Quality assurance in the domestic third-party arrangement in Australia

Abstract

PurposeThird-party arrangements where a university offers its degrees in collaboration with another institution are not a new phenomenon, particularly when the third-party arrangements occur in the form of a cross-border education (or widely known as transnational education) Drawing on a critical review of the literature available on quality assurance of domestic third-party arrangements and through the use of interviews with the sessional teaching staff, the paper offers theoretical as well as practical views on the domestic third-party arrangement and seeks to inform key stakeholders in the academic management of such collaboration Design/methodology/approachThe study was undertaken with 40 sessional academics who are involved in teaching postgraduate courses at several third-party education providers and universities with metropolitan campuses in Australia Focus group interviews were conducted with 8–10 participants in each group The qualitative study included seven open-ended questions Each focus group interview was between 45–60 minutes FindingsThe study found 11 universities in Australia offering courses in third-party arrangement with a focus on international students Online third-party arrangement is also gaining momentum The study found the following areas that require attention: induction and professional development, quality assurance arrangements, maintenance of standards, adequacy of resources and infrastructure and risk related to academic quality Research limitations/implicationsLimited study has been conducted on third-party arrangements where a university, usually located far from the city vicinity, works in a collaborative mode with another institution, primarily a private institution, to offer degrees at metropolitan city areas in the same country Further research is needed with a large number of participants Originality/valueThe study is undertaken for the first time in Australia No research has been undertaken on the growth and quality assurance of a third-party arrangement in Australia and other developed countries The study involves the engagement of the sessional academic staff