Ræða ráðherra flutt 18. október 2011.

18. október 2011, Grand hótel Reykjavík

Ágæta samkoma

Það er mér sönn ánægja að ávarpa þessa ráðstefnu um gæðamál háskóla, sem hófst hér í morgun. Tilefnið er mikilvægt og varðar með beinum hætti fjöregg þjóðarinnar; gæði þeirra menntunar sem viljum bjóða erfingjum landsins upp á. Af tillitssemi við erlenda gesti okkar mun ég nú halda áfram á ensku.

Dear guests – I will now continue in English
According to the famous Hellenian philosopher Aristotle, Quality is not an act, it is a habit. I would however like to add that for an act to become a habit, one needs to enhance it, hone it and respect the means and methods necessary to transform the act to become a habit. This is exactly why we are gathered here today, to discuss; the Quality Enhancement Framework for Icelandic Higher Education – the means and methods we are going to use to make quality a habit within the higher education in Iceland.

Managing quality in the world of higher education today is not an easy task. Providing an excellent learning experience to our students and awarding high standards of degrees does not happen by accident. It takes very skilful shaping and management.
A new step in management of Quality assurance in higher education in Iceland was taken in 2006 with the new higher education act that stated that all higher education institutions should undergo an accreditation-process. During the next three years, all the higher education institutions in Iceland participated in a process of enhancing quality through external evaluations, - conducted by teams of foreign experts, - resulting in more than a dozen reports on the quality of higher education in the country.

This process was a lesson for everybody involved. But it also invoked questions on the process and the system as a whole, and how the government could best ensure the future of the quality assurance in higher education. One could argue that this was the first phase of our journey towards modern quality assurance in higher education.
In 2010, the Science and Technology Policy Council issued its policy for 2010-2012: Building on solid foundations. The policy has a chapter called Quality and achievements. There it is stated:
Although quality assurance in Iceland has been reinforced in recent years, it is important to enhance the achievements assessment at universities, industry, institutions and competitive funds. This should preferably be carried out by independent foreign specialists and the international standing of Iceland examined. Research and development achievement assessments should play a larger role in public policy making.
The gathering of comparative statistics on research and innovation for the assessment of quality and achievements need to improve, in order to strengthen the assessment of Iceland's international scientific ranking. For this to work as a targeted tool to improve quality and achievements the objectives of public allocation to research, research institutions and universities and publicly financed projects need to be clearly defined. Included will be the definition of the boundaries of actual research projects and monitoring and data collection projects.

This text is followed by six specific recommendations, the final one being:
The Science and Technology Policy Council recommends establishing a Quality Board of foreign experts responsible for quality control of teaching and research in universities.
The Policy of the Science and Technology Policy Council went unsurprisingly, like a hand in a glove with the work already started within the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture on setting up a Quality Council for higher education in Iceland.
Hence, 18 months later and in line with the STPC policy, we are here launching a new comprehensive quality assurance framework for Icelandic higher education. This has however not been a light task.

The idea to establish a Quality Board, consisting of six foreign experts, is not typical. In most countries that we usually compare us with, the quality assurance of higher education is the task of governmental institutions, under the auspices of native experts and the external evaluations are conducted in the native language of each country. We decided however, to put our trust in the hands of the best available international experts and conduct all external evaluations in English. Why, some people have asked us? The reason is simple: The world of higher education is international and with increased globalization of higher education one should always strive for the best available. Another aspect that played a vital role in the creation of the quality system of higher education in Iceland was independency and to ensure that the evaluation of quality within the higher education was to be done by autonomous experts.

Ladies and Gentlemen
The Icelandic Quality Enhancement Framework that is being introduced here today addresses the very real challenges involved in managing quality and standards in higher education in Iceland in the 21st Century. The real world of higher education, internationally, has its ups and downs as you are all very well aware of. The problems that arise in higher education institutions are therefore problems that need to be solved in harmony and with the aid of all stakeholders.

This is why the Quality Enhancement system for higher education is designed to create a partnership environment that is positive and supportive. Along with the Quality Board, the Icelandic Quality Council, which involves senior representatives of all institutions, will play a key role in this partnership. Not only will the Council have a key role in shaping the nature of the QEF, it will sponsor a wide range of conferences and workshops designed to share good and interesting national and international practice.

Dear guests
In the light of our experience we can conclude, that with the introduction of the new Quality Enhancement Framework for Icelandic Higher Education, phase two in our development of quality from act to habit has begun. I am convinced that the framework will guide us well on towards this goal.
Finally, as I congratulate the higher education sector in Iceland with its new Quality Enhancement Framework, I'd like to open the Framework's new website (click).