessments after block weeks 1 and 2. The capstone assessment after block week 3 will involve approx. two days of work and will be customised around a current professional challenge facing the participant.

LEARNING GOALS

The QAA represents a unique opportunity to develop the competencies necessary to lead and manage a quality assurance agenda of a business school with international ambitions while being cognizant of national/cultural constraints. The offer is built around key skills a quality assurance professional should have, in addition to deep insights into the mechanics of delivering management education.

Specifically, participants will improve and enhance their capacity:

  • to analyse quality gaps between the institutional status quo and external quality reference frameworks,
  • to assemble evidence, synthesize and compile a QA-focused narrative that represents the school’s quality improvement trajectory,
  • to manage projects so that to fulfil project objectives on time and with budgetary limits,
  • to lead teams with authority and to lead sideways and upwards with limited authority,
  • to communicate on the institutional quality agenda verbally and in writing.

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE

After successfully completing the programme, participants will receive the “Certified Quality Assurance Professional” certificate from EFMD Global. It will serve as a professional distinction signalling the bearer’s qualification to conduct quality assurance work in tertiary education.

Graduation is based on two intermediate assessments and the capstone assessment and the overall point score received.

 

Facilitators for the Quality Assurance Academy

  • Amanda Gudmundsson, QUT Business School
  • Ulrich Hommel, EBS Business School & EFMD Global (*Programme Director)
  • Julie Perrin-Halot, Grenoble Ecole de Management
  • Benjamin Stévenin, RimaOne
  • Sarah Vaughan, ICN Business School
  • Kim Watty, Deakin Business School

Mentors for the Quality Assurance Academy

  • Kirsteen Daly, Adam Smith Business School
  • Christina Green, TUM School of Management
  • Sverre Gundersen, BI Norwegian Business School
  • Bethan Jones-Davies, The University of Liverpool Management School
  • Björn Kjellander, Jönköping International Business School
  • Petra Kreis-Hoyer, RheinMain University (*Mentor Coordinator)
  • Adam Thomas, University of St.Gallen

Programme

Monday 18 October 2021

9:30 – 11:00 CEST

Informal kick-off meeting

Let’s gather informally to break the ice, meet your fellow participants and also our superb group of mentors and facilitators.

Friday 22 October 2021

10:00 – 12:00 CEST

Group round-table around prep work for the block week 1 (modules 1 & 2)

Get together in small groups with your assigned mentor to discuss the preparatory work you’ve done throughout the week.

Monday 25 October 2021

8:00 – 13:00 CEST

MODULE 1: Empowered Leadership for Quality Assurance

  • Julie Perrin-Halot

Behind the tools and techniques that quality managers use to drive continuous quality improvement in their schools, leadership skills empower their professional roles and help to make quality assurance a highly effective means for achieving operational and strategic excellence in their schools. Leadership skills also enable bringing purpose and meaning to what we do.
This opening module of the programme will explore the softer skills that facilitate leadership of the institutional quality assurance agenda. It will help participants to unpack what it means to “lead’ as a quality manager and explore how their role fits into the wider leadership grid of their schools. The module will also serve to reinforce the role of leadership in the quality manager’s toolbox and to support participants in looking at ways to help those they lead to understand the greater purpose, the “why”, of what they do.

Friday 29 October 2021

8:00 – 13:00 CEST

MODULE 2: Communicating for Effective Engagement: Getting Stakeholders Onboard

  • Kim Watty

Effective communications with diverse stakeholders is one of the key elements for success and can make or break a QA/accreditation process. It is an important first step and ongoing element in the journey.
This module will consider the functions of the QA/M role, where the role is situated in a complex business eco-system, techniques to assist participants in their ability to communicate effectively and how globally recognised business schools respond to accreditation standards and requirements in an environment of increasing QA demands and accountabilities. An important part of this module is how a variety of effective communications techniques, tailored to diverse stakeholder groups is a necessary part of the QA/M role, where continuous improvement is a key guiding principle.

