Quality Assurance for Postgraduate Programs: Design of a Model Applied on a University in Chile

Authors

  • Marcelo Careaga Butter Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción
  • Eduardo Meyer Aguilera Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
  • Maria Graciela Badilla Quintana Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción
  • Laura Jiménez Pérez Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción
  • Eileen Sepúlveda Valenzuela Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i1.2670

Keywords:

quality of education, digital technologies, online platform, benchmark of quality, postgraduate programs

Abstract

The quality of Education in Chile is a controversial topic that has been in the public debate in the last several years. To ensure quality in graduate programs, accreditation is compulsory. The current article presents a model to improve the process of self-regulation. The main objective was to design a Model of Quality Assurance for Postgraduate Programs in order to constitute a theoretical, mathematical, and informatics reference that would optimize the processes of self-regulation, self-evaluation, and accreditation of master and doctorate programs from the Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Chile. This descriptive research is based on a mixed methods approach. The proposal was intended through theoretical and empirical references related to the accreditation systems. The analysis process was conducted with key informants, and the informatics instrument was created and validated through expert judgment. After the analysis, the model was optimized considering the expert’s suggestions. As a result of the optimization process, a matrix of eight dimensions was obtained and it is available online in order to be used by the heads of postgraduate programs. Finally, a model with four main stages was achieved in order to install a self-regulation and a self-evaluated culture that leads to accreditation as evidence of the quality of postgraduate programs.

Author Biographies

Marcelo Careaga Butter, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción

Adjunt Professor, member of the Computer Knowledge Management Unit,  Faculty of Education

Maria Graciela Badilla Quintana, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción

Assistant Professor, Chief of the Educational Computer Knowledge Management Unit,  Coordinator of the Master of Educational Information and Knowledge Management, Faculty of Education

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Published

2017-02-28

How to Cite

Careaga Butter, M., Meyer Aguilera, E., Badilla Quintana, M. G., Jiménez Pérez, L., & Sepúlveda Valenzuela, E. (2017). Quality Assurance for Postgraduate Programs: Design of a Model Applied on a University in Chile. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i1.2670

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 1 (2017): Special Issue: Advances in Research on Social Networking in Open and Distributed Learning

Section

Research Articles

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