Zharkyn Ryskulova, Head of Office of Quality Assurance — OQA
E-mail: ryskulova_zh@iuca.kg
Nazarova Daria, specialist of Office of Quality Assurance — OQA
E-mail: nazarova_d@iuca.kg
Saparova Ainura, psychologist
E-mail: saparova_a@iuca.kg
The main objective of the department is to promote the improvement of the quality of education at the university. This goal is consistent with the mission of the university: the development of responsible graduates, who think globally and committed to integrity in their personal lives, to serve the society.
An effective, transparent and open for further development quality assurance system (QAS) helps to improve the quality of training and increases the satisfaction of external and internal stakeholders: students, teachers, graduates, parents (guardians), employers, IUCA employees.
IUCA strives to become an innovative educational community, one of the best universities in Central Asia, since one of the main criteria of a high-quality university is constant work to improve the teaching and learning process, the main tasks of the department are to continuously measure the process of achieving the mission, strategic vision and educational goals of the university. It is necessary to determine the extent to which the volume, level, quality and results of training for a particular program correspond to the mission, educational goals and standards of the university.
Therefore, by measuring and analyzing data on students and teachers, monitoring the processes occurring in IUCA, the department actively participates in:
- improving planning, quality-related processes,
- increasing the efficiency of teaching and learning by students of the world,
- management of documentation on the quality of education at the university.
The main activities of the department: the study of the characteristics of the personality of students and their development, psychological support for students, expert and analytical work, the promotion of program accreditation, support for research and methodological work. Study of the personality characteristics of students and their development One of the main criteria for the success of a university is its graduates, their progress in ethical and intellectual development. This progress needs to be measured using effective and valid tools.
The department conducts research:
the ethical and intellectual development of university students (based on the Harvard University professor William Perry, which we use in interview, essay, and standardized test formats); cognitive styles, multiple mental abilities, personality spectrum of each student of IUCA.
After processing and analyzing the results, the department informs students, teachers, program heads and university administration about general and individual research results (based on the principle of confidentiality), as well as identified problems for their subsequent resolution.
Based on the study, the staff of the department: make recommendations on how to improve teaching methods, taking into account the individual cognitive abilities and inclinations of students; provide advisory support to students, helping them build a learning course so that the teaching methods match the abilities and educational needs of the students; they advise teachers on new methods of teaching and assessment in accordance with the mission of the university and educational standards, as well as on new areas of academic work, such as the “Service Learning” course or new student assessment tools.
Psychological support for students
In order to maintain a comfortable psychological climate and timely identification of problems and the most effective solution to them, a psychological support functions at the university.
Tasks of the psychological service:
- conducting psychological support sessions in order to better understand the problems and solve them more effectively;
- advising teachers on the correction of teaching and assessment methods in accordance with the individual characteristics of students;
- informing management about the psychological climate, based on the principle of confidentiality of information;
- helping to adapt to the new team at the beginning of the school year, in building students’ interpersonal relations;
- support of students in stressful and post-traumatic situations, the identification of psychosomatic conditions;
- work with students on setting and achieving goals; orientation of students to professional activities.
Expert and analytical work
Department staff:
- participate in the analysis of the satisfaction of organizations with the quality of the educational process;
- develop an internal system of quality indicators based on licensing, accreditation and other requirements;
- analyze the results of measurement, monitoring of the processes occurring in IUCA using such tools as the questionnaire “Teacher through the eyes of a student”, “Observation of a lesson by colleagues”, “Form of assessment of an occupation”, etc.;
- provide conclusions on the results of research.
Program Accreditation Assistance
Based on the accreditation guidelines developed by the Ednet agency, the department assists the university management in their work on external evaluation of programs and the university as a whole, including its accreditation at the national and international levels. This work includes:
- assistance in planning the development and improvement of the curriculum;
- measurement of compliance with the volume, level, quality and learning outcomes of a particular program in accordance with the educational goals and standards of the university;
- organization of professional development in the field of quality management, assistance in conducting self-evaluation programs, as well as in the preparation of reports on their state and dynamics of development.
Support research and methodical work in collaboration with the research committee, coordinating the research activities of the university;
- participation in the organization and conduct of research and methodological conferences, seminars, forums of teachers and students, as well as in the publication of research results.
In our work, the department is guided by the mission, charter, strategic documents of the university, as well as the regulations on the department and its work plan.