Friday 12 November 2021

10:00 – 12:00 CET

Group round-table around prep work for the block week 2 (modules 3 & 4)

Get together in small groups with your assigned mentor to discuss the preparatory work you’ve done throughout the week.

Monday 15 November 2021

8:00 – 13:00 CET

MODULE 3: Mastering the Double Hurdle: Managing Projects Successfully and Managing Successful Projects!

  • Ulrich Hommel

Quality assurance work is like managing a series of projects, some running side by side, others ordered as sequential tasks. This module focuses on a portfolio of techniques that help participants and the teams around them at home to get organised. It involves developing project plans, assembling and managing teams (not all belonging to a quality assurance department), aligning schedules, factoring in risks (budget and deadline overruns) and, most importantly, achieving and maintaining clarity on project goals and communicating effectively on outcomes. Resource management is key as quality assurance work often relies on shared and temporary resources.
The module will also tackle some of the common challenges of managing quality assurance projects such as lacking due diligence to confirm project feasibility, scope creeping as quality assurance professionals are “shooting at a moving (school) target”, milestone tracking and problem feedbacking as well as conflict management within project teams.
Participants will furthermore be able to familiarise themselves with simple process modelling tools that can help them simplify and structure their day-to-day work. Simple exercises will demonstrate the benefits in comparison to an ad hoc approach. The standards of the Project Management Institute will serve as a reference.

Friday 19 November 2021

8:00 – 13:00 CET

MODULE 4: “Sapere Aude” (Dare to Know): Data as a Competitive Advantage

  • Benjamin Stévenin

This module aims at developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of a typical business school’s Information System framework. Participants will explore how properly managed data can enhance quality assurance/management (QA/M) outcomes. They will furthermore review different systems in place to create a better approach towards data management linked to Quality processes. We will look at various schools’ examples and the different solutions they have put in place to create data repositories and how they ensure quality and granularity of data to provide the most accurate and meaningful basis for reporting. We will also analyse different best practices that Higher Education Institutions and different sectors have done to re-think their data process to create clear information management.

Friday 3 December 2021

10:00 – 12:00 CET

Group round-table around prep work for the block week 3 (modules 5 & 6)

Get together in small groups with your assigned mentor to discuss the preparatory work you’ve done throughout the week.

Monday 6 December 2021

8:00 – 13:00 CET

MODULE 5: Positioning a Business School for Success: Structuring your School’s Accreditation Story

  • Sarah Vaughan

Positioning your Business School’s story for accreditation purposes holds particular challenges, requiring you to evidence and persuade, through aggregate analysis of data, that you occupy a distinctive place for prospective students, students, faculty, alumni, community partners, accreditation agencies and donors. The process of preparing your self-assessment and strategic documents, whether for an initial or re-accreditation, brings together all stakeholder groups. Maintaining their engagement across the timeframe is critical and requires strong leadership skills and internal “marketing”.
This module will explore ideas, practical tools and best practices to contextualise and leverage regional, national and international requirements for your internal stakeholder groups, in order to construct and disseminate a persuasive, compelling and data-informed business school narrative. It will identify the key phases of project communication with internal and external audiences, including integrating external accreditation feedback into actionable plans and strategies to guide improvements.

Friday 10 December 2021

8:00 – 13:00 CET

MODULE 6: Seeing What Is Next and Acting on It: Lead the Quality Agenda Forward

  • Amanda Gudmundsson

The focus of the module is on the learner as a professional quality assurance leader and manager. Learners will critically examine and reflect upon the maturity and culture of quality assurance within their institution. They will use strategy and change management techniques to build upon the leadership, communication and project management skills acquired in previous modules to devise an improved quality agenda and culture within their School.
The module will encourage learners to think creatively and identify novel ways to assemble and deploy resources to effectively lead quality assurance innovation and avoid accreditation fatigue. Mechanisms to monitor and maintain the culture of quality assurance will provide learners with the confidence to lead by influence.

