UNDERSTANDING QUALITY PERCEPTIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF QUALITY VARIABLES AND FACTORS FOR LEARNER CENTRIC CURRICULA DESIGN

The provision of High Quality undergraduate and postgraduate programs worldwide requires a holistic, deep understanding of variables and factors that contribute to the value perceptions of students, faculty and administrators. In the rich literature related to Quality Assessment there is a critical gap in research works related to the convergence of students and administrators perceptions.

In our study we provide an in depth literature review analysis of variables related to quality in higher education and we present classification frameworks in four dimensions: Content, Communication, Learning Dimension, Development and Technology.

This framework is used as input for an empirical research targeted to two different groups. First off, we investigate the perceptions of quality variables of faculty and administrators with the use of structured qualitative interviews. As a result a number of different priorities and perceptions are revealed and our methodological framework is revised.

Secondly, we run a questionnaire for students, in order to codify their perceptions of quality. In this way we develop a 3-tier framework that provides a context for further investigation. In our research work the concept of Quality in Higher Education is promoted as a multidimensional phenomenon with several informing factors.

In the last section of our research paper we present also a first draft of a framework with guidelines for the design of MIS/IT curricula based on the finding of our empirical research related to quality.