Design Education Quality Mark
Program Reviewer Training Workshop
– March 25, 26, 2015
National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad
In pursuance of the National Design Policy, 2007, the India Design Council is mandated to raise Indian Design Education to global standards of excellence. The policy envisages strengthening quality design education at different levels.
After diligent deliberations, the India Design Council determined to benchmark design education programs on pre-determined standards and to accord Design Education Quality Mark to institutions that meet the provisions of the published standard.
In order to pursue this objective of the council, the Council collaborated with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, UK (QAA). UK has been benchmarking its higher education through its Quality Assurance Agency, which reports to the Higher Education Funding Council for England on the academic standards and quality of learning opportunities in the institutions, which it reviews. The British Council in India helped and supported this collaboration.
The India Design Council has evolved a Quality Code for setting and maintaining academic standards, program design & approval and program monitoring & review for design education institutions in India.
We are pleased to invite senior designers, faculty members, and deans of design education institutions in India for a 2 – day workshop to train Program Reviewers in undertaking review of design education institutions against the prescribed Quality Code. This is a capacity building workshop aimed at training potential Indian assessors in using the established Quality Code. The Design Council will work on the basis of peer review and is seeking those who have experience of program design, assessment, management of the student experience and committee work through their institutions to undertake this workshop. Dr. Penny McCracken from QAA, UK will conduct the workshop.
The Quality Code
Recent years have witnessed an exponential growth in number of institutions providing design qualifications in India. On one side, it is a good sign that the profession is expanding. But on the other side there are concerns. The proliferation of a large number of design institutions in India necessitates creating a guiding framework that represents a common rationale / philosophy for design curricula and its implementation. The aim is to harmonize the different education systems whilst taking into account their great diversity. The Quality Code is the means to create this guiding framework. The Quality Code has been based on the UK Quality Code for Higher Education published by the QAA.
The India Design Council believes in the principle of institutional autonomy and as such believes that the primary responsibility for quality assurance in higher education lies with each institution itself. The Quality Code represents these underlying principles and will serve as an agreed point of reference for continuous enhancement and for aspiring towards international best practice. It represents a system that is reasonable, reason-based, and peer-sanctioned. In essence, the quality review process provides a snapshot of program performance that helps the participants understand how particular educational activities within key domains compare with acknowledged standards prescribed in the Quality Code.
The Quality Code and the review process is applicable to all kinds of design education institutions whether from public or private sector and at all levels of higher education qualifications.
The provisions of the Quality Code are broad enough to be inclusive of different institutional dimensions. The Quality Code principles are not mandatory or inflexible. They are intended to provide institutions with a source of guidance on best practice principles for assuring quality in operations and outputs.
The peer review process to determine the adherence to Quality Code has been evolved to promote mutual trust and improve transparency while respecting the diversity of specific contexts and subject areas.
Benefits of Design Education Quality Mark
The Design Education Quality Mark has been initiated with the main idea of creating comparable, compatible, coherent and recognizable system of Design Education within the framework of Quality Code.
The Quality Code and the Quality Mark will ensure a quality design education system within the country, will promote mobility of students nationally and internationally, introduce a credit system for the assessment of study performance and recognize levels of qualification offered by the design educators. The Design Education Quality Mark will
Design Education Quality Mark
The Design Education Quality Mark will be granted to institutions who undergo the review process and who meet or exceed the expectations for quality and standards as prescribed in the Quality Code.
The Quality Mark will communicate to everyone that an institution has a guaranteed minimum level of quality and standards and has undergone a third party, neutral review process. The Quality Mark includes a trademark-protected logo and the words 'Quality Assured'.
The Quality Mark will help the students to choose the right design program from a wide choice, will help the prospective employers understand the standing of the design institute and will communicate to the society about the adherence of Quality Code by the design institute.
The Workshop
This two- day training workshop is aimed to prepare potential assessors for institution review and implement the provisions of Quality Code, drawing on QAA, UK expertise. The workshop will help the participations:
Dates & Venue
| Dates: | Wednesday & Thursday, March 25 and 26, 2015 |
| Time: | Day 1 – 11.00 AM – 6.00 PM Day 2 – 10.00 AM – 5.00 PM |
| Venue: | National Institute of Design Paldi, Ahmedabad 380 007 |
Outcomes
At the end of the training program participants will be:
Who should Attend?
Deans, Senior professors, experienced design professionals are welcome to attend this workshop.
Registration
About Dr Penny McCracken
Dr Penny McCracken isan experienced and creative senior professional in quality assurance, enhancement and work-based learning in further and higher education at a national level. She is an independent higher education consultant in higher education quality assurance, employer engagement and work-based learning.
As part of her work for QAA, she has over the past 12 years carried out university quality assurance audits of Higher Education Institutions, reviews of higher education in further education colleges and scrutinies for Degree Awarding Powers.
In October 2008 she retired as the Director of Quality Enhancement Services, fdf (Foundation Degree Forward). Earlier she was the Director of Research and Consultancy, Faculty of Arts and Technology, University of Lincolnshire and Humberside (ULH) now the University of Lincoln.
About India Design Council
The India Design Council is a national strategic body for design in India. It is committed to establish India as a center for design excellence. It constantly endeavors to increase knowledge, develop design capability, encourage businesses to use design, and drive value creation through design.
In pursuance of the National Design Policy announced by the Government of India on 8th January 2007, the Central Government constituted the India Design Council on 2nd March 2009. The council is presided over by Mr. Anand Mahindra, Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Prof. Pradyumna Vyas, Director of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad is the member secretary. The council is formed of 32 eminent people from the field of design, academia, media, industry organizations and Government departments.