Thursday 3rd February & Friday 4 February 2022


Capstone project oral defenses

Wednesday 9 February 2022

9:30 – 11:30 CET

Graduation ceremony

Practical information

APPLICATION PROCESS

  1. Kindly fill in the online application form.
  2. Make sure you have the following documents at hand when doing so: professional CV, motivational essay, supporting statement by your superior (optional only).
  3. Your application will be reviewed by the Programme Director and the Mentor Coordinator, who have a final say in acceptance decisions.
  4. Once admitted, your learning journey can commence!

TUITION FEES

  • EFMD member: EUR 1.400
  • Non-member: EUR 1.700

A 20% discount on the applicable fee is available for every second and further participant coming from the same institution.

A 50% discount on the applicable fee is available for the representatives of the institutions currently involved in the EDAF process. In this case, the above-mentioned 20% discount doesn’t apply.

Should that be your case, please contact Andrea Maresova prior to registering online.

The fee is payable prior to the programme by bank transfer/credit card. Please make sure to register at your earliest convenience (but not later than 13 October 2021 to be able to start on time with the preparatory work for the programme).

Cancellation policy: cancellations must be confirmed in writing before 13 October 2021 and a cancellation fee amounting to EUR 100 for administrative costs will be charged. After the above-mentioned deadline, we are unfortunately unable to refund any fees. However, in such cases substitutes are welcomed at no extra cost as long as the name, title and address of the substitute are communicated enough time ahead.

Speakers

  • Adam Thomas

    Adam Thomas

    Accreditation and Quality Manager University of St.Gallen, Switzerland

    Accreditation and Quality Manager University of St.Gallen, Switzerland

  • Amanda Gudmundsson

    Amanda Gudmundsson

    Executive Dean, QUT Business School, Australia

    Executive Dean, QUT Business School, Australia

  • Benjamin Stevenin

    Benjamin Stevenin

    CEO RimaOne & Co-creator of ACADEM Learning in Innovations

    CEO RimaOne & Co-creator of ACADEM Learning in Innovations

  • Bethan Jones-Davies

    Bethan Jones-Davies

    Service Quality Manager, The University of Liverpool Management School, UK

    Service Quality Manager, The University of Liverpool Management School, UK

  • Björn Kjellander

    Björn Kjellander

    Director of Quality Assurance and Accreditation Jönköping International Business School, Sweden

    Director of Quality Assurance and Accreditation Jönköping International Business School, Sweden

  • Christina Green

    Christina Green

    Head of Quality Management, TUM School of Management, Germany

    Head of Quality Management, TUM School of Management, Germany

  • Julie Perrin-Halot

    Julie Perrin-Halot

    Associate Dean - Director of Quality, Strategic Planning and Sustainability, Grenoble Ecole de Management, France

    Associate Dean - Director of Quality, Strategic Planning and Sustainability, Grenoble Ecole de Management, France

  • Kim Watty

    Kim Watty

    Emeritus Professor, Deakin Business School, Australia

    Emeritus Professor, Deakin Business School, Australia

  • Kirsteen Daly

    Kirsteen Daly

    Accreditations, Rankings and Communication Manager at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, UK

    Accreditations, Rankings and Communication Manager at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, UK

  • Petra Kreis-Hoyer

    Petra Kreis-Hoyer

    Head of Studies & Teaching Divison, RheinMain University, Germany

    Head of Studies & Teaching Divison, RheinMain University, Germany

  • Sarah Vaughan

    Sarah Vaughan

    Senior Academic Advisor, France

    Senior Academic Advisor, France

  • Sverre Gundersen

    Sverre Gundersen

    Head of Accreditations and Rankings, BI Norwegian Business School, Norway

    Head of Accreditations and Rankings, BI Norwegian Business School, Norway

  • Ulrich Hommel

    Ulrich Hommel

    Managing Director, XOLAS; Professor of Finance, EBS University of Business & Law

    Managing Director, XOLAS; Professor of Finance, EBS University of Business & Law

Location

online

Time

october 15 (friday) 11:00 - february 15 (tuesday) 11:30