Micro-Compass quality assurance short programme: Designing effective quality assurance systems in HE Institutions in Bangladesh

Due to increased demand for quality education worldwide, the Higher education sector globally has been undergoing an unprecedented level of changes over the past several decades. These result in increased public expectations towards the institutions’ provision, new tasks and responsibilities for scholars and administrators, new modes of knowledge production and transfer. The abundance of individual and organisational change processes requires higher education institutions to rethink the quality of their provision in higher education. This study aims to examine the importance of the Fundamental of Quality Assurance of Higher Education Sector and the influence of a short training programme on quality assurance in developing excellence in education. Micro-CQAP (micro compass quality assurance programme) provides direction and focus that is based on evidence, appraisal, and experience. The study is based on the recent venture by the authors of this study providing a 5-days training programme to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University (BSMRMU) and its impact on their overall quality assurance system within the university. The outcome of the training programme and findings of this study suggest that a short training programme on quality assurance within the institution enhances the overall understanding of Quality Assurance and help to implement it in practice more effectively and efficiently. The short programme was based on providing basic knowledge about what quality in higher education is, where it comes from, why quality assurance should & must be carried out, and how the process can be set up and managed at Higher Education institutions. This study is original as it was based on the experience, observations and feedback received after conducting the training programme from the participants. It has significant implications for the bother Higher Education Institutions, Government, and various stakeholders in Bangladesh.