Why I Joined: Nirmala (Mala) Arunasalam

The last member of the team to introduce is Nirmala, over to you...

I, Dr Nirmala (Mala) Arunasalam am a Senior Lecturer in nursing at the School of Health and Social Work at the University of Hertfordshire.  My interests are in globalisation, internationalisation, Transnational Higher Education, continuing professional development, interculturalism and multiculturalism.  This has provided me with an appreciation of different institutional cultures and the varying ways in which people approach similar tasks.

Poland has also joined the European Union and turning into the next international hub, so I look forward to gaining knowledge of  the Polish Higher Education system.  It will enable me to understand European culture and share aspects of Asian and UK culture so that good practice can be shared across a range of cultures and institutions.  In addition, it will allow me to network with the Polish who are considered aspirational and determined – aspects that I admire and strive to follow in my own life.

Preview of Theme 3: Governance including the Student Voice

The final theme that we will be exploring on the Study Tour is university governance. Arrangements for goverance in both public and private HEIs will be explored, as well as their legal basis.

It can be all too easy to assume that the issues and arrangments made in Anglo-Saxon (where most of the Governance literature in general arises from) apply everywhere. Therefore contrasting UK arrangements with those in Poland should be revealing given the differences in history and legal systems.

In addition, we have an interest in how the student voice feeds into the governance and management of Polish HEIs, and how this has evolved with the development of the sector since the end of the Cold War.

Questions under this theme would include (in no particular order):

Governance and Legal Framework

• What are the structures of governance in Polish universities?
• How has the governance of Polish HEIs changed post-communism?
• What is the legal framework that HEIs operate under? Are there differences between groups of HEIs?
• Are there significant difference in the above between public and private sector HEIs?
• What are the forms of ownership in the private sector Polish HEIs (e.g. private equity, publically traded shares, charity, state owned etc.)?
• How do stakeholders influence university strategy?
• How do issues such as academic misconduct and disciplinary issues operate under this framework?

The student voice

• What importance is attached to the student experience at the institution and how do professional development policies and practices impact on this?  
• What impact, if any, has there been on the focus on services to students, including issues of resource, structures, etc?
• To what extent do Polish universities involve students in making decisions about the non-academic aspects of their provision?
• How do universities engage with their students?  On what kinds of issues?  At what level (eg informally, at course or programme level, through student representatives, by students being members of key committees)?

To this end, we will be hoping to meet members of university governance team, academic members of university governance committees and where possible, representatives of student bodies.

Always, comments and contributions are welcome.

Why I Joined: Sheila Adamson

The next member of the of study tour team is Sheila Adamson from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. Over to you Shelia...

I have worked in higher education since 1997. I am based at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, where I specialise in the quality assurance of collaborative partnerships. I have a broad range of experience in quality, policy development, programme management and research degree support. I have recently become a Branch Advocate.

I have been to Poland four times and have always very much enjoyed my time in the country. As well as trips to Warsaw and Gdansk (both of which I recommend), I have visited Krakow, where I took the opportunity to tour the Collegium Maius of the Jagiellonian University, a wonderful old college designed something like Hogwarts.

My work role brings me into contact with different higher education systems around the world and I am always fascinated by the commonalities and differences between them. One thing we always have to be aware of as professionals is that just because we do things a certain way in the UK, it doesn’t mean there aren’t alternative, better ways of doing things elsewhere. I look forward to learning from colleagues in Poland and using their input to reflect on practice here. I am also keen to understand other perspectives on higher education and quality to help me in my work with European partners.

Poland has a long and distinguished history of education and research but – in common with many European countries – the higher education landscape is changing rapidly.  The development of a large number of private institutes in competition with the older public universities is an opportunity for the country but also a potential source of tension. There are parallels with the UK, where new private colleges are jostling for attention and funding, raising questions of how quality assurance and funding systems should adapt. The implications of this for quality assurance would be of particular interest to me.

I look forward to reporting back on all of the above.

Preview of Theme 2: Student demand, including internationalisation and the emergence of the Private Sector.

The demand for HE in Poland is the second theme of this Study Tour. Polish HE has experienced expansion since the end of the cold war, with the emergence of a large private sector.

There are, in common with much of the EU, possible demographic challenges ahead. And of course internationalisation is increasing in importance. How these issues are linked will be interesting to explore.

Desk research indicates there may also be similarities between the above and widening participation, in a similar way to the Brazillian experience. We hope to be able to write more about this after the tour.

Questions under this theme would include (in no particular order):

• In what ways do students decide on their choice of courses?
• To what extent do (student and HEI) funding arrangements affect the market? Is employability a strong driver?
• What influence does government have in regulating the market?
• How has the approach to marketing and student recruitment developed as a response to this?
• How do employers and professional bodies influence HEI provision and student demand? Are their needs met?
• What forms does internationalisation take in Polish HEIs? How are they related to HEI strategic aims?
• What is the history of the development of the HEI market in the post-communist era?
• How do Polish HEIs accept and process applications?
• How will future projections of demographics affect demand?

As always if you have something to contribute, please let us know in the comments.

Why I Joined: Marie Holmes

As part of our series introducing the study tour team, I'd like to introduce Marie Holmes from the University of Hull. Over to you Marie...

Hi,

I’m Marie Holmes currently employed as a Quality Secretary at the University of Hull based in the Faculty Office for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.  My role at the University is primarily related to quality assurance dealing with programme approvals, Learning, Teaching and Assessment Committee and Unfair Means Adjudicating Panels and Joint Programme Resit Boards.

I have been a member of the AUA since 2008 and am looking forward to participating in this tour on their behalf; a very mature student graduating with a 2.1 in Regional and Local History in 2009 and an MA in Regional and Local History and Archaeology in 2013.  I enjoy travelling when I can – last big journey was to New Zealand (May 2015) and going to the theatre.

I am looking forward to learning how Higher Education Institutions operate in Poland; how they compare to UK institutions and to share ideas and best practice particularly with regard to quality assurance processes and to learning more about the country itself as this will be my first visit.