Abstract:

This study aims to shed light on how evaluation and reporting of student learning outcomes can take place as part of systematic educational quality work in an higher education institution (HEI). All higher education institutions in Norway are required by law and regulations to ensure that the education they offer is of satisfactory quality. Educational quality is not defined unambiguously, and the HEIs are encouraged to define this themselves. However, requirements in laws, regulations and national guidelines specify on certain levels what is expected of the HEIs in regard to educational quality. With the introduction of the qualifications framework and the changes to laws, regulations and national guidelines, the focus in the higher education sector – both pedagogically and in terms of education policy – has shifted more clearly towards student learning outcomes. This has had consequences for the focus of the educational institutions’ systematic work on educational quality. National regulations state that the educational institutions’ quality work must cover all significant areas and parameters of importance to the quality of the students’ learning outcomes. Questions related to student learning outcomes have thus become a key part of the quality work of educational institutions. The starting point for the study is a concrete example of this, by looking at quality reporting at the study portfolio level at the Norwegian Police University College's (NPUC) continuing and further education programs in Norway. The study is based on a document analysis of a report on educational quality in the NPUC's continuing education portfolio related to leadership, pedagogy, prevention and diversity, as well as guidelines and templates for this work at the NPUC and the national legal and regulatory requirements for this work. The research question of the study is about how student learning outcomes are evaluated and reported at the study portfolio level. More specifically, the study addresses which indicators have been chosen to evaluate student learning outcomes, which actors and voices are central to the information used, what results have been found, how these are reported, and how to work to further develop and improve results. The present study can hopefully be of interest as an example of how to work within a framework that applies to all higher education institutions that are part of the Bologna Process/European Higher Education Area (EHEA), or as a comparison with similar case studies. The research field related to study quality and quality assurance/quality work is large, but at the same time a constantly evolving field related to developments in framework factors and education policy, among other things. The study can thus be seen as a contribution to the understanding of how higher education institutions work with educational quality according to current requirements and standards.

Keywords:

Learning outcomes, evaluation, quality reporting, educational quality, higher education, study programmes, document analysis.