Legitimacy and competence of students' assessment in higher education: Quality assurance query

Abstract

The higher education and training sector focus on lifelong learning, world of work and the future. With regard to this, the current focus of higher education sector is on quality assurance procedures that emphasise accountability, compliance and standards which could be acquired through quality assurance of student's assessment. This paper demystifies the quality of students learning in further education training college and higher education sector. Quality assurance of student's assessment is the most important activity and further education and training college is also the specialisation that needs to be natured for economic development of any global community. But in contrary quality assurance of student's assessment is the most overlooked activity further education training college sector within the holistic higher education paradigm - the academic culture that has endangered and alienated students and staff to the detriment of the system as a whole. If quality assurance system as pertained to higher education assessment of students learning parameter of further education and training college are to be recognized, the increasing diverse nature of higher technical and vocational education institutions, in the millennium, accountability, high standards and compliance will need to be balanced by a greater emphasis on encouraging and promoting innovation, self-improvement and credentials of higher calibre of individual student's ability and competence in combating local and regional poverty. It is of salient phenomena for both quality assurance agencies and institutions themselves to operationalise viable mechanism and adapt their policies, procedures and culture if higher education and training system is to respond positively to student's quality assurance assessment and be provided with essential required skills in lifelong learning, work and the future framework for the new millennium. This paper argues that whilst quality assurance of student learning assessment is understandable within the theoretical and practical academic framework in higher education institutions, there have erupted heuristic issues that deserve immediate and particular attention in the 21 century.