The Impact of Quality Procedures on a Language Centre

Abstract

The Language Centre (LC) as an integral part of the South East European University (SEEU) implements a number of well-established, institution wide quality procedures which are intended to have a positive impact on the standards of learning and teaching. These include: Teaching Observation Procedure, an annual Student Evaluation Survey, a performance management process for staff linked to professional development and an LC cycle of strategic planning, linked both to internal and LC Specific external evaluation. In developing these procedures, the University and Centre has drawn on international quality assurance guidelines, trends and good practice in order to develop effective approaches to quality within a specific educational and national context. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate what changes these procedures have made, both at individual teacher and LC level, how far institutional -wide processes have been applicable and valuable to the LC and whether there has been an impact on LC staff in their awareness and/or commitment to quality enhancement. Our conclusions will be drawn from an evaluation of these procedures, a comparison of LC data over a period of time and an investigation into Centre staff perceptions. We hope that the results of these findings will contribute to a greater understanding of the value of quality assurance procedures for Language Centers as well as to identifying what makes such processes successful