QA of HEIs

These quality control activities are a combination of actions and measures taken regularly by the Government to assure the quality of higher education provision with an emphasis on the assurance that a prescribed threshold of quality is met. The scope of quality assurance is determined by the shape and size of the higher education system. In Mongolian system, which is generally centrist in nature, a governmental process of quality assurance is centralized. The national quality assurance functions are typically tied to the state central administrative organizations and implementing agencies. Although the accreditation body (Mongolian National Council for Education Accreditation (MNCEA) claims some level of independence/autonomy from government (is not financed by the Government) it has not yet ensured the independence of the quality assurance process from a legacy of centrist decision–making. To determine the level of independence/autonomy from the government decision-making would need closer scrutiny than this study. 47 In perspective, there is a need for changing perceptions of quality assurance by academia as a short-term goal to pass attestation or accreditation in order to receive grants and funds from the state. HEIs should see a broader picture and go beyond assessing only today’s situation and make every effort to cope with the changes and developments of the systems emerging not only in the country, but in the international arena.

Internal quality assurance, in other words, intra-institutional practices in view of monitoring and improving the quality of higher education has taken roots since the mechanisms of education accreditation were established. In Mongolia, it mostly refers to self-evaluation or internal evaluations conducted by HEIs for attestation and accreditation. Self-evaluation/ Internal evaluation is an academic quality assurance process by which each HEI regularly reviews its annual standards to ensure that its teaching-learning objectives are fulfilled (MNCEA, 2007). The process of self‐evaluation consists of the systematic collection of administrative data, the questioning of students and graduates, and the self-assessment reports of lecturers, resulting in a self‐ study report. Thus, self-evaluation is a collective activity, conducted by self-evaluation teams or quality/monitoring, evaluation and research units established in some HEIs to provide a database on continuous quality enhancement. The resulting report further serves to provide information for the review team in charge of the external evaluation. In 2007, MNCEA made amendments in the “Preliminary requirements for the accreditation of HEIs and vocational education and training institutions” (Requirement 7) and the “Criteria for institutional accreditation” in regard with strengthening of internal quality control and establishment of quality management mechanisms at HEIs in order to systemize and foster continuous quality improvement. Following these directives, some large universities (University of the Humanities, the School of Economics of the National University of Mongolia, the School of Computer Technology and Management of the Mongolian University of Science and Technology) initiated internal quality assurance activities, conducting self-assessments against the criteria and performance indicators of respective international quality assurance and accreditation organizations (ENQA, CEA, ACBSP etc). The Institute of Finance and Economics has become a member of Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), a reputable North American accreditation agency, and has gained a candidacy status for an international accreditation